Say what you please about the Danish genius Lars Von Trier- and many do- he holds in glorious contempt the criticisms of the themes that supposedly run throughout his work and those who propagate them. But, if one of the marks of a man is the sort of person he offends, there can be few more exceptional men than Von Trier- there are certainly few film makers so consistently interesting either thematically or stylistically. Knowing as he does so well the reactionary rage he so consistently inspires in reactionary film critics, he is frequently drawn to goading them in the most erudite terms possible both on and off film. One of the most frequent- and most tired- accusations levelled at Von Trier is that both he and his films are riddled with misogyny.. According to this reasoning- though reason maybe placing something of a strain on the limits of the word- that each of the tragedies that affect the many leading ladies of Von Triers emotionally and intellectually ravaging symphonies are phantasies and Freudian expressions of his loathing for women and for femininity. It would be time consuming and degrading to pick apart the intricate and fallacious assumptions of such a position, but what is interesting is the way in which Von Trier absorbs such notions into his work- toying with such people as a cat does with a mouse and with similarly efficient results as evidenced by the exhilarating Antichrist. Once again, the Dane seems set to provoke a series of lengthy but vapid Guardian columns concerning his hatred for women, and even more fevered rants in the Daily Mail concerning standards with his next proposed feature, The Nymphomaniac. Speaking to Screen Daily, Von Trier stated the project would concern a womans erotic birth as a catalyst for her sexual awakening, and the tension created between this and her motherhood. The filmmaker also admitted that hed chosen this concept over another entitled Dirt in Bedsores as the former would be more commercially viable! It is safe to assume the studio/organisation that offered this advice was not entirely au fait with his reputation! Currently, the man that conceived Dogme 95 is preparing for the premier of his end of the world drama Melancholia at his familiar stomping ground of Cannes, though that's yet to be confirmed. The film stars Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Rampling as two sisters and their differing ideals about an impending apocalypse. Kiefer Sutherland, John Hurt and more support. The film was was created because Von Trier was fed up of happy endings.. in his films Whatever the results of such a knowingly impish premise, the world will sit up and take notice of one of cinemas few remaining auteurs and excitedly, the film already has U.S. distribution through Magnolia (though no date given yet).