Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Antichrist (2009)

IFC Films
Directed by Lars von Trier
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Criterion Collection)

Grueling story of a man and wife dealing with the accidental death of their young child. William Dafoe is the husband, a psychoanalyst, who against his better judgement decides to treat his wife, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, to say the least. His therapy includes bringing her to an isolated cabin in the woods, not a very good idea for a woman who claims she is afraid of the woods more than anything else. At first she seems to be making progress, but that all changes when she attaches a weight to him by drilling a hole straight through his leg. And that is just one of the little surprises in store for this film overflowing with explicit gore, sex and violence. Numerous animals are also subjected to the torture-fest, although the end credits state they were "handled by professional trainers and/or computerized", there is no third party Humane Society seal which is worrisome. Despite the grand attempts at symbolism and deeper meaning, this is nothing more than old-fashioned exploitation wrapped up in new digital clothing.

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