Von Trier lightens up after TIFF's Antichrist debut
Last Updated: Friday, September 11, 2009 | 5:00 PM ET
CBC News
Willem Defoe, lower left, listens to director Lars Von Trier, speaking via video-link, at a press conference for Antichrist at the Toronto International Film Festival. (Jessica Wong/CBC)A jovial and self-deprecating Lars von Trier sparked laughter from dozens of fans and reporters Friday, a stark contrast to his controversial and dark drama-horror film Antichrist, which had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival the night before.
The Danish art house filmmaker, who appeared via video-link, and his Antichrist star Willem Dafoe, who is in Toronto with several films, traded gentle mocking — including von Trier joking that the intense Dafoe was "very lazy and he never really prepared for anything."
Despite the challenging nature of the film — in which a therapist (Dafoe) and his wife, who have lost their child, retreat to a cabin where the woman (portrayed by Charlotte Gainsbourg) descends into violent, abusive, torture-filled madness — von Trier says he recalls being happy during shooting.
"I was clever telling them I was depressed … no arguments," he quipped, referring to previous comments that he was in a despondent state while he conceived Antichrist.
Von Trier also joked about explicit sex in the film ("I was a little puzzled by [Dafoe's] longing to be naked") before turning serious, saying "the film is about sex but it's not very sexy."
TIFF moderator Steve Gravestock, left, shares a laugh with actor Willem Defoe at the press conference for Antichrist. (Jessica Wong/CBC)The director — who spoke openly about his continued treatment by therapists and mirroring his own experiences with psychotherapy in his film — dispelled the notion of a hopeful ending or feeling of resolution in Antichist.
"To me, the film is hope somehow. It's not to do with the story," he said. "Religion is in cinema to me. ... I get hope not from the story, but from the fact that [the filmmaker] can communicate something to me."
Dafoe, known for taking on challenging roles, added that he is drawn to films that explore the elemental nature of the human condition, saying dark stories inspire more surprise and mystery for him as an actor.
