This movie feels like pure self-harm. I cried for two hours while watching it, and I cried for two hours after it ended. Not a single good thing happens. The film just piles misery on top of misery, hoping the weight alone will break you. But it doesn’t feel grounded, it doesn’t feel authentic, it feels cheap. After a while, you’re not watching a story anymore, you’re just waiting for the next awful thing to happen. It reminded me of cheap soap operas (worst comparison ever, I know) where someone is constantly being cheated on, getting a secret illness, or making unnecessary “sacrifices” to protect their loved ones. Except here, von Trier packages that same manipulation as high art. Björk’s performance is devastating, but the story around her is merciless to the point of sadism. It doesn’t feel like tragedy, it feels like punishment. And I couldn’t get past the selfishness of her choice to have a child she could neither afford nor give a good life to. That wasn’t sacrifice to me. It’s a film I’ll never forget, but not one I can respect.
Was all that pain necessary, or was it just cruelty paraded as depth?
This movie feels like pure self-harm. I cried for two hours while watching it, and I cried for two hours after it ended. Not a single good thing happens. The film just piles misery on top of misery, hoping the weight alone will break you. But it doesn’t feel grounded, it doesn’t feel authentic, it feels cheap. After a while, you’re not watching a story anymore, you’re just waiting for the next awful thing to happen. It reminded me of cheap soap operas (worst comparison ever, I know) where someone is constantly being cheated on, getting a secret illness, or making unnecessary “sacrifices” to protect their loved ones. Except here, von Trier packages that same manipulation as high art. Björk’s performance is devastating, but the story around her is merciless to the point of sadism. It doesn’t feel like tragedy, it feels like punishment. And I couldn’t get past the selfishness of her choice to have a child she could neither afford nor give a good life to. That wasn’t sacrifice to me. It’s a film I’ll never forget, but not one I can respect.
Was all that pain necessary, or was it just cruelty paraded as depth?
