The Weird and Wonderful Lars von Trier Quiz

Answer: A book

The movie follows a detective who is trying to track down a murderer. To do this, he uses unorthdodox methods he finds in a book written by an older investigator. The book is called "The Element of Crime" and the methods the detective finds in it lead him deep into the psyche of the killer, resulting in a gripping psychological thriller.
"The Element of Crime" was released in Denmark in 1984, although it wasn't until 1987 that it was released in the US.

Answer: Udo Kier

"Epidemic" stars Lars Von Trier and Niels Vørsel as fictionalised versions of themselves, as they write and pitch a film script. However, the events in the script begin to manifest in real life. Udo Kier meets the two filmmakers in Germany where they discuss bombings of Germany in World War II.
Some element's of Udo's story are based on real events involving his mother and his birth.
Following this role, Udo has gone on to appear in most of von Trier's films. He is also well known for appearing in a wide range of international horror and exploitation movies.
Willem Dafoe, Jean-Marc Barr and Stellan Skarsgård have all appeared in several von Tier movies but none of these three were in "Epidemic".

Answer: Europa

"Europa" is the last film in the the "Europa Trilogy". It is also sometimes called the "E Trilogy" because all three of the films' titles start with the letter "E".
"Europa" follows a young American who goes to work in Germany following World War II, but inadvertently becomes involved in Nazism.
Though the film was released in Denmark and Germany in 1991, it was 1992 when it had its US and Australian releases.

Answer: Emily Watson

In "Breaking the Waves", Emily Watson plays Bess McNeill. The film follows her relationship with Jan (Stellan Skarsgård) and the complications that arise in their relationship (dealing with love, sex and religion).
Watson's part in the film kickstarted her career and brought her international acclaim. She went on to be nominated for another Oscar (for "Hilary and Jackie" in 1998) and several more BAFTA awards.
Katrin Cartlidge did appear in the movie as Dodo (Bess' sister-in-law), but her work on the film was not nominated for any major awards.
Helena Bonham Carter was originally going to play Bess but dropped out shortly before filming. Melanie Griffith was also considered for the role before it was given to Emily Watson.

Answer: The Idiots

"The Idiots" is about a group of friends who regularly behave as if they have developmental disabilities. Through these actions, they seek to challenge the bourgeois establishment. A lonely woman called Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) joins the group as its radical ideas lead to the inevitable destruction of the group itself and the ideals of those within it. "Dogme 95" is a movement set up by Lars von Trier and fellow Danish director Thomas Vinterberg.

The rules of their manifesto involve only filming on location, no props, no non-diegetic sound, no superficial action, no alienation of time and place, and many other idealistic tenets.

Answer: Sight

Björk plays Selma, a woman with a disease that is causing her to slowly go blind. The film follows her attempt to save enough money for an operation that will spare her son the same fate.
Björk won several Best Actress awards for the film, and one of the songs from the movie was even nominated for an Oscar (for Best Original Song).

Answer: He is a dog.

"Dogville" is about Grace (Nicole Kidman), a woman who is hiding from her gangster father. In exchange for letting her stay, Grace helps the townspeople with chores but is eventually taken advantage of as the town reveals its darker side.
When Grace's father (James Caan) arrives in Dogville, he convinces her to make judgement on the town that has treated her so badly. Her decision is to have all of the townspeople killed except for Moses the dog, who is the only one in Dogville that did not mistreat her.
Though there are no invisible men or men who want to die, there is a blind character in Dogville. However, he is killed along with the other townsfolk.

Answer: A plantation

After the events in "Dogville", the character of Grace (played in "Manderlay" by Bryce Dallas Howard) comes across a plantation called Manderlay. Grace finds that the plantation is illegally using slaves and tries to safely gain freedom for these people. As the film progresses, it becomes obvious that things aren't quite what they seem and Grace must give up her attempt to fix the problems she perceives on the plantation.
"Manderlay" uses the same minimal set design as "Dogville", creating a contained sense of tension that rises throughout both films.

Answer: Rabbit

"Antichrist" deals with complex themes of loss, guilt, gynocide and nature. During the film, the man (Willem Dafoe) encounters a crow, a deer and a fox who come together at the end of the film to fulfil an eerie prediction made by the woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg)earlier in story: "When the three beggars arrive someone must die."
"Antichrist" caused controversy because of its graphic scenes and its themes of misogyny. However, it has been praised for its depth, beauty and originality.

Answer: Yes

Von Trier actually shows us the collision of the two planets in the opening scenes of the movie. His idea was to let us know what is going to happen so we can focus on the characters behaviour leading up to this event (rather than wondering whether or not they'll survive).
The idea for the movie came from a therapist's suggestion that people who are suffering from depression will react more calmly and rationally in emergencies. The main character Justine (played by Kirsten Dunst) is partly based on von Trier himself, who has often struggled with depression.