Lars von Trier’s latest film “The House That Jack Built” just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival — and audiences were walking out in droves, according to several critics on the scene. One even said the director had “gone too far this time.”
“Just left Lars Von Trier’s The House that Jack Built. Gross. Pretentious. Vomitive. Torturous. Pathetic,” wrote one critic.
“People are walking out of the new Lars Von Trier movie,” tweeted another. “Like they didn’t know exactly what they were getting into.”
“Walked out on LarsvonTrier [sic]. Vile movie. Should not have been made. Actors culpable,” tweeted another.
Some rushed to the defense of the filmmaker, writing, “I mean, it’s a Lars von Trier movie, what were they expecting?” and “can we talk about the cluelessness of the Cannes audience expecting to be mildly entertained by a lars von trier film about a serial killer lmao.”
Much has been made of von Trier’s return after being declared persona non grata by the festival in 2011. Ahead of his Monday night premiere, IFC Films dropped a teaser trailer for the Matt Dillon film. The ’80s heartthrob appears to be a haphazard serial killer in the throes of an existential crisis. Uma Thurman and Riley Keough make Hitchcockian blonde cameos as von Trier seems to be commenting on his own body of work through Dillon’s character.
In the official Cannes program, a warning appears next to the film’s schedule times: “Certain scenes are likely to offend the sensitivity of the spectators.”
See reactions below.
Walked out on LarsvonTrier . Vile movie. Should not have been made. Actors culpable
— Showbiz 411 (@showbiz411) May 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/OscarPredictor/status/996152868590714881
Not surprised. Lars has gone too far this time. Guess he will be banned again lol.
Btw, if this is true, this is heavily hypocritical of Uma Thurman. https://t.co/eaq6rVm5ku
— Matt Samet (@MattSametEsq) May 14, 2018
People are walking out of the new Lars Von Trier movie. Like they didn't know exactly what they were getting into.
— Brian (@fuelbot) May 14, 2018
why can’t Lars von Trier just make a normal fcking movie for once. pushing limits is one thing but he’s just a complete sadist expressing his narcissism and contempt for the world through his art.
— forgetter of things ? (@skywlkr_luked) May 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/andrewshaigh/status/996154998613577735
https://twitter.com/sexykropotkin/status/996158075743555585
I’ve never seen anything like this at a film festival. More than 100 people have walked out of Lars von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built,’ which depicts the mutilation of women and children. “It’s disgusting,” one woman said on her way out. #Cannes2018 pic.twitter.com/GsBGCoyHEG
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 14, 2018
I've just walked out of #LarsVonTrier premiere at #Cannes2018 because seeing children being shot and killed is not art or entertainment
— Charlie Angela (@CharlieAJ) May 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/kylebuchanan/status/996158672375083009