No film,as long as I can remember, has moved me or shocked me quite like Lar Von Tier's masterpiece ANTICHRIST. This film is one that should not be missed. No film I know has left such an indellible mark on the psyche of its viewers like Antichrist. The only film that I can think of that has made such a profound impact would be William Friedkin's classic film The Exorcist,which is one of my favorite films of all time. When I ask people who have seen Antichrist, their initial reaction is "Fuck, that movie's crazy!". It never fails!
It was New Year's Eve 2009 when I got the first and only review of the film and it was summed up by my friend, James, in one word: "Dude!". I knew what the 'dude' meant. I knew it was something that I couldn't pass up. I knew it meant something more than just a well-written or well-directed movie. It was more. I remember reading about it in Fangoria magazine, but I just didn't follow up on it. Needless to say, as soon as I heard my friend's one-word review, I read online that the New Beverly Theater, my favorite movie theater, was screening the film for 3 days only in January. I couldn't pass this up.
It was Friday, January 8th, 2010 when we experienced Antichrist for the first time. I went to the Los Angeles venue with my good friends Mike and Ale. I was excited for several reasons. I took my friends to the Amoeba record store in Hollywood for the first time and they had a blast. Like every visit to Amoeba, they didn't know where to start or where to finish. I was also excited to be introducing my friends to their first movie-going experience at the New Beverly Theater and the fact that we were watching this controversial film for the first time and on the last night of the film's screening. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into.
We had arrived at the theater and anxiously awaited the box office to open. Once we purchased our tickets, we made our way inside and found a comfortable location to watch the film. We stocked up on the essentials: popcorn, soft drink and some candy and waited for the film to begin. One of the things that I love about this theater is wide variety of trailers. We were treated to a beautiful trailer of Alejandro Jodorowski's film Santa Sangre which was a nice way to kick off the evening. Then the film began.
The films begins and within the first few moments we knew it was going to take us plad. Don't be fooled by the title. Don't be expecting 2 priests trying to exorcise a possessed girl and don't be expecting a gunslinging dischiple of god to fight off demonic forces.The film is about a grieving couple: HE played by Willem Dafoe and SHE played by Charlotte Gainsbourg who are coping with the recent death of their son. An interesting thing about the film, besides the fact that there are only 2 central characters in the entire film, is that everyone else's faces are blurred out. Dafoe plays a therapist who is trying to help his wife through the grieving process through psychotherapy. The couple retreat to the place She revealed she is most afraid of. This place, called Eden, is the cabin where she spent her last summer with her son while working on her thesis on gynocide.
The director uses some awesome images and special effect shots that make you question you just saw. There were a few moments during the film in which I asked my friends if they had just seen what I saw or was I losing it. The effects are very subtle and very effective to the story. There are images in this film that I will never forget. Just when I think things can't get more surreal, von Trier ups the stakes more and more as He slowly unravels She's descent into madness.
As He begins to understand what is occuring with his wife, it is too late. She unleashes a fury like I or few of us had ever seen or could ever imagine. She's madness is not only psychological, but it manifests itself physically which is where the film's true power lies. I had never squirmed or been tempted to look away from a movie screen, but this film took me right to the edge. Just when I was about to turn my ahead from the madness that was occuring, I told myself "No. You can't miss this. This is too important to miss". I am forever grateful for not turning away. I wasn't alone. Not only was I affected, but the entire theater was gasping, then screaming, then cursing at the screen. The theater came to life and everybody knew they were seeing something great. It was like a dirty little secret that only few people knew about. I remember thinking that whoever wasn't in that theater was definitely missing out on something special.
Once the storm had calmed and the film came to an end, the theater was left in a deafening silence. Everybody felt something that they couldn't explain. We exited the theater and shared a cigarette with fellow movie-goers. Everybody was looking at each other and were giving slight gestures and nods. It was like they were saying to each other:"Yeah, we just saw that.Wow". After the awkward silence gave way into small talk, that's when I realized the power of what I had just seen. We were talking to strangers about their thoughts and feeling and interpretations of the film. It wasn't the usual "how did you like it?" type of talk. It was more. It was deep. It was going to stay with us.
Last month I obtained a copy of Antichrist and showed it to my friends Ashley and Lex. I told them that I wanted to see this film with them when they first saw it to see their reactions. I do this all the time to make it feel like I'm watching something for the first time. Their reactions and comments took me back to that darkened theater in Los Angeles watching this amazing film. The film pushed my friends to the edge. I even pulled out the 'Friend Card' to make sure they didn't miss one single frame during the climax of the film. That's how great this film is. Sure they hated me afterwards, but it was well worth it.
This film is definitely one that is not going away. It created quite a scene at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In fact, it was reported that at least 4 people fainted due to the graphic violence portrayed in the film. Charlotte Gainsbourg received the festival's Best Actress Award which she deserves. Gainsbourg takes risks in Antichrist that I don't think many film actresses would have taken or are afraid to even touch.
If you get a chance, please watch Antichrist. It's not an easy trip, but it's definitely something you won't want to miss. They have been showing the film on the IFC channel, but there are edits made. It is best to view the unrated version *download*. There is a beautiful download available out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment