Von Trier. Apology as sincere as rant
Photo: MCT
Drawing a line in Cannes
Op-ed: Cannes Festival’s decision to kick out Von Trier following Nazi quips noteworthy
The title of Lars von Trier's 1996 film "Breaking the Waves" likens its protagonist, slow-witted Scotswoman Bess McNeil, to a breakwater. Newly wed to a migrant worker who becomes paralyzed and bedridden due to a work accident, Bess digs her heels and stands firm as wave after wave of hardships crash upon her.
Her husband is demanding and ungrateful, and the community is callous. Over an exceptionally long running time, Von Trier flagellates Bess with ever increasing fervor and predictability, martyrizing her through an escalating series of self-sacrifices. It is a familiar Christian sermon praising deaf and blind devotion as a virtue. Bess' obsessive compulsion to appease an unworthy spouse is unrewarded in her life, and amounts to nothing but self-destruction, but she is sainted by the lens of Von Trier's camera.
Bad Taste
Lars Von Trier declared persona non-grata at festival despite apologizing for Hitler jokes, provocative comments which offended Jewish groups. 'I am of course very much for Jews. No, not too much because Israel is a pain in the ass,' he said earlier
A good flogging, we learn, redeems the most idiotic behavior. And the entertainment industry seems to have taken Von Trier's message on board, albeit with more leniency. It is always prepared to administer a stern slap on the wrist in the event that a celebrity might make a faux pas: A public apology is demanded.
On Wednesday, the Cannes Film Festival seemed to have seized an opportunity to demonstrate this principle. After Lars von Trier jokingly declared himself a Nazi and professed sympathy for Hitler, the event's administration issued a press release saying "The Festival de Cannes was disturbed about the statements" and apologizing on Von Trier's behalf. Crucially, the decision was made the next day to dispense with the repentance ritual and declare Von Trier a "persona non-grata" at the festival. The importance of the latter decision begs explication.
Expectedly, the incident sparked sensationalist coverage in the media. As noted by legions of fans scattering to defend Von Trier on the blogosphere, if any big name with a big mouth makes a rash, off-color jest about Jews, they quickly fall prey to anti-defamation talking heads. For this reason, it wouldn't be far-fetched to imagine Von Trier making a slip of the tongue, immediately realizing it would hit the headlines, and proceeding to stretch it into an entire Nazi rant – a serendipitous publicity stunt for his new movie.
Plain offensive
Von Trier was bound to retract his identification with the Nazis and Hitler, because the industry he works with was bound to demand no less. Indeed, he may not seriously believe a word of what he uttered, but far from excusing it this makes it all the more vile and wretched.It is not that there is a topic beyond the reach of good humor. On the contrary: Holocaust jokes, if duly sardonic or macabre, can be hilarious and innocent. But von Trier was neither deadpan nor farcical. He was just plain offensive, and his lack of seriousness was the equivalent of appending a "just kidding" disclaimer to Der Stürmer.
His statements went out to a Europe still rife with real, even violent anti-Semitic incidents, to a world where the numbered forearms of weak-hearted old men and women are still constant reminders of horrific atrocities, but where ignorance and denial conspire to chip away at this memory.
If Cannes had stopped at an apology, it would have dubiously "punished" Von Trier with even more free publicity. This would have enabled the behavior, effectively welcoming influential figures to cynically abuse the memory of modern genocides, to act blatantly racist or even to incite for the sake of drawing attention. This is why the festival did well to draw a line and set a precedent by ostracizing Von Trier.
As for Lars von Trier, whose apology sounded as sincere as the very rant being retracted, or as Bess McNeil's redemption through the torments that she very needlessly endures, the director would have done much better to apologize for "Dancer in the Dark" or "Antichrist."
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