Je veux ton amour et je veux ta revanche.
I know there are people on my f-list who enjoy horror movies, people who love deep movies, and people who love both, so I feel like I have to ask:
Should I watch Lars von Trier's Antichrist?
These are the things that concern me:
+ I'm writing a two-page essay comparing the cinematography of a film to a famous painting, and I'd really love to contrast Antichrist's shots with Edvard Munch's Ashes.
+ The cinematography is incredibly drool-worthy, but there is the imagery of spontaneously-aborted fetuses, sexual assault, and the infamous clitorectomy.
+ When I watch the trailer, I start hyperventilating and occasionally crying because it unnerves me so much.
+ Michael Phillips says the film pushes it way past the "torture porn" genre and into the most explicit and pornographic violence he's seen on film. Granted, I doubt he's seen Cannibal Holocaust, but still. He watches movies for a living. He's seen a lot.
I feel like I've read enough about the film- and Lars von Trier's ideas about women and sex- that I could write a short paper about how it relates to the painting, but I feel a little shitty doing that. I actually care about this class, and I think a part of me will always be curious if I don't watch Antichrist, though I'm totally scared shitless of seeing the violence. I've thought about just watching the first half, which Phillips said is the best filmmaking of von Trier's career, but I don't even know. Usually, somebody on IMDb will do an extensive run-down of all the violence, so I know when to look away at least, but the film's only been out a short while in indie cinemas, so I don't have that to hide behind.
So, horror and film fans, what should I do?
Should I watch Lars von Trier's Antichrist?
These are the things that concern me:
+ I'm writing a two-page essay comparing the cinematography of a film to a famous painting, and I'd really love to contrast Antichrist's shots with Edvard Munch's Ashes.
+ The cinematography is incredibly drool-worthy, but there is the imagery of spontaneously-aborted fetuses, sexual assault, and the infamous clitorectomy.
+ When I watch the trailer, I start hyperventilating and occasionally crying because it unnerves me so much.
+ Michael Phillips says the film pushes it way past the "torture porn" genre and into the most explicit and pornographic violence he's seen on film. Granted, I doubt he's seen Cannibal Holocaust, but still. He watches movies for a living. He's seen a lot.
I feel like I've read enough about the film- and Lars von Trier's ideas about women and sex- that I could write a short paper about how it relates to the painting, but I feel a little shitty doing that. I actually care about this class, and I think a part of me will always be curious if I don't watch Antichrist, though I'm totally scared shitless of seeing the violence. I've thought about just watching the first half, which Phillips said is the best filmmaking of von Trier's career, but I don't even know. Usually, somebody on IMDb will do an extensive run-down of all the violence, so I know when to look away at least, but the film's only been out a short while in indie cinemas, so I don't have that to hide behind.
So, horror and film fans, what should I do?