I'm not sure if Lars von Trier's new film, The Boss of it All, is intended to follow strict Dogme dogma, but it doesn't seem to. The very first thing we see is the director himself, rising up on a camera dolly outside of the office building where the action will take place, introducing the film to the audience and giving us an overview of what we're about to see. That would seem to be a violation of both rule number six, discouraging superficiality, and rule number ten, advising against crediting the director. Whatever the philosophy, though, the film is a success, a refreshing change from the ponderous 'Grace trilogy' of which the third part, Wasington, has apparently been shelved pending either a script rewrite or Nicole Kidman's recommitment to the main role. With The Boss of it All, von Trier turns his attention back to his own side of the Atlantic and finds his faith in humanity just as lacking, and his comic timing as sharp as its ever been. The Danish subtitles do nothing to slow down the laughs.

We begin inside the office building, with a non-disclosure agreement being signed between two men, one a smiling corporate suit, Ravn (Peter Gantzler) and the other an actor, Kristoffer, (Jens Albinus) who is clearly down on his luck. It turns out that Ravn wants to hire Kristoffer to play the titular 'boss of it all' -- the fictional head of the company of which Ravn is a director. Up until now, Ravn has been telling his increasingly disgruntled employees that the real decision maker of the company -- the guy they should be angry at, instead of him -- is this 'boss' who is running things from far away in the U.S. Now Ravn is on the verge of selling his company for a big profit, but the buyer understandably insists on meeting this much talked-about 'boss' and having him show up to sign the papers himself. The buyer is a bitter, stone-faced Icelander, while Kristoffer is a blubbery Danish softy who, owing to his profession, is given to long-winded speeches, as opposed to getting down to business.

Could Lars von Trier's filmmaking career be over? Earlier this year, the director was hospitalized for depression, and he is still suffering from it -- enough that it is affecting his work. He told the newspaper Politiken that he can't make a film while he's so depressed, and he's unsure if he will be able to start work on his next project, the horror film Antichrist, as planned. He didn't exactly say that he'd never make another film, but he does seem pretty worried. He told the paper that normally he is thinking about at least three projects in his head at one time, but right now he can't even focus on one. According to the award-winning filmmaker, depression has left him, "like a blank sheet of paper."

While this might be good news for some people, it has me terribly upset. Von Trier may not be the most appealing filmmaker, but at least he keeps things interesting. He really needs to keep working, if only to finish the "America the Beautiful" trilogy, which so far consists of Dogville and Manderlay and is supposed to end with a film called Wasington. I have to say that I'm actually surprised that anything, even depression, could bring von Trier away from making films. After all, this is the man who said that film should be like a rock in your shoe. I think that he meant this for himself as much as for the audience, because he always seems to be challenging himself with each new project. I would have thought that depression could actually drive his work in the way that it has motivated other artists throughout history. But if not, I really hope that he gets well soon. Von Trier's latest film, The Boss of it All, is scheduled to open in the U.S. next week.

Lars Von Trier seems to have a large tree in his back yard filled with fantastical film ideas, elements and techniques. I can almost see him grabbing his morning coffee, biting into a piece of toast, and seeing where his morning climb would take him. Sometimes he grabs onto a musical branch or maybe a sparse set branch, but recently, he found one hell of a comedic branch that flung him to some Automavision and Lookey branches. All of these techniques falling into a dark comedy might just make it the most creatively-fuelled comedy of recent years.

If you're wondering if he could pull off funny, a trailer has finally arrived online. Sure, for English-speaking audiences it only has half the impact, but it looks like The Boss of it All might just be a lot of fun. There's some sort of height-changing desk that throws in some weird hijinks, awkward, half-dressed moments, and a ride on a merry-go-round by grown men. If you're looking for a familiar face, you might recognize Iben Hjejle, who played John Cusack's love interest in High Fidelity. As for his creative bits... the trailer includes a lot of short shots, so it's hard to tell how well his automated cameras worked (did he have a hell of a time in the editing room?). The trailer also seems to be free of Lookeys, so it doesn't look like anyone can get a head start on the game. Although the film is now out in Denmark, US audiences will have to wait for its limited release on May 9. If anyone has viewed the film in Denmark, I'd love to hear how it is, if there are Lookeys, and just what in the hell does a Lookey look like?

[via Twitch]

Unlike many of the masses, I like Lars von Trier. The Kingdom was the first thing I saw. Walking through an indie video store, I spotted the DVD on the back table, and the clerk somehow convinced me to buy it. That led me to see Dogville, which I loved, and Dear Wendy, which I adore. While his works can be strange and off-putting, I see them each as kind of like a political fable rife with fantastical elements in a more real and modern package. If there's anything that von Trier is, it's unique.

I'm not sure if I'm aboard his latest quirky vision. Instead of raising eyebrows with his content, he's decided to add a game element to his films, because he wants the audience to be a more active participant in the movie-going experience -- maybe the man's been reading a little too much Marshall McLuhan. The interactive element -- called "Lookey" -- is a basic mind game where the screened film is a game board that includes "visual disturbances" that have nothing to do with the film itself. I guess that means if there was a shootout in a saloon, a fairy might pop up somewhere.

The first film to be "Lookeyed" is The Boss of it All. I'm hoping this means that he's only going to use this gaming scope in lighter fare, because it would be terribly awkward if the third Grace story finally gets made and has aliens landing in the background. The first lucky Dane to find all the hidden Lookeys will win over $5 grand and time as an extra on his upcoming horror film, Anti-Christ. What's next, a choose-your-own-adventure film?

The typically maverick filmmaker Lars von Trier is entering more common territory. Following the premiere of his latest "automavision" film, The Boss of it All, at the Copenhagen International Film Festival last Thursday, he announced plans to make a horror film called Antichrist. He didn't give anything away in terms of the plot, but did mention an affinity for Asian films like The Ring and Dark Water. He also said that it would be in English, will feature three main characters, and is likely to begin shooting next summer if financing goes as planned. He added that, "anything can happen in a horror film," suggesting that nothing about the project is definite. According to the report by ScreenDaily, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen gave away too much plot info two years ago, prompting von Trier to completely rewrite the script and keep most of the details a secret from him.

Von Trier dabbled in horror a bit with his miniseries The Kingdom, which was recently remade for U.S. television by Stephen King, but it was more weird than scary (I know people who disagree with me there), and in that sense it shares with Asian horror the lack of slashing and hacking that is common with the American brand. I would prefer to see what the filmmaker would do with killings more than with hauntings, the latter being too permitting of free-form, surreal randomness, but hopefully he'll have something interesting to add to the genre no matter what he has in store.

As for Wasington, the third installment of von Trier's "America the Beautiful" trilogy (Dogville; Manderlay), which he previously said wouldn't happen, the film is not completely dead yet. He told reporters,"I'm quite sure it will happen one day," but says that right now it is an avoidable project.

I am a huge fan and an even bigger defender of Lars Von Trier, the controversial filmmaker who has been the cause of much polarization among film critics since he began making films that take place in, but are not filmed in, the United States, earning him a reputation for being anti-American. Now I anticipate him being criticized for backing down. He is supposedly giving up on his "America the Beautiful" trilogy (Dogville and Manderlay were the first two installments), having said that the third in the series, Wasington, had too many script problems. Now, his latest, The Boss of it All, a comedy in the Dogme 95 style, is going to premiere at the less-prestigious Copenhagen International Film Festival instead of Cannes, where his films are usually unveiled.

Some people will probably say that Von Trier is hiding out from his attackers, but I don't imagine that he would ever, ever let his critics affect him in such a way. As far as Wasington goes, I assume he is probably bored with the concept and has realized he doesn't need anything more to say in its context. The festival thing could simply be his recognition that Denmark is his home and he has nothing to prove by being in the spotlight of Cannes once again. Besides, if the film is finished now, why wait until May to screen it? Copenhagen began yesterday and runs until October 1st.