P2PON Recommends – “Antichrist”

P2P & Films

Antichrist (2009)

Today we inaugurate a brand new section on our site – “P2POn recommends” dedicated to movie fans everywhere. Each week we’ll be presenting a film and providing you with a link where you can download it and watch it in good quality.

While I can only call myself a simple movie lover (or if I were pretentious – cinephile) just like many of you, our readers out there, I take great joy in remembering the times when someone in the neighborhood had grabbed a video tape with a movie we all had been desperately waiting to see – from hand to hand, that was what p2p looked liked back then. Yeap, peer-to-peer has existed long before the digital phenomenon as we know it today was even in sight. To those days and those friends with whom I’ve “file-shared” a lot back in the days I dedicate this section and it was this remembrance that inspired it altogether.

At this time we are not exactly sure whether to focus exclusively on recent releases or dig up some classics as well. We’ll figure it out in due course.

So, we’ll kick off pretty strongly with one of the most controversial films of all times, and coming from one of the most controversial directors of all times that’s not such a surprise. For those of you who are familiar with Lars von Trier’s works no further introduction is necessary; for the rest of you …well, I think the movies will speak for themselves – just try ‘The Golden Heart’ trilogy which includes what many call already classic movies by the Danish director – Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998) and Dancer in the Dark (2000) or Dogville (2003, part one of the "USA: Land of Opportunity" trilogy).

It’s likely that we’ll lose a number of movie aficionados right from the start with “Antichrist” but this is just one risk we are taking (and who would expect to please everyone, anyway?). However, even if you hate it, you must give von Trier credit for something in this movie – maybe for going with such an inspired, haunting soundtrack, maybe for collaborating with director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle (with whom he also worked on ‘Dogville’ and ‘Manderlay’), maybe for being subtle when obvious was expected and vice versa, or maybe just for daring to make this film in the first place. Anyway, this film is worth watching – it offers what good filmmaking is supposed to: emotion, persuasion, and a long-lasting taste.

The film can enrapture you from the first moment or bore or horripilate you from the first scene– this is where the subjectivity steps in. Bear in mind that it’s supported by only two actors – Willelm Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Note: if you expect a very pleasant and watchable experience or just another popcorn-horror flick than definitely go with something else ‘cause you’ll be disappointed. This is not for the faint-hearted, stupid morons who only get a kick out of seeing something blown (remember – this is the director who started an avant-garde filmmaking movement back in 1995 together with other Danish directors – Dogme 95 – which was a "Vow of Chastity" for cinematography going against trends and Hollywood ‘recipes’) or those who only want the ‘thrill’. Additional controversy added to the film was it being dedicated to the revered Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky.

"Antichrist" was called misogynist, sick, extreme, absurd, astonishing – you take your pick, but one must admit this is good unconventional cinematography anyhow.

Enjoy (with others)! …and…Oh, yeah, “Chaos reigns!”

Plot Summary for Antichrist (IMDb)

A couple lose their young son when he falls out the window while they have sex in the other room. The mother's grief consigns her to hospital, but her therapist husband brings her home intent on treating her depression himself. To confront her fears they go to stay at their remote cabin in the woods, "Eden", where something untold happened the previous summer. Told in four chapters with a prologue and epilogue, the film details acts of lustful cruelty as the man and woman unfold the darker side of nature outside and within.

Movie Data:
Genre: Drama | Horror
Director: Lars von Trier
Script: Lars von Trier
Countries of Origin: Denmark/Germany/France/Italy/Poland/Belgium
Year of Production: 2009
Running Time: 1h 44m
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: colour/black and white
Frame rate: 25.000 fps
Resolution: 24 bits

Important: (support film-making!) Go watch the movies you like in theaters, or buy the official DVDs when released.

DOWNLOAD ‘Antichrist’ (via The Pirate Bay)