Before the two screenings of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia at this year’s Fantastic Fest, there was a screening of an interview with Von Trier conducted by Badass Digest’s Devin Faraci for the festival. Von Trier has a good relationship with Fantastic Fest and given the fact that he doesn’t fly had chosen to introduce his film via Skype. I was there and the audience response to the interview, in which von Trier is surprisingly likeable and upbeat, was more enthusiastic than to Melancholia itself, which I found beautiful, well-directed, but ultimately kind of pointless - though it did generate quite a bit of discussion and debate.
You may recall that von Trier got himself into a bit of a public relations nightmare at this year’s Cannes Film Festival when he provocatively called himself a Nazi during a press Q&A - you can read Roger Ebert’s account of the incident here. As is his nature, Von Trier was being a shit stirrer, he was joking, pushing buttons, but the French have strict laws about proclaiming you’re a Nazi (apparently even in jest) or making anti-Semitic comments in public (just ask former Dior designer John Galliano). Now it seems that the French government may be planning to prosecute von Trier for his remarks. As hard as it is to believe, Von Trier may be tried for his facetious comments. Yesterday Von Trier issued the following press release.
“Today at 2pm I was questioned by the Police of North Zealand in connection with charges made by the prosecution of Grasse in France from August 2011 regarding a possible violation of prohibition in French law against justification of war crimes.
The investigation covers comments made during the press conference in Cannes in May 2011. Due to these serious accusations I have realized that I do not possess the skills to express myself unequivocally and I have therefore decided from this day forth to refrain from all public statements and interviews.”
If indeed von Trier never does another interview, the one he did with Faraci for Fantastic Fest may be the last one we’ll ever see. Here it is:
Thanks to Brandy Fons & Fantastic Fest