But I have no trouble believing that Antichrist is no Cries and Whispers. I loathe von Trier. Breaking The Waves is one for my all-time "acclaimed films you could barely make it through" list. I have a close friend (hey, Brandon, hope you're not reading) who likes his stuff so much that he refers to him as "Lars" "Lars has a new one coming out." "I saw an interview with Lars." Ugh. No referring to a director by first name. That's barely acceptable with Woody Allen — BARELY — or if you're discussing the Coens (et al) and trying to differentiate between brothers, otherwise intolerable. No matter how well known the person is, or how unusual the first name, it sounds so smarmy. "Orson would have shot it differently." "Ingmar did it in a more profound way." "I prefer Alfred's pre-Hollywood work." I think not.

@La Bella Donna–I'm waiting for that to "Morgans" to hit video for those very two reasons. (My dream movie has both Sam Elliott and Sean Connery in it. Please, someone write a kick@ss screenplay for them!)

This is something that annoys me immensely: how come that this is so popular among (Scandinavian?) (male) directors (and authors)? My theory is that it all started with Bergman, if he can show a woman cutting herself with a piece of glass at the dining table, everybody should take after him. (I think it was in Cries and Whispers) I once made a list, it was not very long, but quite depressing anyway. Is it a common theme in other areas too? (Scandinavian literature, theatre and film being my forte.)

Regarding how much we punish ourselves/push ourselves you say:
"Von Trier apparently feels that this is easier to accomplish narratively with female characters; it's not the most rigorous route, but I don't find it offensive. Your mileage there will vary."

Interesting, and I'd tend to agree, if because I think women do have a natural tendency to punish themselves and beat themselves up (I know I'm not making a revolutionary statement here), although not necessarily the way Von Trier appears to be exploring (yeeks). I personally don't know much about Von Trier and this film DOES NOT interest me, but I still enjoyed your review.

Second:

I am starting to love "cut the rebop," and not just because I finally remembered it's from "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Third:

OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE "Pretentionstein"!!!!

Fourth:

I once saw Willem Dafoe walking up Broadway (SoHo area). He was smiling to himself and looked like a pretty cheerful guy. (Not quite as cheerful as Jeremy Irons, who was – I kid you not – practically prancing down 5th Avenue, shaking hands with people at random and generally being hysterically charming, but cheerful nontheless.)

"Pretentionstein"= Awesome.

Sam. Elliott.

Whaddaya mean, that's not two reasons? It most certainly is.

Maybe if I just wait until the DVD hits the $2 bin … that way I can just go straight to the Sam Elliott scenes ….

J. Hoberman Bunting III: When You Need MORE Than One Tooth For Your Nap-O-Tron!

Also, I will post the link unedited, for amusement value: http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2009/12/17/did_you_hear_about_the_morgans_sucking/index.html