The House That Jack Built

I believe Heaven and Hell are one and the same. The soul belongs to Heaven and the body to HellLARS VON TIER RANKED THE FATHER THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT I feel like this is just Lars von Trier's autobiography. Anyway, this is probably his most fucked-up movie, but I think I lowkey understand why. Everything in this movie—the themes, characters, symbols, art, story—toned down, really leads to the chaos and fucked-up things in it. There’s A LOT of ways to talk about this movie, just like any Lars von Trier film. I think this movie is genius but really hard to even describe it. This is like, you know, if you asked a serial killer, like idk Ted Bundy, to talk and show for 160 minutes about how amazing they are. Jack in here is always trying to justify the things he does as "art," comparing it to paintings and movies, etc. It’s inside the mind of a killer, basically, where Jack provides us an in-depth "ending explained" analysis on what his intentions are philosophically and artistically. The movie uses hell itself to kind of criticize itself and Jack's philosophy. This movie was made after that whole controversy of Lars and Nazis and stuff. I honestly think that, in a way, Lars is kinda mocking himself with this one. I don't really see this movie as a serious, super-violent movie, and I don't think Lars wanted the WHOLE theme of the movie to be that. It's a satirical dark comedy, not only about what people perceive Lars as, but art itself and the way people perceive it. It challenges those pretentious film people that love to talk a lot (me). He poses the idea that maybe the artist might have a smart theme to pose, or they just did this because it's cool, and the audience is the one trying to give something meaning for shit that they do. He’s making fun of me, bro, I like that. That’s why, for me, this movie doesn't really have much hard themes to understand because Jack is analyzing his own work to filth and explaining to the audience everything himself. In movies, there is always this open stuff that the artist leaves for interpretation, but since we are seeing this through Jack's perspective and he is a psychopath—this obsessed person with OCD that pays attention to every little detail, has this big ass ego, and is controlling and very persuasive and manipulative—he won't let us have any perspective on the art he is making. But then we have ourselves in this as the character of Virgil. He is us. He has always been watching, but Jack couldn't watch him. He is a film critic (kinda), and he thinks that Jack's story is just stupid and that he is so full of himself. In him, Lars mocks those "sigma male Andrew Tate alphas." (I know this sounds insane, but hear me out.) Virgil pointed out that Jack in his stories always perceived the females of his story as stupid and easily manipulative. They have no knowledge and always make the men the culprit because Jack believes he is so charming and so "good" at what he does that the females always fell for him, and Virgil makes fun of him. The movie itself makes Jack a joke rather than this serious serial killer, and he tries to justify his actions. I noticed this when I was searching the paintings in the movie and that, in the first victim, Uma Thurman is a basic cliche that could have every opportunity to escape. But for Jack, he is such this macho, magnetic man that she simply couldn't go, and that SHE was the one that provoked Jack into killing her. Second one, kinda the same thing. He is so charming and smart, and this alpha incel that he easily just talks his way into that woman’s house to kill her. In HIS mind, he is a hero. I think the violence in this movie that gets progressively worse is helping in the theme because everything is just played out so casually, because this is through his eyes, and in his eyes, this is a normal day in his life. This is a movie about the mind of an egocentric psychopath that can't admit he is wrong, that believes he is a talented, troubled artist smarter than everyone else. The ending is the best thing in this world; I loved it. His narcissistic, arrogant behavior bites him in his ass. I don’t think Virgil took him to there to show him the pit of hell because he deserved it. Virgil knew exactly what he would do, so what better punishment for a person that believes he is always right in his choices than to make him do a choice that makes him fall to the pits of hell? And his attempts to build a house is also about society—because every Lars movie always is—it’s about the ruthless things we do for our desire to succeed, about kind of finding meaning in our chaotic, stupid, indifferent life. Jack tried to find a meaning in him; he wanted to be something SO badly. But that last house he built is when he finally let go and "let his art speak for itself," and that chase for meaning to be something, combined with his narcissistic behaviors, led him to eternal damnation. He was sure that he had life figured out, "the quote I wrote," but for me, he was wrong. And that’s the funny part of the movie, proving him wrong one last time that his soul and body both belong to hell for all eternity. Overall. Probably his most messed-up film but such a complex masterpiece whefe everything in it—characters, themes, symbols—leads to chaos. It’s kinda like if a narsistic egocentrical serial killer got 160 minutes to show how amazing they think they are patrick bateman basically but ended up always mocking themselves cause Jack tries to justify his kills as "art," while the movie mocks itself and his philosophy. The ending is perfect—Jack's arrogance leads him straight to hell. It's a wild, chaotic ride through a twisted mind, and honestly, it’s kinda genius.