IFC Films has picked up Lars Von Trier’s controversial, polarizing eroto-horror film Antichrist for distribution. Are they trying to prove the size of their cojones or what? Reviews and reactions from screenings of the film at Cannes label the latest offering from the possibly-insane Danish director as either an “art-film fart” (thank you, Todd McCarthy, for attempting to keep the discourse at a middle school level), or an at-times brilliant, freaky cinematic mindfuck. Either way, no one who has seen it feels dispassionately about this latest project from our favorite enfante terrible, perhaps, “intoxicated by its sheer, batshit audacity“.
Of course, the question on everyone’s mind now is: how in the hell is IFC going to release this without an NC-17 rating? Perhaps they will choose to release it regardless of rating, knowing the art-house crowd will be curious enough about all those torture porn-esque sex scenes and stunning cinematograpy to flock to their nearest specialty cinema. Honestly, the controversy sells itself. Who knows if they will even attempt to cut it into something R-rated, but word is IFC will be bringing it into theaters later this year, so we’ll see if this is something the movie-going public will be willing to shell out their cash for.
IFC have also picked up the North American rights to Ken Loach’s “Looking For Eric,” his Cannes entry, according to Variety’s Cannes blog.
