Danish director Lars von Trier’s work has been known to sharply divide audience opinions and his latest film, The House That Jack Built, did exactly that when it premiered at Cannes yesterday. Screening out of competition, the film, about a serial killer played by Matt Dillon, saw walkouts that numbered anywhere between 100 and half of the 2,400-seat Grand Théâtre Lumière audience depending on estimates. Those who did stay gave the film a ten-minute standing ovation.
The House That Jack Built was a hot ticket among festival attendees given that it was the director’s first appearance at Cannes since his infamous 2011 statement at the festival, allegedly in jest, that he identified as a Nazi. This lead Cannes’s officials to ban von Trier from the festival for one year.
The film comes to Cannes after a reportedly rocky production last year. Von Tier himself stated that he was “full of anxieties and alcohol” while shooting commenced in Denmark and Sweden. Also, in December of last year, nine women put forth allegations that they were subjected to sexual harassment and bullying while working for von Trier’s production company Zentropa. Many of these accusations were aimed at House That Jack Built producer and Zentropa co-founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen. The Danish Working Environment Authority investigated but concluded that there were enough changes made to the company culture to allow them to continue operations.
The House That Jack Built, which co-stars Riley Keough and Uma Thurman, is set for a US release later this fall.
Many critics and attendees took to social media to express their feelings about the film –
I’ve never seen anything like this at a film festival. More than 100 people have walked out of Lars von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built,’ which depicts the mutilation of women and children. “It’s disgusting,” one woman said on her way out. #Cannes2018 pic.twitter.com/GsBGCoyHEG
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 14, 2018
Lars von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built’ was one of the most unpleasant movie-going experiences of my life. #Cannes2018
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 14, 2018
I mean it's a Lars von Trier movie what were they expecting? https://t.co/kK7e2HRJhy
— sam (@decarboxy) May 14, 2018
Sadistic murder porn that inspired more than a few walkouts. But such is usually Von Trier’s MO #cannes2018 #TheHouseThatJackBuilt
— Andrea Mandell (@AndreaMandell) May 14, 2018
Just left Lars Von Trier's The House that Jack Built.
Gross. Pretentious. Vomitive. Torturous. Pathetic. #Cannes2018— The Oscar Predictor (@OscarPredictor) May 14, 2018
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT: another trip through the abattoir of Lars von Trier’s anxieties, this one a damning self-critique of / backhanded apology for the compulsive violence of artistic creation. the ending is a scorcher. very sorry to say that I loved this. #Cannes2018
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) May 15, 2018
