Before the casting or script for Lars von Trier’s new film The Nymphomaniac have even been hinted at, several distributors have pre-bought it. The controversy von Trier so frequently courts has got him into a lot of trouble, but also seems to be making him money.
At Cannes in 2011, promoting his film Melancholia (2011), von Trier (now infamously) said he sympathised with Hitler. Of course, a massive uproar ensued and the Danish director declared he would never do another interview again. But, how many people that caught wind of the drama can honestly say it didn’t make them want to see the film more than they did before? Surely there are countless people who had never even heard of the film that sought it out after Cannes.
Von Trier isn’t afraid to challenge perceptions or of leaving an audience speechless.
Not that von Trier is unfamiliar with trouble. In 1998, he drew gasps from hundreds with his film The Idiots (Idioterne, 1998), in which a group of young people challenge society’s prejudices by going on outings pretending to be mentally disabled. Depicting real, unsimulated sex alongside the obviously provocative subject matter, Idioterne offended and shocked, but still remains an important and intriguing piece of film making, fourteen years on.
Melancholia itself is not particularly shocking – probably the most daring scene involves Kirsten Dunst bathing in the light of the apocalyptic planet with no clothes on. This was probably disappointing for fans that have come to expect shocks and offense, as only Lars von Trier can deliver. But the point is it still brought in the audiences. To date, Melancholia has grossed almost $3 million worldwide in the box office, and it seems that a certain Nazi-related outburst has done Mr von Trier no harm in economic terms.
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