Well, seems like in Cannes Film Festival they made up their mind after they labeled Lars von Trier “persona non grata” after a series of misunderstood jokes he made at the festival when he was presenting his movie Melancholia (2011). And they better, since the prestige of the festival is decreasing alarmingly in the last years. They could totally use the presence of an A-class filmmaker like the Danish director if they want to stay in the top of the European film festivals.
And what could be a better occasion than the world premiere his newest film The House That Jack Built (2018)? The movie, also written by Von Trier, is a drama horror thriller placed in American in the 1970s. It follows a highly intelligent man named Jack over a span of 12 years while the audience gets introduced to the murders that define his evolution as a serial killer. The audience can experience the story from Jack‘s point of view, while he postulates each murder is an artwork in itself. As the inevitable police intervention is drawing nearer, he is taking greater and greater risks in his attempt to create the ultimate artwork. Along the way, we experience Jack‘s descriptions of his personal condition, problems and thoughts through a recurring conversation with the unknown Verg. A grotesque mixture of sophistry mixed with an almost childlike self-pity and psychopathic explanations.
Matt Dillon stars incarnating Jack, while Verg is played by veteran Swiss actor Bruno Ganz. With them, Uma Thurman, Riley Keough, Jeremy Davies, Ed Speleers, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Gråbøl, David Bailie, Ji-tae Yu, Osy Ikhile and Marijana Jankovic complete the main cast.
The House That Jack Built (2018) is a dark and sinister story, yet presented through a philosophical and occasional humorous tale. It was originally announced as an eight-part miniseries in September 2014 when the full version of Nymphomaniac (2013) premiered at the Venice Film Festival, but in February 2016, Lars von Trier announced on his official Facebook page that it would be his next theatrical release.
The official Cannes 2018 teaser trailer is already out, a 24 seconds clip as creepy as it is to expect. Check it out here and you’ll see what I’m talking about:
