Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Director Lars Von Trier Apologizes, Says He’s Not a Nazi

After causing a stir at the Cannes Film Festival this morning, Danish director Lars von Trier has issued an apology, clarifying that he is a weirdo — but not a Hitler-admiring weirdo.

The festival’s organizers also issued a press release, saying they were disturbed von Trier’s remarks — apparently poorly delivered jokes — that “I understand Hitler” and “I am a Nazi.”

The press release included von Trier’s apology, in which he wrote, “I am not anti-Semitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi.”

The famously eccentric von Trier, the winner of Cannes prizes in past years for films including “Dancer in the Dark” and “Breaking the Waves,” made today’s comments after being asked about his family’s German background. (The director himself was born in Denmark in 1956.)

“For a long time I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew. Then I met Susanne Bier and I wasn’t so happy,” he said, referring to the Danish-Jewish filmmaker who won an Oscar earlier this year for the Danish movie “In a Better World.”

“But then I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family was German. That also gave me pleasure. What can I say? I understand Hitler. I sympathize with him a bit.”

The director added, “I don’t mean I’m in favor of World War II, and I’m not against Jews — not even Susanne Bier. In fact, I’m very much in favor of them. All Jews. Well, Israel is a pain in the ass.”

Seeming to realize that he had strayed into uncomfortable territory, the non-Jewish filmmaker concluded, “How can I get out of this sentence? OK, I’m a Nazi.”

Von Trier’s comments came at a press conference for his latest film, “Melancholia.” The film’s stars were present, and were none too thrilled with their director, Deadline Hollywood reports. “Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg and the rest of the cast looked like they wanted to be anywhere but sitting next to von Trier,” the Web site noted.

“Antichrist,” von Trier’s 2009 film, earned boos — but also a best actress prize for Gainsbourg — at the 2009 Cannes festival. “Melancholia” received “very mild applause but … no boos,” Deadline said.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.