4. Antichrist (2009)
Why it's controversial: A tale of a grieving couple's descent into decay and madness following the death of their baby son, Lars von Trier's Antichrist features some horrific images and set pieces that made the audience and critics alike fairly sickened by their grotesqueness. There is the beautifully filmed open sequence, shot in black and white, where Willem Defoe and Charlotte Gainbourg are making love (with hard core inserts) juxtaposed with shots of their son falling to his death. Other controversial scenes include female self-castration, a deer with a dead newborn hanging out of its body, testicular crushing with a block of wood resulting in bloody ejaculation. The film has been accused of misogyny and mindless gut wrenching violence by about 50% of critics.
Why it's good: The other 50% of critics appreciate the film for the masterpiece it is. Von Trier meant for Antichrist to be a horror film, and the above scenes notwithstanding, he succeeded in his mission. The film has a very dark, surreal tone and boasts flawless performances from its two protaganists. Charlotte Gainsbourg is spot on as the grieving mother. Women do not get over the death of a child easily and her growing insanity is utterly believable and terrifying. Defoe's attempts to contain it are essentially powerless. He may be able to kill her and stop the madness but he is faced with the wrath of hundreds of faceless women. A widely awarded film, Antichrist is a beautifully filmed movie of the macabre. It's elegiac use of arias is also wonderful.