Every film directed by Lars von Trier is a paradox. The master's provocative works cause delight and shock at the same time. In an interview, director Lars von Trier confessed to his addiction to manipulating people. Unsurprisingly, his income level is of interest.
Nobody can call Lars von Trier's paintings ordinary. The director also admitted that the film is meaningless for him, if it does not evoke emotions. He is capable of embodying anything in art, making any phenomena and things an object of creativity. At the same time, the famous master does not intend to be frank about the size of his earnings. He is quite enough to ensure the desired standard of living.
The path to glory
The biography of the future master began in 1956 in Copenhagen. The boy was born on April 30 in a family of civil servants. The parents raised the child in the spirit of complete freedom. As a result of this approach, the son left school. He found the discipline boring and therefore unacceptable. But Lars became an independent person very early.
He made his first film at the age of 11. It was a short cartoon. The camera was presented by the mother who supported her son, and the uncle, a well-known documentary filmmaker in the country, taught his nephew to edit tapes.
At 12, he made his acting debut in the film "Secret Summer". The teenager did not like the lesson, but the shooting technique captured the boy. The graduate decided to get an education at the capital's film school. The failure did not upset him: von Trier entered the association of film lovers "Filmgrupp-16" and became an editor at the country's film fund.
Confession
In the late nineties, Lars presented two short films, Blessed Martha and The Gardener, which later secured his enrollment in film school. His first provocation was a commercial for the Ekstra Bladet tabloid. While working in the film fund, the young man decided, following the example of David Bowie, to surround himself with myths. He added the prefix "von" to the surname, hinting at an aristocratic origin.
In 1983 Lars presented his graduation project. Critics noted the work, giving the "Liberation Pictures" in 1984 the main prize of the festival in Munich. The feature film Element of Crime was awarded at three festivals at once. Von Trier acted in the film not only as a director, but also as a screenwriter, cameraman and actor.
The projects "Europe" and "Epidemic" brought fame to the master. They put together a trilogy with The Element. Filmed in various styles, the films do not have a common plot, they are connected by the theme of the disaster that has swept Europe, similar to the apocalypse.
The movie Breaking the Waves became a success. At the Cannes festival, the tape won the Grand Prix of the jury. In the mid-nineties, the director gained popularity. His "Kingdom" was called the European answer to "Twin Peaks". The audience liked the series so much that the master soon presented a film version.
Together with Thomas Winterberg, the Dane wrote "Dogma 95". The document called for breaking the fashionable traditions of cinema in the form of sky-high budgets and special effects, not inviting star performers and not offering them fabulous fees. The main authors called the semantic load of the projects.
New plans
The document called for shooting black and white films in nature with a hand-held camera. The music in them should not have existed separately from the image, and the director's name in the credits should not have existed.
As support for the manifesto, the picture "Idiots" was released. The resonance of the controversial tape caused considerable. The Cannes Film Festival left the film without awards, but this outcome left the master indifferent. At his studio "Zentropa" he started producing provocative projects.
Dancer in the Dark brought the director new recognition. Together with "Idiots", "Breaking the Waves", the picture formed the trilogy "Heart of Gold". Singer Bjork, who played the main role, received a prize. In the middle of the 2000s, the shooting of the new masterpiece "USA - the Land of Opportunities" began.
In the 2006 comedy project "The Biggest Boss", the director skillfully combined the tragic absurdity with the comedy beginning.
2009 was marked by a new high-profile project "Antichrist". The film received an anti-award and audience recognition. Again, von Trier proved his ability to shock. After the director's revelations, he achieved recognition as persona non grata in Cannes, which he is very proud of.
Genius and shocking
The theme of the end of the world, beloved by the master, sounded again in the film "Melancholy" in 2011. His erotic drama "Nymphomaniac" caused a lot of noise in 2013. In an incomprehensible way, it combines both amazing frankness and real art.
The critics called the masters' signature method the absence of pity for anyone, the dialogue of order and chaos, masculine and feminine principles. Therefore, the full version of the picture was not recommended for viewing. Both films together in Antichrist made up the "Trilogy of Depression."
Filmed in a recognizable style, the film "The House That Jack Built" is both shocking and makes us talk again about the genius of the master. He took up art performance. It was composed by the names of the master's films and diamonds. The exhibition Melancholia: The Diamond was held in Antwerp in February 2019.
Trier's new project is called Etudes. It is composed of a dozen short films. Lars admitted that he decided to shoot only such tapes, as he was exhausted after working on "Home …".
In his personal life, the master is as unpredictable as in his career. His first wife was a colleague, director of films for children, Cecilia Holbeck. In the marriage, two daughters appeared, Selma and Agnes. In 1996, Lars married Bente Frege, fathering two twin sons, Benjamin and Ludwig.
The family broke up at the beginning of 2016. The director's new relationship has been going on since 2017, but he does not disclose the name of the chosen one to anyone.
