Much like the song “Rednecks” by Randy Newman, Lars von Trier’s movie “Manderlay” is guaranteed to offend everyone. Many accuse Lars von Trier of being anti-American but I don’t really see it this way. I thought “Dogville” was just plain old misanthropic and “Manderlay,” although very allegorical, is more about power, guilt and frustration than about keeping the black man down. In fact, if you cut out the last 5 minutes, or even embedded those 5 minutes within the film instead of making it punctuation, this would hardly be a topic of conversation at all. And the only clear criticism von Trier is making is that there is a race problem in America. No shit. I don’t think the most adamant love-it-or-leave-it-I’ve-got-15-yellow-ribbon-magnets-on-my-SUV Amurrican would contest that fact. And I could whip up a nice arguement from the left condemning this movie as hardcore reactionary propaganda. Frankly, I have no idea what Lars von Trier’s “thesis” is, if I agree with it, or if he even has one. He is smart/sneaky/annoying enough to have it every way. And still get Danny Glover to play the role! Anyway, to compare it to “Dogville” — I think that “Dogville” is a weirder journey of a film and “Manderlay” is a more precise and better as a political/philosophical think piece. It is also shorter. (Nota bene: My appreciation of “Manderlay” may be inflated due to my current fealty to Denmark and all things Danish. God bless every one of those socialist, secular humanist, free speech-loving Danes.)
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Jordan Hoffman is a New York-based writer and film critic working for The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Thrillist, Times of Israel, NY Daily News and elsewhere.
He is the host of ENGAGE: The Official Star Trek Podcast, a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and challenges you to a game of backgammon.