Is there such a thing as a bad Lars von Trier interview? Honestly, it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, and how controversial he has become, von Trier still is one of the most frank and honest filmmakers during interviews. Unfortunately, as seen in a 2011 Cannes press conference, his openness, at times, can bite him in the ass.
But in a new interview with the New York Times, the filmmaker opens up about his past controversies, and how it’s mainly attributed to him being anti-PC. Basically, if Lars von Trier ruled the world, you’d be able to say and do just about anything you wanted.
“My problem,” von Trier says, “is really that I’m a crowd-pleaser.”
And with that, the NYT interview begins. Crowd-pleaser? That’s debatable. Crowd-polarizer? That’s more like it. The filmmaker has made a name for himself by releasing films that push the boundaries of violence and sexuality, often mixing them together. This results in projects that lead to furious debates on social media and between cinephiles all across the world.
READ MORE: Lars Von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built’ Is Repulsive, Toxic Trash [Cannes Review]
Von Trier backs up his decisions to show shocking imagery because of one simple philosophy – fuck censorship. “I always thought that everything that can be thought or done should be shown,” Mr. von Trier said. “Because why not?”
He continued, “…in principle, I mean, also if it was against the law because I’m very much against censorship and I’m very much against political correctness.”
As seen in the reaction to his most recent film, “The House That Jack Built,” von Trier basically created a film that is almost tailor-made to offend. The interviewer proceeded to ask why the filmmaker cares what people think. Instead of giving an answer, he gave an example, saying, “In Germany, of course, it’s against the law to be a Nazi. [In Denmark,] We have a poor little Nazi party that everybody can see is no threat to anybody and are just a bunch of nutheads running around. [It would be] much more problematic if you had a law against [being a Nazi].”
READ MORE: Lars Von Trier Says ‘Jack’ Reception Was “Just About Right” And Made Him “Very Relaxed”
Ultimately, what it comes down to is that von Trier just doesn’t want anyone, be it a person or a government, telling him what to say, let alone pass a law against any sort of speech.
“It’s a bad thing for democracy every time you say, ‘You can’t say Negro,’ you know,” he said. “It’s a wrong way to go about it. Of course you wouldn’t say something to people who don’t want to hear stuff. But to make it a law is I think wrong and not practical.”
“The House That Jack Built” debuted at Cannes but will be released in US theaters this fall through IFC films.