One of the least politically correct directors in Europe, Lars von Trier (Dogville, Manderlay), cemented this reputation by telling a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival this week that not only is he a Nazi but that he understands Hitler.
According to The Hollywood Reporter even the stars of his new film Melancholia, Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, looked aghast as Von Trier alternately shocked and amused the gathered media. However, by the end of the press conference it seemed as if no-one had taken his statements very seriously.
The Danish director qualified the Nazi / Hitler statement by saying that he wasn’t in favour of World War II and neither was he against Jews, not even fellow Danish filmmaker Suzanne Bier.
All this was sparked by a question about Von Trier’s Germanic roots.
