The Lars von Trier movie Denis Villeneuve calls “genius”
What do the filmmakers Denis Villeneuve and Lars von Trier have in common? Well, apart from being two of the most influential filmmakers of contemporary cinema, not all that much. Whilst the Danish filmmaker von Trier likes to create provocative dramas that fearlessly dissect the human condition, Villeneuve prefers to stimulate the retinas with some of the most spectacularly cinematic movies of modern cinema.
Still, there’s no doubt that both filmmakers admire each other’s work, with Villeneuve’s early movies having a deep interest in emotionally wrought dramas, such as 2009’s Polytechnique and 2010’s Oscar-nominee Incendies. Indeed, it wasn’t until 2016 that the Canadian filmmaker would become the ambitious director we know him as today, releasing consecutive cinematic marvels Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and Dune in the following years.
But, the emotional heart of Villeneuve’s stories remains, inspired by the films of von Trier, among many others. During an interview with The New York Times, the director discussed his favourite movies of the 21st century, naming such movies as Jonathan Glazer’s 2013 erotic sci-fi Under the Skin and Jacques Audiard’s 2009 French film A Prophet, which he stated had “one of the most powerful cinematic shots of the last decade”.
The Danish filmmaker was included on Villeneuve’s list, too, calling his 2003 movie Dogville “genius”.
“I vividly remember watching Lars von Trier’s Dogville,” the filmmaker stated, adding, “The idea of making a set without walls to show the cowardice of a community was genius”.
Starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Mulligan, a woman on the run from a mob who is reluctantly brought into a small Colorado town, von Trier’s film is familiarly experimental, with the entire project being framed as if it’s a meticulous stage show. Alongside Kidman, the cast also includes the likes of Paul Bettany, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier and The Godfather star James Caan.
Meanwhile, the same cannot be said for von Trier, whose all-time favourite movies include no films at all from the 21st century.
On the list are the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick, with his favourite movie of the latter filmmaker being the 1975 flick Barry Lyndon. Often forgotten in the filmography of Kubrick in the fog of 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick’s most visually stunning film is known as one of the greatest period pieces of all time.
Elsewhere, the Dane has chosen just one iconic movie from the Russian mastermind Andrei Tarkovsky, his 1975 film Mirror. Telling the story of a dying man in his forties looking back on his life, Tarkovsky’s film is one of his most tender, looking back on the modern history of Russia through the eyes of a lost individual reflecting on his mother, family and long-lasting damage of war.
Take a look at the trailer for von Trier’s Dogville below.
