MovieChat Forums > De fem benspænd (2003) Discussion > Actually I was not afraid of Von Trier, ...

Actually I was not afraid of Von Trier, but of Leth !

posted 19 years ago by danijobi
5 replies | jump to latest

Of course the impression posted by several people here is perfectly correct: As much as I want to defend the man's work, pretty much every artistic collaborator of Von Trier (just ask Björk, Nicole Kidman, etc.) can confirm that he indeed is not the nicest person to be with on a personal level, to say the least.

But there is another side to it. Have you seen the similarly brillant "Mein liebster Feind"-Documentary about the relationsship of Director Werner Herzog and legendary actor Klaus Kinski? Kinski was always screaming on set, insulting people, even threatening them with violence. No one knew how Herzog could work with this guy. And then, in this documentary, Herzog very calmly and grinningly says that he tried several times to burn down Kinskis house and that he even threatened to kill Kinski and himself with a rifle on one occasion - "and as I said that of course he knew that I was absolutely serious about doing it"! There are interviews with native south american extras, who worked on a Kinski/Herzog-Movie and they say that they were not afraid of Kinski, as he was just like barking dog - but they were terribly afraid of Herzog, because he was always so quiet.
I had the same feeling while watching The Five Obstructions: Von Trier may be posing as the abuser and being unpolite and all that - but I was genuinely scared von Leth who not only (as Von Trier correctly states) is getting happier and happier in the process of being artisticaly tortured, but also remains so calm and good-natured in the midlle of all this, somehow disconnected.

Was that just me or had anybody a similar experience?

[–] RonnieCLarsen 19 years ago

What the h... are you talking about here??? "Von Trier may be posing as the abuser and being unpolite and all that"
Its an experiment they both are very interested in making. Trier did not hire Leth for this, they work together, not like boss and underling...

[–] mothboy88 16 years ago

no, he's right. There's something strange going on underneath the surface, if after being abused like Leth was, you don't say "f##k you, I'm done with this."

[–] Warhol_Superstar_no_5 14 years ago

What an unimaginative and unperceptive post to a great observation.

AT one point Lars even comments that the detachment Leth portrays on screen towards his subjects is in itself perverse.

[–] Robanjo78 13 years ago

Of course the impression posted by several people here is perfectly correct: As much as I want to defend the man's work, pretty much every artistic collaborator of Von Trier (just ask Björk, Nicole Kidman, etc.) can confirm that he indeed is not the nicest person to be with on a personal level, to say the least.

Show me one single quote from a collaborator of LVT that "can confirm that he indeed is not the nicest person to be with on a personal level, to say the least.".

For every quote you find ill throw in three that says the complete opposite.

[–] swaroberts 13 years ago

I met Leth at a documentary film festival and from what I can see he was just a nice laid-back guy. He said making the film with Von Trier was difficult but very enjoyable.

Of course he may be somewhat less laid back since the Haiti quake. I'd imagine everything he owned may have been wiped out in it.