Depression. Annihilation. Violation. These are the kinds of cheery subjects that Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier likes to make movies about - which is why it may surprise you to learn that von Trier considers West Side Story one of his favourite films. Because of all the misery von Trier presents in his own work - sexual addiction in Nymphomaniac, the apocalypse in Melancholia, genital mutilation in Antichrist - it's difficult to picture the same man kicking back at the end of the day with a classic Hollywood musical. And it's not just the one, as von Trier has confessed to being a fan not just of West Side Story, but of Singin' In The Rain as well. Sure, you could say there's evidence of von Trier's love of musicals in his own film Dancer In The Dark, which features musical interludes, but that movie was fundamentally about Bjork going slowly blind and stealing money to prevent her son from losing his vision because of the same illness. It's hardly Gene Kelly tap-dancing during a light shower.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
