I saw this movie at the Angelika Film Center (when it was called Zentropa) a few months before my freshman year at NYU. I haven’t seen it since, but it’s amazing what I remembered and what I didn’t.
I remembered all the formal elements: the mix of color and B&W, the use of rear projection, Max von Sydow’s voice over. I only vaguely remembered the story and – watching it now and knowing what a prick von Trier is – I can’t help but interpret it, a bit, as a bit of Fascist apology. But that’s just what he wants me to think.
The mission statement was to marry Hitchcock to Tarkovsky and that is done in spades. It’s also a fairly neat yarn with some good performances (and some comedy, to boot.)
Who’d’a thunk it at the time, but this remains something of a milestone.
