Antichrist (film)
Encyclopedia
Antichrist is a 2009 arthouse-horror film
written and directed by Lars von Trier
, starring Willem Dafoe
and Charlotte Gainsbourg
. It follows horror film conventions and tells the story of a couple who, after the death of their child, retreat to a cabin in the woods where the man experiences strange visions and the woman manifests increasingly violent sexual behaviour. The narrative is divided into a prologue, four chapters and an epilogue. The film was primarily a Danish production but co-produced by companies from six different European countries. It was filmed in Germany.
After premiering at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
, where Gainsbourg won the festival's award for Best Actress
, the film immediately caused controversy, with critics generally praising the film's artistic execution but strongly divided regarding its substantive merit. Other awards won by the film include the Robert Award
for best Danish film, The Nordic Council Film Prize
for best Nordic
film and the European Film Award for best cinematography. The film is dedicated to the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky
.
Chapter One: Grief: During Nick's funeral she collapses. The other mourners gather around her seen with faces blurred. Spending the next month in the hospital, in and out of consciousness and with little concept of time, she awakens crippled with grief. Her husband, a therapist, is distrustful of the psychiatric care she is receiving, and takes it upon himself to treat her through psychotherapy
. After a less-than-fruitful period at home, during which she tries to free herself from the physical pain of her child's death, largely through sex, he decides to try exposure therapy
. In a place called Eden
where she spent time with Nick the previous summer while writing a thesis on Gynocide, he learns that her greatest fear concentrates around the cabin.
During the journey to Eden while she sleeps he encounters a deer which shows no fear of him. As the deer turns to leave, he sees a dead fawn hanging halfway out of the doe's womb.
Chapter Two: Pain (Chaos Reigns): They continue toward the cabin. Upon encountering a foot-bridge, she is overcome with fear. She sprints across the bridge and into the forest, leaving her husband to follow after her. It is late evening when he arrives at the cabin, to find her fast asleep.
During sessions of psychotherapy, she becomes increasingly manic and grief-stricken. Meanwhile, the environment surrounding the cabin becomes increasingly sinister: acorns pelt the cabin like rapid gunfire, he awakens to find his right hand covered in swollen tick
s, and at the conclusion of this chapter he comes across a self-disemboweling
fox
which utters the words "chaos reigns."
Chapter Three: Despair (Gynocide): He finds his wife's thesis studies: pictures of witch-hunts
and a scrap-book filled with articles and notes on misogynist
topics, her writing becomes more frantic and illegible as the pages go on. It is revealed she came to believe that women are inherently evil. He is repulsed by this theory and criticizes her for buying into the Gynocidal beliefs she had set out to criticize.
She asks him to hit her during sex. He at first resists entirely but when she flees beneath a massive tree and begins masturbating, he eventually chases after her and half-heartedly complies slapping her a few times while she demands to be hit harder. While they are making love, numerous human hands are seen emerging from the roots of the tree. (This image was subsequently adapted into the principal promotional art for the film.)
He goes on to study Nick's autopsy report which states the bones in both of the child's feet were oddly deformed. The doctors at the time did not assign any importance to this fact as it was unrelated to the child's death. Finding numerous photographs of Nick in which his boots are always on the wrong feet he becomes increasingly agitated upon this bizarre revelation which has sinister undertones regarding his partner. At this moment she suddenly attacks him accusing him of planning to leave her, disrobing and mounting him she crushes his testicles
with a block of wood. While he is unconscious from the pain she masturbates him until he orgasms, ejaculating blood. In order to prevent him fleeing she then drills a hole through his leg and bolts a heavy grind-stone
through the wound. She then flees outside throwing the wrench she used to tighten the grind-stone beneath the cabin.
He eventually wakes and drags himself to a fox-hole in which he hides. While she frantically searches for him he finds a crow buried alive under match-light in the fox-hole. The crow starts to make a repeating, loud sound, which informs her about his location. He beats it repeatedly, but the crow survives and keeps making the sound. Eventually, she finds him and tries to pull him out. Failing she goes back to cabin and returns with a shovel to dig him out.
Chapter Four: The Three Beggars
: Several hours pass, night falls, she weepingly apologizes but can't find the wrench which her husband asks for to loosen the grind-stone on his leg. With great effort from both of them, she drags him back to the cabin. Back in the cabin he asks her if she wanted to kill him, and she answers "not yet" adding cryptically that "when the three beggars arrive someone must die."
Later she begins masturbating using the hand of her half-conscious husband next to her. There is a flash-back to an alternate view of the prologue in which she sees what was about to happen to Nick and does not act. It is unclear whether this is meant to be implied reality, or merely an imagined vision symptomatic of extreme guilt
. She then takes a pair of scissors and severs her clitoris, letting out a tortured scream, which disturbs the deer appeared previously in the woods.
During the night the couple are visited by the crow, deer and fox from the earlier scenes. Hail
beats against the roof of the cabin beginning the moment she screams. Earlier it had been revealed that women in Ratisbon had been accused of witchcraft and of being able to summon up hailstorms. The crow is heard cawing beneath the floorboards of the cabin. Breaking through the floor the husband frees the bird and serendipitously discovers the hidden wrench. She stabs him in the back with scissors but he eventually removes the grind-stone and she stops fighting him after noticing a change of look in his eyes. He strangles her to death, then burns her body on a funeral pyre
outside the cabin.
Epilogue: Again with background music "'Lascia ch'io pianga' from 'Rinaldo'" and in slow motion and black and white, he makes his way from the cabin, eating berries from the ground as the "three beggars" look on. Upon reaching the top of a hill, he looks down to see hundreds of women ascending. Then more women come from all directions and the movie ends when as they, with their faces blurred, gather around him.
The baby Nick was played by Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm. Body doubles for Dafoe and Gainsbourg were used in the most explicit scenes; the professional porn actors Horst Stramka and Mandy Starship were employed for that task.
and Dark Water
, from which he drew inspiration. Another basic idea came from a documentary Trier saw about the original forests of Europe. In the documentary the forests were portrayed as a place of great pain and suffering as the different species tried to kill and eat each other. Trier was fascinated by the contrast between this and the view of nature as a romantic and peaceful place. Trier said: "At the same time that we hang it on our walls over the fireplace or whatever, it represents pure Hell." In retrospection he said that he had become unsure whether Antichrist really could be classified as a horror film, because "it's not so horrific ... we didn't try so hard to do shocks, and that is maybe why it is not a horror film. I took [the horror genre] more as an inspiration, and then this strange story came out of it."
The title was the first thing that was written for the film. Antichrist was originally scheduled for production in 2005, but its executive producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen
accidentally revealed the film's planned revelation: that Earth was created by Satan
and not by God
. Trier was furious and decided to delay the shoot so he could rewrite the script.
In 2007 Trier announced that he was suffering from depression, and that it was possible that he never would be able to make another film. "I assume that Antichrist will be my next film. But right now I don't know," he told the Danish newspaper Politiken
. During an early casting attempt, English actors who had come to Copenhagen
had to be sent home, while Trier was crying because his poor condition did not allow him to meet them.
The post-depression version of the script was to some extent written as an exercise for Trier, to see if he had recovered enough to be able to work again. Trier has also made references to August Strindberg
and his Inferno
Crisis in the 1890s, comparing it to his own writing under difficult mental circumstances: "was Antichrist my Inferno Crisis?" Several notable names appear in the credits as having assisted Trier in the writing. Danish writer and directors Per Fly
and Nikolaj Arcel are listed as script consultants, and Anders Thomas Jensen
as story supervisor. Also credited are researchers dedicated to fields including "misogyny", "anxiety", "horror films" and "theology." Trier himself is a Catholic
convert and intensely interested in Christian
symbolism and theology
.
Production was led by Trier's Copenhagen-based company Zentropa
. Co-producers were Sweden's Film i Väst
, Italy's Lucky Red and France's Liberator Productions, Slot Machine and Arte France. The Danish Film Institute
contributed with a financial support of $
1.5 million and Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany with $1.3 million. The total budget was around $11 million.
, Copenhagen. Plaster cast
s were made of Willem Dafoe's leg and the female "porno double's" sexual organ. A plastic baby with authentic weight was made for the opening sequence. Pictures found using Google Image Search
had to serve as models for the stillborn deer, and a nylon stocking
was used as caul
. The vagina prop was constructed with its inner parts detachable for easy preparation if several takes would be needed. Czech animal trainer Ota Bares, who had collaborated with parts of the crew in the 2005 film Adam's Apples
, was hired early on and given instructions about what tasks the animals must be able to perform. The fox was for example taught to open its mouth on a given command to simulate speaking movements.
To get into the right mood before filming started, both Dafoe and Gainsbourg were shown Andrei Tarkovsky
's The Mirror
from 1975. Dafoe was also shown Trier's own 1998 film The Idiots
, and Gainsbourg The Night Porter
to study Charlotte Rampling
's character. Dafoe also met therapists working with cognitive behavioral therapy as well as being present at actual sessions of exposure therapy
and studying material on the topic. Trier himself is highly skeptical of psychotherapy.
of North Rhine-Westphalia
. Locations were used in Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, part of the Cologne region
, and Wuppertal
. It was the first film by Lars von Trier to be entirely filmed in Germany. The film was shot on digital video, primarily using Red One cameras in 4K resolution
. The slow motion sequences were shot with a Phantom V4 in 1,000 frames per second. Filming techniques involved dollys
, hand-held camerawork and computer-programmed "motion control", of which the team had previous experience from Trier's 2006 film The Boss of It All
. One shot, where the couple is copulating under a tree, was particularly difficult since the camera would switch from being hand-held to motion controlled in the middle of the take.
Trier had not recovered completely from his depression when filming started. He repeatedly excused himself to the actors for being in the mental condition he was, and was not able to operate the camera as he usually does, which made him very frustrated. "The script was filmed and finished without much enthusiasm, made as it was using about half of my physical and intellectual capacity," the director said in an interview.
, Poland
, and Gothenburg
, Sweden. Over the time of two months, the Poles contributed with about 4,000 hours of work and the Swedes 500. The film features 80 shots with computer-generated imagery
, provided by the Polish company Platige Image. Most of these consist of digitally removed details such as the collar and leash used to lead the deer, but some were more complicated. The scene where the fox utters the words "chaos reigns" was particularly difficult to make. The mouth movements had to be entirely 3D animated in order to synchronise with the sound.
The aria "Lascia ch'io pianga
" from Georg Friedrich Händel's opera Rinaldo
is used as the film's main musical theme. The aria has previously been used in other films such as Farinelli
, a 1994 biographical film about the castrato
singer Farinelli
. The eight-track soundtrack features both versions of Lascia ch'io pianga and selected extracts of the "score" created by sound designer Kristian Eidnes Andersen.
to a polarized response from the audience. At least four people fainted during the preview due to the film's explicit violence. At the press conference following the screening, Lars von Trier was asked by a journalist from the Daily Mail
to justify why he made the film, to which the director responded that he found the question strange since he considered the audience as his guests, "not the other way around." He then claimed to be the best director in the world. Charlotte Gainsbourg won the Cannes Film Festival
's award for Best Actress
. The ecumenical jury
at the Cannes festival gave the film a special "anti-award" and declared the film to be "the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world". Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux responded that this was a "ridiculous decision that borders on a call for censorship" and that it was "scandalous coming from an 'ecumenical' jury". The "talking fox" was nominated for the Palm Dog, but lost to Dug from Up
.
Two versions were available for buyers at the Cannes film market, nicknamed the "Catholic" and "Protestant" versions, where the former had some of the most explicit scenes removed while the latter was uncut. The uncut version was released theatrically to a general audience on 20 May 2009 in Denmark
. It was acquired for British distribution by Artificial Eye
and American by IFC Films
.
In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Antichrist was released uncut with an 18 certificate
. The British Advertising Standards Authority
received seven complaints about the film poster, which was based on the original poster and shows the couple as they are having sexual intercourse. The organization decided to approve the poster, finding it to not be pornographic since its "dark tone" made it "unlikely to cause sexual excitement". An alternative poster, featuring only quotes from reviews and no image at all, was used in outdoor venues and as an alternative for publishers who desired it.
The film received a limited theatrical run in Australia followed by a basic DVD release in early 2010. Sale of the DVD was strictly limited in South Australia
due to new laws that place restrictions on films with an R18+ classification. A notable feature of the Australian release was the creation of a critically acclaimed poster that made prominent use of a pair of rusty scissors that had the actor's faces fused into the handles. The poster received much international coverage at the end of 2009 and was used as the local DVD cover.
This film was released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection
on 9 November 2010.
The film was not submitted to the MPAA because the filmmakers feared that it would receive an NC-17 rating for its graphic violence.
, the version released by Criterion Collection on Blu-ray and DVD is in fact the un-cut, so-called "Protestant Version" which has a run time of 108 minutes. The cut, so-called "Catholic Version," has a run time of between 100 and 104 minutes (approximately). The long rumored, 120 minute version (supposedly released in France) is nothing more than a packaging misprint on the French DVD release.
called it "a grotesque masterpiece," giving it a perfect score of 6 out of 6, and praised it for being completely unconventional while at the same time being "a profoundly serious, very personal ... piece of art about small things like sorrow, death, sex and the meaninglessness of everything." Berlingske Tidende
gave it a rating of 4 out of 6 and praised the "peerless imagery," and how "cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle
effectively switches between Dogme
-like hand-held scenes and wonderful stylized tableaux." An exception was Claus Christensen, editor of the Danish film magazine Ekko. Christensen accused the other Danish critics of overrating the film, himself calling it "a master director's failed work." Around 83,000 tickets were sold in Denmark during the theatrical run, the best performance by a Lars von Trier film since Dogville
. The film was nominated by Denmark for The Nordic Council Film Prize
, which it won. Antichrist went on to sweep the Robert Award
s, Denmark's main national film awards, by winning in seven categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, Best Editing, Best Lighting Design and Best Special Effects.
However, Antichrist polarized critics opinion in USA. the film had a 48% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes
based on 141 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4 out of 10. Chris Tookey for Daily Mail
started his review by noting that the film contains "a few images of startling beauty," but soon went on to call it "offensively misogynistic" and "needlessly graphic." He also listed other films that preceded Antichrist in showing explicit sex, genital self-mutilation and "women torturing men for pleasure," eventually giving the film one star out of five.
In the British magazine Empire
, film critic Kim Newman
noted that "von Trier’s self-conscious arrogance is calculated to split audiences into extremist factions, but Antichrist delivers enough beauty, terror and wonder to qualify as the strangest and most original horror movie of the year."
In Australia's The Monthly
, film critic Luke Davies
viewed the film as "a bleak but entrancing film that explores guilt, grief and many things besides ... that will anger as many people as it pleases", describing von Trier's "command of the visually surreal" as "truly exceptional". Davies described the film as "very good and very flawed", conceding "it is not easy to understand the meaning or intention of specific images and details of the film" but still concludes that "there’s something neurotic and reactionary in the controversy and near-hysteria surrounding the film."
Film director John Waters
hailed Antichrist as one of the ten best films of 2009 in Artforum
Magazine, stating "If Ingmar Bergman
had committed suicide, gone to hell, and come back to earth to direct an exploitation/art film for drive-ins, [Antichrist] is the movie he would have made."
The film won the award for Best Cinematographer at the 2009 European Film Awards, shared with Slumdog Millionaire
as both films were shot by Anthony Dod Mantle
. It was nominated for Best Director
and Best Actress
but the awards lost to Michael Haneke
for The White Ribbon
and Kate Winslet
for The Reader respectively.
Festivals
, a video game called "Eden," which is based on the film, is in the works. It will start where the film ends. "It will be a self-therapeutic journey into your own darkest fears, and will break the boundaries of what you can and can't do in video games," says video game director Morten Iversen. As of 2011, Zentropa Games are out of business and "Eden" has been cancelled.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
, starring Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
and Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success...
. It follows horror film conventions and tells the story of a couple who, after the death of their child, retreat to a cabin in the woods where the man experiences strange visions and the woman manifests increasingly violent sexual behaviour. The narrative is divided into a prologue, four chapters and an epilogue. The film was primarily a Danish production but co-produced by companies from six different European countries. It was filmed in Germany.
After premiering at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
2009 Cannes Film Festival
The 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 13 to May 24, 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. It was announced on March 19, 2009, that Pixar's film Up would open the festival...
, where Gainsbourg won the festival's award for Best Actress
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
, the film immediately caused controversy, with critics generally praising the film's artistic execution but strongly divided regarding its substantive merit. Other awards won by the film include the Robert Award
Robert Award
The Robert statue is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Film Academy of Denmark. It is the Danish equivalent of the American Oscars. The award, voted only by academy members, is acknowledgement by Danish industry colleagues of a person's or film's outstanding contributions during the...
for best Danish film, The Nordic Council Film Prize
The Nordic Council Film Prize
The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The first award was handed outin 2002 to celebrate the Nordic Council's 50th anniversary. Since 2005 the prize has been annual. One winner is chosen from submissions from the five Nordic countries. In 2008,...
for best Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
film and the European Film Award for best cinematography. The film is dedicated to the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
.
Plot
Prologue: With background music "'Lascia ch'io pianga' from 'Rinaldo'", all in slow motion and black and white a couple's young son, Nick, falls to his death on the snowy ground below his bedroom window, while his parents are making love passionately from bathroom to Nick's bedroom.Chapter One: Grief: During Nick's funeral she collapses. The other mourners gather around her seen with faces blurred. Spending the next month in the hospital, in and out of consciousness and with little concept of time, she awakens crippled with grief. Her husband, a therapist, is distrustful of the psychiatric care she is receiving, and takes it upon himself to treat her through psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. After a less-than-fruitful period at home, during which she tries to free herself from the physical pain of her child's death, largely through sex, he decides to try exposure therapy
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy intended to treat anxiety disorders and involves the exposure to the feared object or context without any danger in order to overcome their anxiety. Procedurally it is similar to the fear extinction paradigm in rodent work...
. In a place called Eden
Eden
Eden may refer to:* Garden of Eden, a place described in the biblical book of Genesis-Film and television:* Eden , a character from the Aladdin television series...
where she spent time with Nick the previous summer while writing a thesis on Gynocide, he learns that her greatest fear concentrates around the cabin.
During the journey to Eden while she sleeps he encounters a deer which shows no fear of him. As the deer turns to leave, he sees a dead fawn hanging halfway out of the doe's womb.
Chapter Two: Pain (Chaos Reigns): They continue toward the cabin. Upon encountering a foot-bridge, she is overcome with fear. She sprints across the bridge and into the forest, leaving her husband to follow after her. It is late evening when he arrives at the cabin, to find her fast asleep.
During sessions of psychotherapy, she becomes increasingly manic and grief-stricken. Meanwhile, the environment surrounding the cabin becomes increasingly sinister: acorns pelt the cabin like rapid gunfire, he awakens to find his right hand covered in swollen tick
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...
s, and at the conclusion of this chapter he comes across a self-disemboweling
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
which utters the words "chaos reigns."
Chapter Three: Despair (Gynocide): He finds his wife's thesis studies: pictures of witch-hunts
Witch-hunts
-Track listing:#"Without Ceremony and Bell Toll" – 5:59#"Inside the Circle of Stones" – 6:38#"The Crow and the Warrior" – 4:21#"Dying to Meet you" – 6:14#"The Preacher Came to Town" – 7:16#"Burn, Witches, Burn" – 5:39#"Witch Hunters" – 5:31...
and a scrap-book filled with articles and notes on misogynist
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
topics, her writing becomes more frantic and illegible as the pages go on. It is revealed she came to believe that women are inherently evil. He is repulsed by this theory and criticizes her for buying into the Gynocidal beliefs she had set out to criticize.
She asks him to hit her during sex. He at first resists entirely but when she flees beneath a massive tree and begins masturbating, he eventually chases after her and half-heartedly complies slapping her a few times while she demands to be hit harder. While they are making love, numerous human hands are seen emerging from the roots of the tree. (This image was subsequently adapted into the principal promotional art for the film.)
He goes on to study Nick's autopsy report which states the bones in both of the child's feet were oddly deformed. The doctors at the time did not assign any importance to this fact as it was unrelated to the child's death. Finding numerous photographs of Nick in which his boots are always on the wrong feet he becomes increasingly agitated upon this bizarre revelation which has sinister undertones regarding his partner. At this moment she suddenly attacks him accusing him of planning to leave her, disrobing and mounting him she crushes his testicles
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
with a block of wood. While he is unconscious from the pain she masturbates him until he orgasms, ejaculating blood. In order to prevent him fleeing she then drills a hole through his leg and bolts a heavy grind-stone
Grindstone (tool)
A grindstone is a round sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools. They are usually made from sandstone.Grindstone machines usually have pedals in which to speed and slow the stone to sharpen metal to the point of perfection....
through the wound. She then flees outside throwing the wrench she used to tighten the grind-stone beneath the cabin.
He eventually wakes and drags himself to a fox-hole in which he hides. While she frantically searches for him he finds a crow buried alive under match-light in the fox-hole. The crow starts to make a repeating, loud sound, which informs her about his location. He beats it repeatedly, but the crow survives and keeps making the sound. Eventually, she finds him and tries to pull him out. Failing she goes back to cabin and returns with a shovel to dig him out.
Chapter Four: The Three Beggars
The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars
The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars is a Serbian fairy tale. It is also known as Vasilii the Unlucky its Russian form, collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki....
: Several hours pass, night falls, she weepingly apologizes but can't find the wrench which her husband asks for to loosen the grind-stone on his leg. With great effort from both of them, she drags him back to the cabin. Back in the cabin he asks her if she wanted to kill him, and she answers "not yet" adding cryptically that "when the three beggars arrive someone must die."
Later she begins masturbating using the hand of her half-conscious husband next to her. There is a flash-back to an alternate view of the prologue in which she sees what was about to happen to Nick and does not act. It is unclear whether this is meant to be implied reality, or merely an imagined vision symptomatic of extreme guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
. She then takes a pair of scissors and severs her clitoris, letting out a tortured scream, which disturbs the deer appeared previously in the woods.
During the night the couple are visited by the crow, deer and fox from the earlier scenes. Hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
beats against the roof of the cabin beginning the moment she screams. Earlier it had been revealed that women in Ratisbon had been accused of witchcraft and of being able to summon up hailstorms. The crow is heard cawing beneath the floorboards of the cabin. Breaking through the floor the husband frees the bird and serendipitously discovers the hidden wrench. She stabs him in the back with scissors but he eventually removes the grind-stone and she stops fighting him after noticing a change of look in his eyes. He strangles her to death, then burns her body on a funeral pyre
Funeral Pyre
"Funeral Pyre" is The Jam's thirteenth single released on 6 June 1981. Backed by the B-side "Disguises", a cover of a Who track, it reached #4 in the UK Singles chart....
outside the cabin.
Epilogue: Again with background music "'Lascia ch'io pianga' from 'Rinaldo'" and in slow motion and black and white, he makes his way from the cabin, eating berries from the ground as the "three beggars" look on. Upon reaching the top of a hill, he looks down to see hundreds of women ascending. Then more women come from all directions and the movie ends when as they, with their faces blurred, gather around him.
Cast
- Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as He: Dafoe, who had previously worked with Lars von Trier in ManderlayManderlayManderlay is the 2005 sequel to the film Dogville. It is the second part of Lars von Trier's projected USA - Land of Opportunities trilogy. Bryce Dallas Howard replaces Nicole Kidman in the role of Grace Mulligan. The film co-stars Willem Dafoe, replacing James Caan...
from 2005, was cast after contacting Trier and asking what he was working on at the moment. He received the script for Antichrist, although he was told that Trier's wife was skeptical about asking a renowned actor like Dafoe to do such an extreme role. Dafoe accepted the part, later explaining its appeal to him: "I think the dark stuff, the unspoken stuff is more potent for an actor. It’s the stuff we don’t talk about, so if you have the opportunity to apply yourself to that stuff in a playful, creative way, yes I’m attracted to it." The voice of the talking fox was also supplied by Dafoe, although the recording was heavily manipulated. - Charlotte GainsbourgCharlotte GainsbourgCharlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success...
as She: French actress Eva GreenEva GreenEva Gaëlle Green is a French actress and model.Green performed in theatre before making her film debut in The Dreamers , which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven , and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for...
was initially approached for the female lead. According to Trier, Green was positive to appearing in the film, but her agents refused to allow her. The unsuccessful casting attempt took two months of the pre-production process. Eventually Gainsbourg turned up, and by Trier's words she was very eager to get cast: "Charlotte came in and said, 'I'm dying to get the part no matter what.' So I think it was a decision she made very early and she stuck to it. We had no problems whatsoever."
The baby Nick was played by Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm. Body doubles for Dafoe and Gainsbourg were used in the most explicit scenes; the professional porn actors Horst Stramka and Mandy Starship were employed for that task.
Development
Antichrist started with the idea of making a horror film. Lars von Trier thought it was a good idea to start with a certain genre, and chose horror cinema because "the genre [is such] that you can put a lot of very, very strange images in a horror film". He had recently seen several contemporary Japanese horror films such as RingRing (film)
is a 1998 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata, adapted from the novel Ring by Kōji Suzuki, which in turn draws on the Japanese folk tale Banchō Sarayashiki. The film stars Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rikiya Ōtaka as members of a divorced family...
and Dark Water
Dark Water (2002 film)
Dark Water is a 2002 Japanese drama-horror film directed by Hideo Nakata, the director of Ring and Ring 2. Dark Water is based on Floating Water, a short story by Koji Suzuki. Its Japanese name is Honogurai mizu no soko kara , which is also the name of the horror anthology by Koji Suzuki...
, from which he drew inspiration. Another basic idea came from a documentary Trier saw about the original forests of Europe. In the documentary the forests were portrayed as a place of great pain and suffering as the different species tried to kill and eat each other. Trier was fascinated by the contrast between this and the view of nature as a romantic and peaceful place. Trier said: "At the same time that we hang it on our walls over the fireplace or whatever, it represents pure Hell." In retrospection he said that he had become unsure whether Antichrist really could be classified as a horror film, because "it's not so horrific ... we didn't try so hard to do shocks, and that is maybe why it is not a horror film. I took [the horror genre] more as an inspiration, and then this strange story came out of it."
The title was the first thing that was written for the film. Antichrist was originally scheduled for production in 2005, but its executive producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen
Peter Aalbæk Jensen
Peter Aalbæk Jensen is a Danish film producer who in 1992 with director Lars von Trier founded the Danish film company Zentropa and later its huge studio complex Filmbyen....
accidentally revealed the film's planned revelation: that Earth was created by Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
and not by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. Trier was furious and decided to delay the shoot so he could rewrite the script.
In 2007 Trier announced that he was suffering from depression, and that it was possible that he never would be able to make another film. "I assume that Antichrist will be my next film. But right now I don't know," he told the Danish newspaper Politiken
Politiken
Politiken is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus.The newspaper comes third among Danish newspapers in terms of both number of readers and circulated copies ....
. During an early casting attempt, English actors who had come to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
had to be sent home, while Trier was crying because his poor condition did not allow him to meet them.
The post-depression version of the script was to some extent written as an exercise for Trier, to see if he had recovered enough to be able to work again. Trier has also made references to August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
and his Inferno
Inferno (Strindberg)
Inferno is an autobiographical novel by August Strindberg. Written in French in 1896-97 at the height of Strindberg's troubles with both censors and women, the book is concerned with Strindberg's life both in and after he lived in Paris, and explores his various obsessions, including alchemy,...
Crisis in the 1890s, comparing it to his own writing under difficult mental circumstances: "was Antichrist my Inferno Crisis?" Several notable names appear in the credits as having assisted Trier in the writing. Danish writer and directors Per Fly
Per Fly
Per Fly Plejdrup is a Danish film director, generally credited simply as Per Fly. He is married to Danish actress Charlotte Fich. They have the children Anton and Aksel together.-Biography:...
and Nikolaj Arcel are listed as script consultants, and Anders Thomas Jensen
Anders Thomas Jensen
Anders Thomas Jensen is a Danish screenwriter and film director.Jensen won the Oscar for his 1998 film Election Night...
as story supervisor. Also credited are researchers dedicated to fields including "misogyny", "anxiety", "horror films" and "theology." Trier himself is a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
convert and intensely interested in Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
symbolism and theology
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
.
Production was led by Trier's Copenhagen-based company Zentropa
Zentropa
Europa is a film directed by Lars von Trier. Released in 1991, it is von Trier's third theatrical feature film and is the final film in the Europa trilogy....
. Co-producers were Sweden's Film i Väst
Film i Väst
Film i Väst is a film company located in Trollhättan, Sweden, founded in 1992. Lars von Trier used its facilities in his movies, such as Dogville and Manderlay.-Walk of Fame:...
, Italy's Lucky Red and France's Liberator Productions, Slot Machine and Arte France. The Danish Film Institute
Danish Film Institute
The Danish Film Institute is the national Danish agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest....
contributed with a financial support of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.5 million and Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany with $1.3 million. The total budget was around $11 million.
Pre-production
Props for the more violent scenes were provided by the company Soda ApS, and made in their workshop in NørrebroNørrebro
Nørrebro is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate , which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station.-Geography:...
, Copenhagen. Plaster cast
Plaster cast
A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – particularly in palaeontology .Sometimes a...
s were made of Willem Dafoe's leg and the female "porno double's" sexual organ. A plastic baby with authentic weight was made for the opening sequence. Pictures found using Google Image Search
Google Image Search
Google Images is a search service created by Google that allows users to search the Web for image content. The feature was introduced in July 2001. The keywords for the image search are based on the filename of the image, the link text pointing to the image, and text adjacent to the image. When...
had to serve as models for the stillborn deer, and a nylon stocking
Stocking
A stocking, , is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment covering the foot and lower part of the leg. Stockings vary in color, design and transparency...
was used as caul
Caul
A caul is a thin, filmy membrane, the amnion, that can cover a newborn's head and face immediately after birth.-Obstetrics:A child "born with the caul" has a portion of the amniotic sac or membrane remaining on the head. There are two types of cauls. The most common caul is adhered to the head...
. The vagina prop was constructed with its inner parts detachable for easy preparation if several takes would be needed. Czech animal trainer Ota Bares, who had collaborated with parts of the crew in the 2005 film Adam's Apples
Adam's Apples
Adam's Apples is a 2005 Danish comedy-drama film directed by Anders Thomas Jensen. The film revolves around the theme of the Book of Job. The main roles are played by Ulrich Thomsen and Mads Mikkelsen.- Plot :...
, was hired early on and given instructions about what tasks the animals must be able to perform. The fox was for example taught to open its mouth on a given command to simulate speaking movements.
To get into the right mood before filming started, both Dafoe and Gainsbourg were shown Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
's The Mirror
The Mirror (1975 film)
The Mirror is a 1975 Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. It is loosely autobiographical, blending childhood memories, newsreel footage and poems by his father Arseny Tarkovsky...
from 1975. Dafoe was also shown Trier's own 1998 film The Idiots
The Idiots
The Idiots is a 1998 Danish film directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme '95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2...
, and Gainsbourg The Night Porter
The Night Porter
The Night Porter is a controversial 1974 film by Italian director Liliana Cavani, starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling.- Synopsis :...
to study Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
's character. Dafoe also met therapists working with cognitive behavioral therapy as well as being present at actual sessions of exposure therapy
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy intended to treat anxiety disorders and involves the exposure to the feared object or context without any danger in order to overcome their anxiety. Procedurally it is similar to the fear extinction paradigm in rodent work...
and studying material on the topic. Trier himself is highly skeptical of psychotherapy.
Filming
Filming took 40 days to finish, from 20 August to the end of September 2008. The film was shot in the German stateStates of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
. Locations were used in Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, part of the Cologne region
Cologne (region)
Cologne is one of the five governmental districts of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the south-west of that state and covers the hills of the Eifel as well as the Bergisches Land....
, and Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
. It was the first film by Lars von Trier to be entirely filmed in Germany. The film was shot on digital video, primarily using Red One cameras in 4K resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
. The slow motion sequences were shot with a Phantom V4 in 1,000 frames per second. Filming techniques involved dollys
Camera dolly
A camera dolly is a specialized piece of filmmaking and television production equipment designed to create smooth camera movements . The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and focus puller or camera assistant, usually ride on the dolly to operate the camera...
, hand-held camerawork and computer-programmed "motion control", of which the team had previous experience from Trier's 2006 film The Boss of It All
The Boss of It All
The Boss of it All is a 2006 Danish comedy film written and directed by Lars von Trier.-Plot:The owner of an IT company wishes to sell it. But, for years, he has pretended that the real boss lives in America and communicates with the staff only by e-mail. That way, all the unpopular decisions...
. One shot, where the couple is copulating under a tree, was particularly difficult since the camera would switch from being hand-held to motion controlled in the middle of the take.
Trier had not recovered completely from his depression when filming started. He repeatedly excused himself to the actors for being in the mental condition he was, and was not able to operate the camera as he usually does, which made him very frustrated. "The script was filmed and finished without much enthusiasm, made as it was using about half of my physical and intellectual capacity," the director said in an interview.
Post-production
Post-production was primarily located to WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden. Over the time of two months, the Poles contributed with about 4,000 hours of work and the Swedes 500. The film features 80 shots with computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
, provided by the Polish company Platige Image. Most of these consist of digitally removed details such as the collar and leash used to lead the deer, but some were more complicated. The scene where the fox utters the words "chaos reigns" was particularly difficult to make. The mouth movements had to be entirely 3D animated in order to synchronise with the sound.
The aria "Lascia ch'io pianga
Lascia ch'io pianga
Lascia ch'io pianga is a soprano aria by composer George Frideric Handel which has become a popular concert piece. The melody for the song began its life as an Asian dance in his 1705 opera Almira. As an aria the piece was first used in Handel's 1707 oratorio Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno;...
" from Georg Friedrich Händel's opera Rinaldo
Rinaldo (opera)
Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's...
is used as the film's main musical theme. The aria has previously been used in other films such as Farinelli
Farinelli (film)
Farinelli is a 1994 biographical film about the life and career of the Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time...
, a 1994 biographical film about the castrato
Castrato
A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...
singer Farinelli
Farinelli
Farinelli , was the stage name of Carlo Maria Broschi, celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera.- Early years :...
. The eight-track soundtrack features both versions of Lascia ch'io pianga and selected extracts of the "score" created by sound designer Kristian Eidnes Andersen.
Release
The film premiered during the Competition portion of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival2009 Cannes Film Festival
The 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 13 to May 24, 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. It was announced on March 19, 2009, that Pixar's film Up would open the festival...
to a polarized response from the audience. At least four people fainted during the preview due to the film's explicit violence. At the press conference following the screening, Lars von Trier was asked by a journalist from the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
to justify why he made the film, to which the director responded that he found the question strange since he considered the audience as his guests, "not the other way around." He then claimed to be the best director in the world. Charlotte Gainsbourg won the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
's award for Best Actress
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
. The ecumenical jury
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury is an independent film award for feature films at the Cannes Film Festival since 1974. The Ecumenical Jury is one of three juries at the Cannes Film Festival, along with the official jury and the FIPRESCI jury. The award was created by Christian film makers, film...
at the Cannes festival gave the film a special "anti-award" and declared the film to be "the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world". Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux responded that this was a "ridiculous decision that borders on a call for censorship" and that it was "scandalous coming from an 'ecumenical' jury". The "talking fox" was nominated for the Palm Dog, but lost to Dug from Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
.
Two versions were available for buyers at the Cannes film market, nicknamed the "Catholic" and "Protestant" versions, where the former had some of the most explicit scenes removed while the latter was uncut. The uncut version was released theatrically to a general audience on 20 May 2009 in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. It was acquired for British distribution by Artificial Eye
Artificial eye
Artificial eye may refer to:* Visual prosthesis, functioning implant designed to restore sight* Ocular prosthesis, non-functioning cosmetic replacement for a lost eye...
and American by IFC Films
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
.
In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Antichrist was released uncut with an 18 certificate
18 certificate
The 18 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification to state that, in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game should not be seen or purchased by a person under 18 years old....
. The British Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
received seven complaints about the film poster, which was based on the original poster and shows the couple as they are having sexual intercourse. The organization decided to approve the poster, finding it to not be pornographic since its "dark tone" made it "unlikely to cause sexual excitement". An alternative poster, featuring only quotes from reviews and no image at all, was used in outdoor venues and as an alternative for publishers who desired it.
The film received a limited theatrical run in Australia followed by a basic DVD release in early 2010. Sale of the DVD was strictly limited in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
due to new laws that place restrictions on films with an R18+ classification. A notable feature of the Australian release was the creation of a critically acclaimed poster that made prominent use of a pair of rusty scissors that had the actor's faces fused into the handles. The poster received much international coverage at the end of 2009 and was used as the local DVD cover.
This film was released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
on 9 November 2010.
The film was not submitted to the MPAA because the filmmakers feared that it would receive an NC-17 rating for its graphic violence.
Versions Of The Film (Criterion Clarification)
According to a correspondence between an Amazon.com Customer Reviewer and Karen Mesoznik, staff member at The Criterion CollectionThe Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
, the version released by Criterion Collection on Blu-ray and DVD is in fact the un-cut, so-called "Protestant Version" which has a run time of 108 minutes. The cut, so-called "Catholic Version," has a run time of between 100 and 104 minutes (approximately). The long rumored, 120 minute version (supposedly released in France) is nothing more than a packaging misprint on the French DVD release.
Reception
In Denmark, the film quickly became successful with both critics and audiences. PolitikenPolitiken
Politiken is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus.The newspaper comes third among Danish newspapers in terms of both number of readers and circulated copies ....
called it "a grotesque masterpiece," giving it a perfect score of 6 out of 6, and praised it for being completely unconventional while at the same time being "a profoundly serious, very personal ... piece of art about small things like sorrow, death, sex and the meaninglessness of everything." Berlingske Tidende
Berlingske Tidende
Berlingske, previously known as Berlingske Tidende , is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen...
gave it a rating of 4 out of 6 and praised the "peerless imagery," and how "cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle
Anthony Dod Mantle
Anthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do...
effectively switches between Dogme
Dogme 95
Dogme 95 was an avant-garde filmmaking movement started in 1995 by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vow of Chastity". These were rules to create filmmaking based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and...
-like hand-held scenes and wonderful stylized tableaux." An exception was Claus Christensen, editor of the Danish film magazine Ekko. Christensen accused the other Danish critics of overrating the film, himself calling it "a master director's failed work." Around 83,000 tickets were sold in Denmark during the theatrical run, the best performance by a Lars von Trier film since Dogville
Dogville
Dogville is a 2003 drama written and directed by Lars von Trier, and starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Chloë Sevigny, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, and James Caan...
. The film was nominated by Denmark for The Nordic Council Film Prize
The Nordic Council Film Prize
The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The first award was handed outin 2002 to celebrate the Nordic Council's 50th anniversary. Since 2005 the prize has been annual. One winner is chosen from submissions from the five Nordic countries. In 2008,...
, which it won. Antichrist went on to sweep the Robert Award
Robert Award
The Robert statue is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Film Academy of Denmark. It is the Danish equivalent of the American Oscars. The award, voted only by academy members, is acknowledgement by Danish industry colleagues of a person's or film's outstanding contributions during the...
s, Denmark's main national film awards, by winning in seven categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, Best Editing, Best Lighting Design and Best Special Effects.
However, Antichrist polarized critics opinion in USA. the film had a 48% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 141 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4 out of 10. Chris Tookey for Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
started his review by noting that the film contains "a few images of startling beauty," but soon went on to call it "offensively misogynistic" and "needlessly graphic." He also listed other films that preceded Antichrist in showing explicit sex, genital self-mutilation and "women torturing men for pleasure," eventually giving the film one star out of five.
In the British magazine Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
, film critic Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
noted that "von Trier’s self-conscious arrogance is calculated to split audiences into extremist factions, but Antichrist delivers enough beauty, terror and wonder to qualify as the strangest and most original horror movie of the year."
In Australia's The Monthly
The Monthly
The Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
, film critic Luke Davies
Luke Davies
Luke Davies is an Australian writer of novels, poetry and screenplays, born in Sydney in 1962.Davies' first poetry collection, Four Plots for Magnets, was published in 1982, when he was twenty....
viewed the film as "a bleak but entrancing film that explores guilt, grief and many things besides ... that will anger as many people as it pleases", describing von Trier's "command of the visually surreal" as "truly exceptional". Davies described the film as "very good and very flawed", conceding "it is not easy to understand the meaning or intention of specific images and details of the film" but still concludes that "there’s something neurotic and reactionary in the controversy and near-hysteria surrounding the film."
Film director John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
hailed Antichrist as one of the ten best films of 2009 in Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
Magazine, stating "If Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
had committed suicide, gone to hell, and come back to earth to direct an exploitation/art film for drive-ins, [Antichrist] is the movie he would have made."
The film won the award for Best Cinematographer at the 2009 European Film Awards, shared with Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
as both films were shot by Anthony Dod Mantle
Anthony Dod Mantle
Anthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do...
. It was nominated for Best Director
European Film Award for Best Director
-Winners and nominees:*1988**Wim Wenders - Wings of Desire **Terence Davies - Distant Voices, Still Lives**Louis Malle - Goodbye Children **Manoel de Oliveira - The Cannibals ...
and Best Actress
European Film Award for Best Actress
-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-External links:*...
but the awards lost to Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke is a German born Austrian filmmaker and writer best known for his bleak and disturbing style. His films often document problems and failures in modern society. Haneke has worked in television‚ theatre and cinema. He is also known for raising social issues in his work...
for The White Ribbon
The White Ribbon
The White Ribbon is a 2009 Austrian-German film, released in black and white, written and directed by Michael Haneke. The drama darkly depicts society and family in a northern German village just before World War I...
and Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
for The Reader respectively.
Accolades
| Organization | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodil Awards Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by Denmark's National Association of Film Critics . The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in the Imperial Cinema in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe... |
Best Danish Film Bodil Award for Best Danish Film The Bodil Award for Best Danish Film is one of the categories for the Bodil Awards presented annually by the Danish Union of Film Critics . It was created in 1948 and is one of the oldest film prizes in Europe. The judging committee can decide not to give out the award if no deserving films are... |
Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
|
| Best Actress | Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success... |
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| Best Actor | Willem Dafoe Willem Dafoe Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group... |
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| Best Director of Photography | Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do... |
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| Special Bodil | Kristian Eidnes Andersen | ||
| Robert Award Robert Award The Robert statue is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Film Academy of Denmark. It is the Danish equivalent of the American Oscars. The award, voted only by academy members, is acknowledgement by Danish industry colleagues of a person's or film's outstanding contributions during the... |
Best Cinematography | Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do... |
|
| Best Director | Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
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| Best Editor | Anders Refn | ||
| Best Film | Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
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| Best Screenplay | Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
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| Best Sound | Kristian Eidnes Andersen | ||
| Best Special Effects | Peter Hjorth Ota Bares |
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| Best Actor | Willem Dafoe Willem Dafoe Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group... |
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| Best Actress | Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success... |
||
| Best Costume Design | Frauke Firl | ||
| Best Make-Up | Hue Lan Van Duc | ||
| Best Production Design | Karl Júlíusson Karl Júlíusson Karl Júlíusson is an award-winning Icelandic-born film production and costume designer who resides in Norway.... |
||
| Nordic Council Nordic Council The Nordic Council is a geo-political, inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries. It was established following World War II and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the... |
Nordic Council's Film Prize | Lars von Trier | |
| European Film Awards | Best Cinematographer | Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do... |
|
| Best Actress | Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success... |
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| Best Director | Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
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| Chlotrudis Awards | Best Actress Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress The Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actress or actresses whose winning performance is voted by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and... |
Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success... |
|
| Best Cinematography Chlotrudis Award for Best Cinematography The Chlotrudis Award for Best Cinematography is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the person or persons whose winning work is voted by participating members... |
Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle Anthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do... |
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| Sant Jordi Awards | Best Foreign Actress (Mejor Actriz Extranjera) | Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success... |
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| Zulu Awards | Best Film | Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
|
Festivals
| Festival | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals... |
Best Actress Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival) The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * .... |
Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success... |
|
| Palme d'Or Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du... |
Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
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| Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival | Titra Film Award | Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion.... |
Video game
According to the Danish newspaper PolitikenPolitiken
Politiken is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus.The newspaper comes third among Danish newspapers in terms of both number of readers and circulated copies ....
, a video game called "Eden," which is based on the film, is in the works. It will start where the film ends. "It will be a self-therapeutic journey into your own darkest fears, and will break the boundaries of what you can and can't do in video games," says video game director Morten Iversen. As of 2011, Zentropa Games are out of business and "Eden" has been cancelled.