Denmark’s Filmmaking Enfant Terrible, Lars von Trier, Earns Career Retrospective in Korea

Famously press shy, but often going an extra mile in order to shock, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier has been a mischievous and frustrating spirit who tormented arthouse audiences as much as he teased them. But the provocateur-in-chief is now too established to still be considered an enfant terrible.

Von Trier’s 40 years in the film business are now to be celebrated by South Korea’s leading cinema chain CJ-CGV in a two-week retrospective that kicks off on July 10.

The multiplex giant is dedicating 15 of its art-house screens nationwide to playing 12 von Trier titles, including his debut feature, 1984-release “The Elements of Crime.” The film was part of his so-called “trauma trilogy” and was followed by “Epidemic” and “Europa.”

The showcase will continue with his 1996 Cannes Grand Jury prize-winner “Breaking the Waves” and “Idiots,” an emblem of his Dogma 95 back-to-basics filmmaking manifesto, and “Dancer in the Dark,” which won von Trier the Palme d’Or at Cannes and earned Icelandic pop star Bjork the best actress award.

The director’s “depression trilogy” of 2009 “Antichrist,” 2011 “Melancholia” and “Nymphomaniac Director’s Cut” (two films in one) round out the event.

“Lars von Trier has brought fresh shocks with his controversial works [..] which he has completed with a keen eye and a critical spirit towards modern society,” said CJ-CGV’s head of content programming Jeon Jung-hyun. The director was declared a persona non grata by the same Cannes festival after jokingly declaring himself a Nazi at a press conference for “Melancholia.”

The chain has previously created mini-festivals of other European and Asian auteurs, including: Wong Kar-wai, Christian Petzold, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Ozu Yasujiro and Eric Rohmer, as well as Korea’s homegrown directing giants Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho.

Von Trier will not attend the tribute in person, a CJ-CGV spokesman told Variety. The shock-jock is known to be scared of air travel.