| Lars von Trier Giving Assurances |
If Blu-Ray discs were like the LP's of my youth Lars von Trier's film "Melancholia" would be a puddle on the floor, completely worn out, scratched beyond all recognition from continually being played.
And all by my teenage son's hand.
It's interesting watching my Man/Child finally "discover" Wagner thru the works of a filmmaker. He has his friends over and promptly sits them down on the couch in his room and plays them his (and my) latest favorite moment in film--entirely built on Tristan--the beginning of von Trier's Melancholia (trailer). More likely than not, he's listening to Tristan and Isolde while gaming online or doing homework. All thanks to Lars.
As a family (sans the 12 year old) we're working thru the canon of von Trier's and while watching Antichrist, it finally occurred to me how close to melancholy I came in the past months. The emptiness (or 'truthfulness' depending on your viewpoint) of Romeo Castellucci's Parsifal and Lars' films is incredibly affecting. Both men have a gift for it, using stillness and precise movement. Both strong visual artists. Neither 'clutters' things and that is their genius. Both have investigated dark themes thru their art.I have to come to grips with it. The Castellucci Parsifal will be remounted in Bologna in 2013. There is more Wagner in my future.
I begin to wonder about the actors who appear in these films. How do they rebound from the experience of working in this type of setting? Much has been written about von Trier's Antichrist (highly recommended article here) and the setting of the shoot, Lars having just come out of an intense depression. There must be some self-protecting secret to getting thru a production a bit more healthfully than I did.
Fortunately, I can finally say I did.
Next up: (Not just) Surviving Regie Theater
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