For 99.9% of filmmakers, having 100 people or so walk out of your world premiere, while simultaneously trashing the film on social media, might be a bit of a humiliating experience. Luckily, when that happened at Cannes this year, the filmmaker was Lars von Trier. And as film fans know, von Trier is most definitely in the 0.1% of filmmakers.
Since the now-infamous premiere of “The House That Jack Built,” Lars von Trier has remained pretty silent. While thinkpieces are being written about his latest film and critics call it the worst thing to ever be shown at the festival, the filmmaker has been staying out of the press. Well, until now.
READ MORE: Lars Von Trier’s ‘House That Jack Built’ Reactions: Disgust, Loathing & Walkouts
In an interview with Cineuropa, the controversial director finally talks about the reception that ‘Jack’ has been getting and how he feels about his return to the film festival that famously “banned” him seven years ago.
When asked about the critical reaction to his latest film, the director unsurprisingly seems unaffected. “Which made me very relaxed. It’s quite important not to be loved by everybody, because then you’ve failed. I’m not sure if they hated it enough, though. If it gets too popular, I’ll have a problem. But the reception seemed just about right, I think,” said von Trier. “In any case, this one was a pleasure to write. I don’t know too much about serial killers, but I do know a bit about psychopaths. And I’ve never killed anyone myself… If I do, it will probably be a journalist.”
The Danish filmmaker was then asked about his return to Cannes. Back in 2011, after he premiered “Melancholia,” von Trier infamously went on a bit of a tangent, with comments that were sympathetic to Hitler and Nazis. Needless to say, the public was not amused. He was subsequently banned from the festival until this year.
READ MORE: Lars Von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built’ Is Repulsive, Toxic Trash [Cannes Review]
So, how does the director feel about his return to the most prestigious film festival in the world? “Good; I feel welcome. The reception when I entered the cinema yesterday was very warm. It’s also a bit nice being out of competition,” explained von Trier.
He goes on to talk about how festival boss Thierry Fremaux was instrumental in bringing von Trier back, as was heavily rumored. However, that invitation came with a stipulation. “They made it very clear that I would not be in competition this time around, as a little piece of remaining punishment for me. Thierry Fremaux has been working hard for me – for some reason, it was difficult to remove the persona non grata thing, very difficult,” he continued.
The seven-year banishment has been ultimately humbling for von Trier. The director has been very open in recent years about his issues with alcoholism. And in the interview, he opens up about how being out of Cannes for an extended period of time has affected him.
“I think I’m more humble these days. I’ve been through quite a big program in order to deal with my alcohol problem, where you learn how to see things more ‘carpe diem,’ to seize the moment. But here at Cannes, it’s impossible not to drink, so I’m taking a little holiday from the program at the moment. I don’t take Antabus, because if I get a really big anxiety attack, the only thing that works is alcohol,” says von Trier.
So, what’s next for the controversial director, since ‘Jack’ has been unleashed on the world? As we’ve reported before, von Trier is moving on to a new project called “Etudes,” which was initially supposed to be a series of 10 short films. However, he says that now the project has grown to “36 ten-minute films.”
We’re sure that as the festival comes to a close, there’ll be more von Trier gold coming soon.