Opinion of Lars von Trier

[ingemann]

I don't like him or his movies, but I do admire him as a salesman. He can sell niche movies to a relative large audience, through his ability to make the movies controversial and creating controverses about his own person. He has been a gift to Danish cinema with his ability to make Danish movies respected among foreign consumers (even if it's among a niche segment).
 
As for the whole "Nazi controvers", which was the result of Lars von Trier answering a stupid and insulting question with sarcasm. Lars von Trier grew up with a Jewish father, but later found out his real father was his mother's boss in the social ministry Fritz Michael Hartmann, this had become public knowledge and some journalist asked Trier for his admiration for the Nazi aesthetic had anything to do with his German origin (the Hartmann family arrived in Denmark in 1762, Fritz had been part of the Danish resistance, Hartmann and Trier had not had any contact with each other). Funny how such a question got a very sarcastic answer. Of course in the end it just showed, no matter how stupid and rude journalist are, they win in the end.