Interesting concept poorly executed. Von Trier fails to give this theme any subtlety. He’s basically shouting at the audience “HEY LOOK EVERYONE DANTE’S INFERNO. AREN’T I CLEVER?” Had he shown restraint, and a bit of tact then it could have been an interesting underlying theme. Instead it comes across as pretentious and over the top.
"Why are they all so stupid?" -- Verge I love how instead of being the devil on Jack's shoulder, Verge is basically the guy who cuts through all of Jack's bullshit takes.
"These stories were chosen at random" Jack trying to say that these stories are accurate at describing all women since they were chosen at random. Much like samples in surveys must be taken at random if they want to be non biased
I would like to think that an angel, if such a thing existed, would do precisely that as a contrast with demons who are trying to encourage our worse angels of nature.
In the end Jack wasnt sophisticated, brilliant or special. He was just another criminal. A fool who likes to think of himself as deep or intelligent (like many content creators) but It wasnt, during the movie he never does something remarkable or impressive, he doesnt escape authority using his wit, he escapes because the police is clueless. It really look like a satire to the "intelligent psycopath" trope.
To me, what makes the film great is that it feels like a unilateral deconstruction of the notion of romanticizing serial killers. At every point in the movie where Jack tries to explain the ethos behind each and every heinous act he takes, Verge immediately slams his ego back down to the ground by reminding him - and the audience, subsequently - that there is no deeper beauty or significance to the murders he committed. When all is said and done, Verge, and the audience by proxy, only sees the horror left in Jack’s wake, and forces Jack to admit that the one and only house he built was one made of bodies; one that he passive-aggressively mocks as being “small” and “useable” at the barest minimum. By the end of the film, no one and nothing is impressed by the things Jack did. And ultimately, in the face of true, bottomless, ultimate, primordial evil, Jack is reduced to little more than a breadcrumb falling down the infinite gullet of bottomless evil. A little beast that created a little horror, and who died without making so much as the smallest splash in the grander scheme of human existence. This is how all the evil men of history should be regarded. As little animals who are nothing more than violent beasts who make their terror and then die.
This. Virgil constantly dabs on Jack. He says things like “yeah well you’re probably gonna tell me” or “I guess I can’t escape a comprehensive lecture”. He basically calls Jack a lame blowhard. It’s not different from that freak Richard Ramirez quoting Nietzsche and acting tough.
I like this take on it, I think this reading would justify the level of explicit violence in the movie. it's supposed to show you just how messed up it actually is. though, I think the artsier parts of the movie clash visually and thematically with the live parts. that might just be me, because I'm picky
Wonderful synopsis. Just watched this movie and came to this video to get a bit of a breakdown of what I just watched, but I don’t think I need to anymore. You pretty much gave as good of a breakdown as anyone could have. Haven’t seen a movie this interesting in a good long while
Noticed that too . It was the original movie title . They though it was too long though I think . Yes I saw that when I got the notification on my phone .
I recommend everyone read the interviews with Matt Dillon on the film. He goes into great detail about Jack's personality, how his sociopathic tendencies render him unable to produce anything of value (for other people at least). As Verge himself put it ''I still say there is no art without love, it's not up for discussion''. Jack is incapable of love and therefore can't transfer love into neither his dream house or any of his art. An important thing about the title - ''The house that Jack built'' is also the name of a rather infamous fairy tale. It's narrative technique goes as follows (sourced from wikipedia): It is a cumulative tale that does not tell the story of Jack's house, or even of Jack who built the house, but instead shows how the house is indirectly linked to other things and people...''. The house built out of people, linking them all together.
I dunno if you need love to create art. Maybe only passion. Romantic movement seems to be about grand sweeps of emotion rather than the specific emotion. I wouldn't say that a serial killer couldn't be an artist even if it's ethically unsound to engage in such art.
yeah, i don't think that the house that jack built is a very popular fairy tale in america. It could just be me. I had actually never heard of it until the movie, and i think of myself as fairly cultured, so i don't know.
I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but this movie also seems like an attack on directors/artists/creators who’ve been observed to be absolute monsters to work with and justified it in the name of creating better “art” (Kubrick jumps to mind) Jack may see his actions as noble because he thinks his goal (getting into heaven through his art) is achievable. But any outsider like Virgil can see that the creation of his art necessitates someone’s suffering and death. There’s no nobility in this, no moral goodness, and his intentions do not matter as much as his effect on the world. Jack goes to hell like every other murderer. So like, sure, what if your art is good, was it worth all the people you made miserable and now refuse to ever work with you? Did Duvall necessarily need to be traumatized in order to create a good movie? Because frankly, monsters who abuse in the name of “creating better art” should be judged on the same level as all abusers. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and those intentions don’t justify cruelty.
I'm not defending PETA, but their justification for defending the animal abuse scene (where a duckling has a leg cut off with scissors) was that it was a very accurate portrayal of animal abuse and highlighted what a lot of serial killers do as children.
@@dashingtherouxthesnow4017 It's important to mention the main reason PETA approves the scenes is because they ARE NOT REAL. The duck is fake and the tigers were stock footage. They commend the film because it's proof that "there’s no need to use live wild animals in productions, thanks to the many humane alternatives being embraced by filmmakers today."
@@itsdretti - Yeah, but they also defended Uwe Boll's "Seed", which featured footage of actual animal cruelty. PETA are just desperate for attention and I'm pretty sure they just saw an opportunity.
@@itsdretti the same PETA that wanted to sue Warhammer where imaginary giant Space marine mutant men commit genocides..because some of thr wear wolf pelts. And it's all plastic, or drawings.
Another detail I like is that the police only pursue him because they believe he’s the suspect in a local bank robbery. The police caught up to him because of a crime he didn’t commit.
Really? It didn't hit me because it was purposely provocative. Even Jack mentions kids being the last real taboo or something to that effect beforehand. It's just Lars being Lars
i would say that not all does Jack get his comeuppance in the end, i'd say he gets his comeuppance in as brutal and graphic a way as any shown in film before. we very literally see him plunge to his eternal (like, _forever)_ damnation to the lowest possible circle of hell; a fate so horrible it's not even (supposedly) _intended_ for him, except that he himself insists that he eventually falls to due to his own hubris. satisfying doesn't even cover it for me. most movies of this kind are happy with hoping we're satisfied with watching the wretched murderer jailed for life or (even worse) simply and cleanly killed by the end. but this . . . no, we actually get to see Jack fall into forever for the worst kind of torture imaginable. a _truly_ righteous and satisfying end for this terrible (but terribly fascinating) monster.
One core tenet of Christian faith is that anyone can be redeemed if they show genuine remorse and willingness to atone. That means that just before a sinner is cast into Hell if they have a change of heart they can technically still turn themselves around. You literally have until you cross into Hell itself to repent. Technically in the film's set up, there's no one there to force sinners into the mouth of hell. Every single soul that fell down there chose, of their own volition, to turn away from redemption. They all tried to climb, jump, or otherwise cross that broken bridge out of their own volition. Actually quite a brilliant depiction of damnation. The only true way out, the only way to cross that bridge is to willingly turn away from it and accept your punishment, to accept your sins and to begin your penance. The only way to truly damn yourself? Choose the opposite. Try and escape divine judgement. The sinner has to choose to be evil.
I really like how Jack is trying to say his murders are art. He also wants to make a super beautiful piece of art house. He can't. So when Virgil tells em to just make the art of his house and lay it out like it is without trying to be so artistic its just a pile of corpses. Like how when you lay out his actions as they are its just a pile of murders and dead victims
It takes A LOT to make me feel uncomfortable when it comes to movies and I’ve seen some pretty fucked up shit.. but I have to say, the way the film just abruptly shows the child’s corpse mutilated with that creepy ass Wybie from Coraline smile, it made me jump and I felt so uneasy. Hard to get the child’s image out of my head.
Totally agree, Von Trier is REALLY good at getting those shots, same with Ari Aster. Those are the only two directors I know that make movies that have such jarring scenes of violence. Like in other films they show violence in a very glorified way that’s very drawn out and loud and dramatic. In their films the violence is deliberate and fast, and it feels like you’re really watching someone get hurt
This is the only film that comes to mind that really pushed my boundaries in that way too. Von Trier is pretty fearless and inventive at making those of us who feel consistently unphased squirm.
i have ocd too and i could barely watch the scene where he kept coming back to the ladie's house, it was one of the most nerve wrecking things ive ever watched and it really did portray the disorder perfectly. that being said, i'm glad the ocd theme didn't run through all of the movie cause i wouldn't be able to watch it otherwise
I was about to comment this exact thing it is SOOOO accurate. He didn’t even need to put dialogue behind it because it was like I could hear what he was thinking. The images are exactly like intrusive thoughts that I have when my OCD is very intense
I have schizophrenia and get the same thing sometimes, just not normally with cleaning. More like obsessively looking for things that are out of place because I'm convinced that someone has been in my house while I was gone just because the ketchup in the fridge is at a slightly different angle.
Seriously. Jack seeing blood splatters in areas that didn't even make sense but not being able to ignore it at all and then repeating the cleaning over and over felt just too real. I haven't had issues with it in years but that scene brought me right back
This is either the most self-aware movie of all-time or...the most ironic, as the very character Von Trier is criticizing through this movie completely parallels Von Trier, himself.
I immediate took the movie as a confession by Von Trier himself. Both artistically and personally. I really hope that he was able to confront some of his personal failings through this work and came out the other side a better person. He's a director who's work I love, but his history of being a real piece of shit is an unfortunate variable I can't just ignore.
The movie literally shows clips of Trier's own movies in one scene. It's very self aware about narcissist film industry and auteurs that Trier (definitely after seeing this film no doubt) knows he's a part of.
Btw Ryan, I think your "soothing, sexy Northern Irish accent" adds to the uniqueness of your content and almost seems to add to the mysticism of the movies and topics you discuss. :)
Everybody's here tryin to figure the deeper meaning of this movie but honestly I'm just here wondering why Matt Dillion isn't in more movies. Dudes a pretty solid actor.
I can see the house he built being a literal version of digging your own grave, making your bed then laying in it. He built his house, now he lives in it.
The movie is an apology of the director for express himself this way, saying "I'm sorry, I cannot apologize, I tried but I was build this way and I'll fall this way".
Ryan, your videos are like my own little bonfires during my depressive waves. Your voice comforts me as does the subject matter. You analyzing the macabre is such a comforting sort of creepy. Thank you, Ryan, you're a wonderful content creator.
Really happy you made a video on this. I'm pretty unapologetically a fanboy of Lars and the Dogme 95 movement, but I feel like too many people write of Lars' work as "disturbing for the sake of being disturbing." Even if you hate him and/or his work with every fiber of your being, you have to admit he puts out some uniquely fearless work, which is something I think art tends to lack nowadays. I love the idea of "fuck what you think and want, I'm making the film I choose to make." I feel like that's something that shouldn't be undermined or written off as simply self-indulgent, it's how great things are often made. Despite his work being objectively difficult to watch, I'll always regard him as one of my favorite filmmakers and I appreciate your content in general, but especially in regards to making videos that are anything but "easy" to make.
Ryan, you're someone whom I find myself often disagreeing with, but at the same time I'm constantly coming back to listen to your new videos. You're a clever turnip.
In this video UA-cam Auteur Ryan Hollinger, constructs a masterful visual experience sure to wow even the most casual viewer. His strong tour de force performance pulls together a unrelenting 15 minute and 43 second sobering introspective look at the depths of what makes us truly human. Mirroring the cyclic nature of life, his opening hints subtly at what turns into a harsh and gut wrenching truth when he reveals the void at the center of human existence. In a masterful stroke Hollinger then offers a thread of hope to us, his audience, a chance to fill that void with stylish and affordable audio equipment. 10/10 But seriously I love your videos keep up the strong work dude
Thank you for answering my request Ryan! I loved this film, and I wondered why no one spoke about it. You go to such depths in your vids that I was hoping you'd review it!
I might have to watch this movie later. Most artists spend so much time trying to control the way other people view them and their art rather than just letting it be. It's easy to forget that everyone connects with an artistic piece in a different way for a different reason, weather it be a book, a movie, a game, a painting or anything.
I think when it comes to writing and directing, Von Trier is completely up his own ass to a very annoying degree, but I’ll still hold up Breaking the Waves, Antichrist, and The House That Jack Built as great movies.
I think his best film is Dogvillre by far. It has the most simple setup out of all his movies, yet the most intriguing execution as well: probably becasue the performences - von Trier really showed with it how masterfully he can direct actors. Most of his other work are just too arrogant for meg; and the Jack's house movie...textbook definition of arsty-fartsy
I gotta be honest I can't take Antichrist or The House that Jack Built seriously. It may be my own personal dislike for Von Trier as an artist and a person (with some exceptions) but they feel like movies made by a pretentious troll. Especially House that Jack Built. I could believe Antichrist had something genuine to say (Even if I'm still not entirely sure what it is. I've heard both the "It's misogynist" and "It's not misogynist" arguments and neither really stick with me.) but House that Jack Built felt like Von Trier masturbating in front of people while reading from Dante's Inferno and books about the Holocaust and then mocking the people who have the hubris to think what he's doing is simultaneously gross and ridiculous and finishing it all with a "It's ART bro get over it!" It tries so goddamn hard to shock you while trying to justify it with a slight "nothing matters" smirk that all I really experience is frustration and boredom and a desire for all the fucking screaming to stop but for the love of god let the intervening moments be filled with something other than more of Lars Von Triers slideshows and monologues.
@@Csilaverte Dogville is definitely his best. Breaking the Waves was good. I remember liking Dancer in the Dark but I can't remember anything about it so I can't honestly comment about how I'd feel about it now. I can't stand much else by him but I would be lying if I didn't say I had something of a hate-boner for him. I guess because I think he's talented and I want him to pull his head out of his arse and just make movies but his ego stinks up so much of his work that all I really end up doing is spending hours making fun of them.
My kind of still hot take is that Jack is in fact lying about picking them at random. A.) No human picks anything at random, not really. But more importantly, what kind of narcissist would pull five random bits of their portfolio out? Nah, he's giving you the clear beginning, followed by the best bits, and then the finale. Dude's a prima diva.
Loved this movie. This is one of the most original movies ever. Lars Von Trier takes every serial killer in the book...and then makes every scene into something original or unheard of! Matt Dillon was brilliant. The film was also a satirical film (25% of it being comedy). Great take on the film!
@@madamefeast4824 fun fact, Von Trier was actually banned from attending Cannes festival when in 2011 he made awkward comments on Hitler. It took 7 years for him to be okayed again into the festival and that's when he presented this movie. Talk about a comeback
Never in my life have I seen the crowd in the movie theatre go so wild. People were actually SCREAMING, accusing others of being perverts for enjoying that. Awesome
I just want to say that this channel is genuinely excellent. The editing style is great, the commentary is always interesting and it seems that real time and effort goes into each video. Keep it up, man.
Discovered your videos a few weeks back and I must say, I love them. I’ve been really looking forward to this one as to my knowledge you haven’t covered any Lars Von Trier movies yet. You’re quite right, so many are intimidated by his movies or just miss the point.
Honestly I really loved it, I got to go to one of the midnight Director's Cut screenings & came out thinking it was the best American Psycho successor ever made. I can understand some finding it tasteless, awful or vile, but honestly there's such a weird added dose of comedy that really helps fuel it along, everyone at the screening I was at was having a blast, screaming, laughing & gasping all aloud. The music, horror, cinematography, & lead performance were all really great, obviously we're not sympathetic towards Jack, but t=following it is both fucked up yet horribly fascinating, it's able to juggle being genuinely horrifying & laugh out loud hilarious at times (the "Grumpy was grumpy no more" line still gets me) & the final act in hell is a wonderful, surreal way to cap off an already insane journey It's eerily similar to American Psycho in a lot of ways & is on par w/that as one of my favorite horror movies to date, easily the best midnight screening I've ever attended.
In Denmark there was a really big Dogme scene in the early 2000's with quite a few really good movies if you can take the tragic-comic mood in most of them, the movie ''Okay'' is a really good example. Mads Mikkelsen did a whole boat load of those movies back then, before he went international with his career :)
Again, GREAT review of the film !!! One thing you forgot to mention was the EXCELLENT use of David Bowie’s song “Fame”. Just when is its needed to break things up or add levity to the film. It’s very, very funny, too. The darkest of dark humor. I learned a lot from your video!!! I haven’t been able to recommend this film with out concern that ppl would think “ what’s wrong with you man?” It is master class in filmmaking.
I like some of Lars' films. visually they're quite great, and I highly respect some of his ideas. but I've always gotten the feeling of "did you see what I did there? its a biblical reference, get it!". A lot of jerking off his own ego. but still, this movie was quite fun to watch and I liked it, except the ending
Von Trier is one of the best living directors if you value films for their ability to let you peek into how their director sees the world. There's a very vulnerable quality to his movies, like they're all him confessing that he has dark thoughts and where they originate. The problem is while that's a quality, it lends nothing at all to the entertainment value of the film itself. Why Jack succeeds, IMO, is it manages (even if by total accident) to be entertaining. For once, he got certain aspects of emotion and humor correct.
I really enjoyed this movie when I saw it. It is a very long movie though, i rewatched it twice to understand it and everytime I love it more. I love the interactions between Jack and Verge. Matt Dillion was amazing im this film and loved every second with him. The whole Dante's inferno scene was outstanding and I would've loved to see more of it. I loved the scene when Jack sees the peaceful field and begins to cry fully knowing he'll nevee get peace and that he never belonged there.
You know, Vergil himself seems like another reference to Jack’s worthless pretentious self-image. When the divine comedy was written, Virgil had only been dead for a couple of decades, so his presence was more as a fairly recent but famous figure that could easily used as such, and could fill a role as an example of the aspirations of Dante’s time. Unlike Dante, there’s no real reason or logic behind Jack being led by Virgil, implying Virgil’s presence is less for any real metaphorical meaning and more because Virgil is associated with a great artist traversing hell before leaving for heaven, a view Jack probably assumes is what will happen.
Of course, by attempting to analyze the choice of Virgil, I may be falling for the same fallacy as Jack, attempting to find or force meaning into something.
Virgil died 19 years before the birth of Christ… The Divine Comedy was written 1339 years later. Less time has passed between now and Dante’s era than between him and Virgil’s, by a pretty significant amount ahahaha.
I know I’m replying a year late, but my point still works now that I actually know what I’m talking about(lol). Vergil was chosen as Dante’s guide due to Vergil’s own writing about entering hades, establishing a link between Dante and Vergil as writers describing the afterlife, something that Jack’s pretentious “art” doesn’t touch on at all.
If you've never seen it, I highly reccomend his 90's Danish-language TV series called Riget (The Kingdom). There are some truly strange things in that show and it's often compared to Twin Peaks due to its dream-like, "wait, what?" nature. It's like the horror is born out of the incomprehensibility. Worth a watch!
When Jack started talking about how the materials of the house weren’t good enough I immediately knew what he was gonna build the house out of. Also two more things. Were the cops actually trying to arrest Jack for robbery? I don’t know what happened in the time that Jack decided to skip over but couldn’t he have just denied that he robbed anything. Let’s say he did actually commit a robbery. It’s kind of pathetic that after all the shut he did the robbery was the thing that got the cops called on him. Also the hunting kill was disturbing as hell.
I actually thought part was hilarious. The irony of Jack being caught for something he didn't even do! He tried to say he didn't do it, but society refused to believe him. And Jack could not wait to get back to to the freezer to take the shot...so I assume he was tired of avoiding the cops so he just left the sirens on.
I watched this film with my mom because we were both sold on the serial killer premise. I loved it because it was an examination of the mind of a deranged man, but I also immediately caught onto the connections to The Divine Comedy. My mother thought it was boring and stupid.
This is a minor point but one I see often enough that I feel the need to point it out. I heavily disagree with the way you use the terms "Serious".To take something seriously is merely to give it the attention it deserves, to give it focus, and to not be dismissive of it. At some point, it seems to have become synonymous with terms like depressing, or dull, even pretentious, while terms like "Joke", which I also have serious issues with the modern use of, have seemed to become synonymous with terms like dismissive but with a dangerously positive connotation.
BRO FORREAL the intrusive thoughts were actually the most accurate ive seen in any movie and it never felt like sensationalised or anything like it makes so much sense, when i think about bugs it goes exactly like the blood stain flashes. uncanny
referring to 4:17 since I live in Italy and our teachers love to torture us, I have to study the entirety of "La Divina Commedia" and its poetic structure while also having to learn certain parts by heart for the end-of-year exam. as King George III said in Hamilton: AWESOME. WOW
Two points I feel you missed that I want to discuss with people here: The fact that the young woman he murders is named Jacqueline; the female equivalent of Jack and he even goes as far as cutting off what symbolizes her femininity; her breasts. In light of this video I feel like it could be a taunt for people to read into it saying that Jack struggles with his masculinity, but I also believe it says something about how out of touch Jack is with himself and the world around him. Secondly Jack is as said in the video somewhat meta-contextually both the narrator and point of view of the movie but also of the director Lars Von Trier. You can't overlook the fact that the notion about art doesn't comment on Von Trier's other works. At some point Virgil and Jack discuss whether or not an artist's art reflects the artist themselves; here being juxtapositioned with clips from some of Von Trier's other works. It seems like a comment on the reception a lot of his movies has had; a lot of people blame Von Trier for being twisted, him trying to convey that who are we to compare a work of art to its creator. All of that seems like a satirical comment on his own movies further emphasized by the obnoxiously violent "house" at the end of the movie. Let me know what you think!
I love the idea of a serial killer killing people and trying to justify his actions while going through a dantes inferno hell quite entertaining while it's clear that he isn't smart or intelligent, but he likes to think he is he is, and it makes for quite a fun movie to watch without having to read dantes inferno or some divine comedy to understand the movie
My opinion on Von Trier is: he always has a good idea, but the way the he makes his films, the end product ends up being a life draining, boring exercise in patience. And it pains me to see good actors, delivering good performances in movies that are so boring, drawn out and long, that i cant appreciatte how good said performances were.
I feel kind of similar. I want to like Von Trier’s movies more than I actually like them, if that makes sense. I get that VT has his own style and does his own thing, but I feel like having some outside editors have some influence and tighten up his concept the final product would be more enjoyable
Ryan, thank you for flat out saying you're Northern Irish. I'm fascinated by accents within the English language as a non-native speaker and I've always wondered if this soothing voice of yours was, in fact, an Irish one.
The only film I've not been able to finish. So disturbing and realistic, I felt physically ill and only made it a little over an hour into the movie. I watch horror films all the time. It's my favorite film genre but something about this one was just too much for me. And I've seen other von Trier films before. He's an extremely effective filmmake, just difficult to get through his films (for me, at least) in one mental piece. I'm grateful you made this video so I can know more about the movie without having to finish it myself.
*So... what should I talk about next???*
The Wailing
That was quick
Dead alive.
The tension genera vs the jump scare genre ?
Pink Floyd's The Wall
Not gonna lie, the concept of a serial killer going through Dante's Inferno while trying to bargain his way into heaven is absolutely brilliant.
Makes me wonder what every person would say if they were sent to hell and try to talk their way out
You're an extremely underrated youtube user who definitely deserves more recognition.
Interesting concept poorly executed. Von Trier fails to give this theme any subtlety. He’s basically shouting at the audience “HEY LOOK EVERYONE DANTE’S INFERNO. AREN’T I CLEVER?” Had he shown restraint, and a bit of tact then it could have been an interesting underlying theme. Instead it comes across as pretentious and over the top.
Didn’t expect to see Almighty Loli here
@@Optics2024 I think it was a spooky movie that was pretty good.
"Why are they all so stupid?" -- Verge
I love how instead of being the devil on Jack's shoulder, Verge is basically the guy who cuts through all of Jack's bullshit takes.
wich is kind of weird to me because that's more like something Socrates would do. but whatever
Verge was hilarious
Maybe sometimes that’s what the shoulder devil is needed for.
"These stories were chosen at random" Jack trying to say that these stories are accurate at describing all women since they were chosen at random. Much like samples in surveys must be taken at random if they want to be non biased
I would like to think that an angel, if such a thing existed, would do precisely that as a contrast with demons who are trying to encourage our worse angels of nature.
It's like Jack thinks he's brilliant but he's actually making "The Room".
The Room That Jack Built.
Surreal 99 ha ha ha ha that funny. You funny. *sweats in creole*
Hot take
@dfailsthemost that’s also how I feel about every Lars von Trier movie
yeah and if you don't count the hole then his stupid house only had one room in it too. stupid jack. baka baka
In the end Jack wasnt sophisticated, brilliant or special.
He was just another criminal. A fool who likes to think of himself as deep or intelligent (like many content creators) but It wasnt, during the movie he never does something remarkable or impressive, he doesnt escape authority using his wit, he escapes because the police is clueless.
It really look like a satire to the "intelligent psycopath" trope.
I think it’s more that he didn’t escape at all. I think those bullets hit him
@@scoob_11e27 he killed people during years without being caught.
@@scoob_11e27 i don't think they were referring to the very last scene
Like light Yagami?
(or like many youtube commenters)
To me, what makes the film great is that it feels like a unilateral deconstruction of the notion of romanticizing serial killers. At every point in the movie where Jack tries to explain the ethos behind each and every heinous act he takes, Verge immediately slams his ego back down to the ground by reminding him - and the audience, subsequently - that there is no deeper beauty or significance to the murders he committed. When all is said and done, Verge, and the audience by proxy, only sees the horror left in Jack’s wake, and forces Jack to admit that the one and only house he built was one made of bodies; one that he passive-aggressively mocks as being “small” and “useable” at the barest minimum. By the end of the film, no one and nothing is impressed by the things Jack did. And ultimately, in the face of true, bottomless, ultimate, primordial evil, Jack is reduced to little more than a breadcrumb falling down the infinite gullet of bottomless evil. A little beast that created a little horror, and who died without making so much as the smallest splash in the grander scheme of human existence. This is how all the evil men of history should be regarded. As little animals who are nothing more than violent beasts who make their terror and then die.
I totally agree.
This. Virgil constantly dabs on Jack. He says things like “yeah well you’re probably gonna tell me” or “I guess I can’t escape a comprehensive lecture”. He basically calls Jack a lame blowhard. It’s not different from that freak Richard Ramirez quoting Nietzsche and acting tough.
I like this take on it, I think this reading would justify the level of explicit violence in the movie. it's supposed to show you just how messed up it actually is. though, I think the artsier parts of the movie clash visually and thematically with the live parts. that might just be me, because I'm picky
This is very well written criticism
Wonderful synopsis. Just watched this movie and came to this video to get a bit of a breakdown of what I just watched, but I don’t think I need to anymore. You pretty much gave as good of a breakdown as anyone could have. Haven’t seen a movie this interesting in a good long while
Every single "hoiyever" gets me closer to heaven
What accent is that? I love it
@@melwin5574 I think someone said Irish, Northern Irish specifically
A little closer to Heaven
TheVolgun, who does SCP videos, is from Belfast and his natural accent sounds quite like Ryan's.
@@aizensa9708 Northern Irish is a different accent from irish, and a different country entirely
In another dimension this video is called "the divine comedy of the house that Jack built"
I can't say I was here first, but at least I can say that I was here before the title changed. XD
I knew I wasnt the only one who saw the notification come up and when clicked the title was different
Hey that's the video I clicked on
Noticed that too . It was the original movie title . They though it was too long though I think .
Yes I saw that when I got the notification on my phone .
Honestly I kind of like that title better
I recommend everyone read the interviews with Matt Dillon on the film. He goes into great detail about Jack's personality, how his sociopathic tendencies render him unable to produce anything of value (for other people at least). As Verge himself put it ''I still say there is no art without love, it's not up for discussion''. Jack is incapable of love and therefore can't transfer love into neither his dream house or any of his art.
An important thing about the title - ''The house that Jack built'' is also the name of a rather infamous fairy tale. It's narrative technique goes as follows (sourced from wikipedia): It is a cumulative tale that does not tell the story of Jack's house, or even of Jack who built the house, but instead shows how the house is indirectly linked to other things and people...''. The house built out of people, linking them all together.
...the world / fantasy that Jack built...
That's a really good analysis. I like your research.
I dunno if you need love to create art. Maybe only passion. Romantic movement seems to be about grand sweeps of emotion rather than the specific emotion. I wouldn't say that a serial killer couldn't be an artist even if it's ethically unsound to engage in such art.
yeah, i don't think that the house that jack built is a very popular fairy tale in america. It could just be me. I had actually never heard of it until the movie, and i think of myself as fairly cultured, so i don't know.
Like a tree that is slowly going up in flames
I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but this movie also seems like an attack on directors/artists/creators who’ve been observed to be absolute monsters to work with and justified it in the name of creating better “art” (Kubrick jumps to mind)
Jack may see his actions as noble because he thinks his goal (getting into heaven through his art) is achievable. But any outsider like Virgil can see that the creation of his art necessitates someone’s suffering and death. There’s no nobility in this, no moral goodness, and his intentions do not matter as much as his effect on the world. Jack goes to hell like every other murderer. So like, sure, what if your art is good, was it worth all the people you made miserable and now refuse to ever work with you? Did Duvall necessarily need to be traumatized in order to create a good movie? Because frankly, monsters who abuse in the name of “creating better art” should be judged on the same level as all abusers. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and those intentions don’t justify cruelty.
This is a weird take considering Von Trier apparently abused and harassed Björk while filming Dancer in the Dark
"noble" is an interesting word choice, considering...
@@buriednameless965 True, he can make a point unintentionally and lack the self awareness to think how it might reflect on his character.
@@meat___ most people are like that.
I mean dude is a hypocrite so it would make sense
“Animal abuse so bad that PETA decided to defend the film”
Yeah, that sounds like PETA
I'm not defending PETA, but their justification for defending the animal abuse scene (where a duckling has a leg cut off with scissors) was that it was a very accurate portrayal of animal abuse and highlighted what a lot of serial killers do as children.
@@dashingtherouxthesnow4017 It's important to mention the main reason PETA approves the scenes is because they ARE NOT REAL. The duck is fake and the tigers were stock footage. They commend the film because it's proof that "there’s no need to use live wild animals in productions, thanks to the many humane alternatives being embraced by filmmakers today."
@@itsdretti Well yeah, I assumed that went without saying. Bit hypocritical given PETA puts so many animals down.
@@itsdretti - Yeah, but they also defended Uwe Boll's "Seed", which featured footage of actual animal cruelty.
PETA are just desperate for attention and I'm pretty sure they just saw an opportunity.
@@itsdretti the same PETA that wanted to sue Warhammer where imaginary giant Space marine mutant men commit genocides..because some of thr wear wolf pelts. And it's all plastic, or drawings.
Jack looks like the child of Jim Carrey and Bruce Campbell.
No, it’s Matt Dillon. Guy was a major heartthrob back in the 80s.
That’s Dally Winston to you!
Looks more like Matt Dillon ha
Couldn’t have been more accurate
lol thats what i was saying throughout the whole video
Ryan: HOIYEV'R
Me: thank you very much, I needed that
Bro...perfect spelling 😂💀
it’s so satisfying to hear every time
Now spell house but the way Ryan says it
@@polsdofer "Heis", like "heist", but no "t" at the end
@@polsdofer hoiyse
Two ways of talking about this messed up movie. The Ryan Hollinger way and the SpookyRice way
CUE THE GOHAN
i wish he uploaded more but i understand thats work
I hate that Horrible Reviews doesn't get the credit he deserves. That man is precious
Ah a fellow person of culture I see
1:04 music?
Another detail I like is that the police only pursue him because they believe he’s the suspect in a local bank robbery. The police caught up to him because of a crime he didn’t commit.
the house that jack built always reminds me of the Hannibal tv show where most of the killers think they are doing it for a purpose or to create art.
Especially Hannibal himself who turns the few victims he doesn't eat into sick art.
Probably the archetype Lars von Trier was trying to deconstruct.
If u work in Walmart u need somehow react for that shit of ur life so try to made art out of it)
Von Trier kind of feels like a seriously depressed and depraved Wes Anderson
One of his best movies (Dogville starring Nicole Kidman) is mostly a social satire about USA
That's probably the best description of Von Trier I've ever heard...
Von trier is the Kanye west of author filmmaking.
Charles Puruncajas Dogville might be one of the best movies I've watched in my entire life.
Basically Von Trier is a good director that wes Anderson wishes he was like
"Why Is THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT So Messed Up?!"
It's a movie made by LVT
Enough said
Damn facts👌
That's my theory too. I usually don't watch his movies. But this one, I'm glad I did. Hard watch, worth it.
i think "Elephant" was way more messed up
@@stavrosmayakofsky1915 dogville was fantastic.
The scene with the boys....oh boy. Prepare to be disturbed.
The titties scene too
So much of this movie is disturbed. Dude could make Patrick Bateman blush.
yeah, despite what I said in my comment that scene was kinda fucked. Great choice by Lars to make it such a slow scene.
@dftfujd dsrjdh we use that term in my country too
Really? It didn't hit me because it was purposely provocative. Even Jack mentions kids being the last real taboo or something to that effect beforehand. It's just Lars being Lars
i would say that not all does Jack get his comeuppance in the end, i'd say he gets his comeuppance in as brutal and graphic a way as any shown in film before. we very literally see him plunge to his eternal (like, _forever)_ damnation to the lowest possible circle of hell; a fate so horrible it's not even (supposedly) _intended_ for him, except that he himself insists that he eventually falls to due to his own hubris. satisfying doesn't even cover it for me.
most movies of this kind are happy with hoping we're satisfied with watching the wretched murderer jailed for life or (even worse) simply and cleanly killed by the end.
but this . . . no, we actually get to see Jack fall into forever for the worst kind of torture imaginable. a _truly_ righteous and satisfying end for this terrible (but terribly fascinating) monster.
One core tenet of Christian faith is that anyone can be redeemed if they show genuine remorse and willingness to atone. That means that just before a sinner is cast into Hell if they have a change of heart they can technically still turn themselves around. You literally have until you cross into Hell itself to repent.
Technically in the film's set up, there's no one there to force sinners into the mouth of hell. Every single soul that fell down there chose, of their own volition, to turn away from redemption. They all tried to climb, jump, or otherwise cross that broken bridge out of their own volition. Actually quite a brilliant depiction of damnation. The only true way out, the only way to cross that bridge is to willingly turn away from it and accept your punishment, to accept your sins and to begin your penance. The only way to truly damn yourself? Choose the opposite. Try and escape divine judgement. The sinner has to choose to be evil.
I really like how Jack is trying to say his murders are art. He also wants to make a super beautiful piece of art house. He can't. So when Virgil tells em to just make the art of his house and lay it out like it is without trying to be so artistic its just a pile of corpses. Like how when you lay out his actions as they are its just a pile of murders and dead victims
Title used to be "the divine comedy of the house that jack built"
I wonder why it changed!
Exactly
gotta get that clickbaity title son
Yup, that sounds about right.
I like that title better
It takes A LOT to make me feel uncomfortable when it comes to movies and I’ve seen some pretty fucked up shit.. but I have to say, the way the film just abruptly shows the child’s corpse mutilated with that creepy ass Wybie from Coraline smile, it made me jump and I felt so uneasy. Hard to get the child’s image out of my head.
Totally agree, Von Trier is REALLY good at getting those shots, same with Ari Aster. Those are the only two directors I know that make movies that have such jarring scenes of violence. Like in other films they show violence in a very glorified way that’s very drawn out and loud and dramatic. In their films the violence is deliberate and fast, and it feels like you’re really watching someone get hurt
This is the only film that comes to mind that really pushed my boundaries in that way too. Von Trier is pretty fearless and inventive at making those of us who feel consistently unphased squirm.
lmao wybie
really? I just found it funny. hell most of the movie borders on black comedy which I'm sure is intentional.
Eh, I read Batman comics so all I kept thinking is: this is so a thing that Joker would do.
Matt Dillon is so good in this movie.
He deserved so much more recognition for this role, it is truly oscar worthy but the academy would never recognise a movie like this.
Matt Dillon isn't even in this movie
Cicada Brood He played the main character. Check the cast list.
Cicada Brood . Are you kidding ? He plays Jack . Lol
Matt Dillon is so good in every role he's ever attempted!
It's Jack's first house okay? He is trying his best!
3rd
More like his 6th, from the montage.
i have ocd too and i could barely watch the scene where he kept coming back to the ladie's house, it was one of the most nerve wrecking things ive ever watched and it really did portray the disorder perfectly. that being said, i'm glad the ocd theme didn't run through all of the movie cause i wouldn't be able to watch it otherwise
I was about to comment this exact thing it is SOOOO accurate. He didn’t even need to put dialogue behind it because it was like I could hear what he was thinking. The images are exactly like intrusive thoughts that I have when my OCD is very intense
I have schizophrenia and get the same thing sometimes, just not normally with cleaning. More like obsessively looking for things that are out of place because I'm convinced that someone has been in my house while I was gone just because the ketchup in the fridge is at a slightly different angle.
Seriously. Jack seeing blood splatters in areas that didn't even make sense but not being able to ignore it at all and then repeating the cleaning over and over felt just too real. I haven't had issues with it in years but that scene brought me right back
Please talk about The Lighthouse next, I want to hear your take on it so badly.
Seagulls are evil. That’s what I learned watching that movie.
@@Garrus1995 And that Lighthouses can make men go crazy/obsessed with it.
It would be an interesting lesson on Greek Mythology for those who don't know the story of Prometheus
PLEASE RYAN
Yes Please!
"Ver-gill"
*angry Judgement Cutting in the distance*
Easy mode is now selectable
Foolishness Dante, foolishness
Judgement-nut lol
This is either the most self-aware movie of all-time or...the most ironic, as the very character Von Trier is criticizing through this movie completely parallels Von Trier, himself.
This is a great take.
@@JonDundas10 Von trier has already stated as much. There is alot of self reflection in the movie.
So it's by definition self aware.
I immediate took the movie as a confession by Von Trier himself. Both artistically and personally. I really hope that he was able to confront some of his personal failings through this work and came out the other side a better person. He's a director who's work I love, but his history of being a real piece of shit is an unfortunate variable I can't just ignore.
The movie literally shows clips of Trier's own movies in one scene. It's very self aware about narcissist film industry and auteurs that Trier (definitely after seeing this film no doubt) knows he's a part of.
Top reasons to watch Ryan Hollinger:
2: excellent analysis
1: when Ryan says “however”. Haha. So cute
What if you went to heaven
But Ryan Hollinger said
“...h o w e v e r...”
I am totally on board with making Ryan saying “however..” a meme
you mean "hoyaver"
Chris Watson holy shit someone figured out how to spell it
Send me to hell if it has that accient
Btw Ryan, I think your "soothing, sexy Northern Irish accent" adds to the uniqueness of your content and almost seems to add to the mysticism of the movies and topics you discuss. :)
It doesn't
It does
Did you just call him "vir-gull"?
Foolishness, Ryan. Foolishness.
no soft g's in latin
Power, give me more power!
@@whowantsabighug Being bound to the rules of the past will only hinder one's quest for Power.
Haiever
Is that a motherfucking marvel 3 reference?
Everybody's here tryin to figure the deeper meaning of this movie but honestly I'm just here wondering why Matt Dillion isn't in more movies. Dudes a pretty solid actor.
"The House that Jack Built" is what happens when an artist thinks he needs to kill for his art instead of die for it.
dying for your art is a long, slow , painful death.
I think Jack took "Art is suffering" literally.
I can see the house he built being a literal version of digging your own grave, making your bed then laying in it. He built his house, now he lives in it.
The movie is an apology of the director for express himself this way, saying "I'm sorry, I cannot apologize, I tried but I was build this way and I'll fall this way".
Nice profile pic. "In the Court of the crimson king" album cover, right?
enlgish please
@@moctezooma Have the self-respect to not type "enlgish" when you're criticising random people on the internet.
@@XianVivre it’s kinda funny lol
Ryan, your videos are like my own little bonfires during my depressive waves. Your voice comforts me as does the subject matter. You analyzing the macabre is such a comforting sort of creepy. Thank you, Ryan, you're a wonderful content creator.
Thanks for watching!
I LOVE the concept for this film, the end totally slayed me. Von Trier is never afraid to just got for it and it makes for some intense cinema.
Very good movie👍
“Animal cruelty so bad that PETA decided to defend it” strangely enough that is perhaps the most acceptable thing PETA has done.
name one thing what PETA done that was not very acceptable
R4ZREZ Being PETA lol
@@RAZREZ kidnap pets and slaughter them
PETA does lots of good, people just only wanna talk about the bad, they've done a lot to help animals
@@phuck8627 like murder 96 percent of the ones turned over to them
the worst part about Jack climbing around the pit in hell is that even then after everything Von Trier gets you to root for him a little bit.
2:26 Ah, you mean the “I’m Charlotte Gainsbourg and my life sucks” trilogy
Horror Daddy's back with another banger for us simps
That OCD is really gonna kick in when Ryan realizes he was mispronouncing "Virgil" the whole time.
H o w e v e r
The last scenes when he’s in purgatory with Virgil, is incredible
I agree. Powerful.
Really happy you made a video on this. I'm pretty unapologetically a fanboy of Lars and the Dogme 95 movement, but I feel like too many people write of Lars' work as "disturbing for the sake of being disturbing." Even if you hate him and/or his work with every fiber of your being, you have to admit he puts out some uniquely fearless work, which is something I think art tends to lack nowadays. I love the idea of "fuck what you think and want, I'm making the film I choose to make." I feel like that's something that shouldn't be undermined or written off as simply self-indulgent, it's how great things are often made. Despite his work being objectively difficult to watch, I'll always regard him as one of my favorite filmmakers and I appreciate your content in general, but especially in regards to making videos that are anything but "easy" to make.
The part with the kids got to me. Like I thought it couldn't get darker. We really are in a new time in horror
Horror films* specifically - reality has always been unimaginably horrifying :)
not so grumpy now huh?
"If you wanna listen to my soothing, sexy NORTHERN IRISH accent..."
Oh, so THAT'S your accent! I uh... don't know how I didn't get that.
Ryan, you're someone whom I find myself often disagreeing with, but at the same time I'm constantly coming back to listen to your new videos. You're a clever turnip.
Jack ok
Nice Zohar pic
Wish the whole world was like you.
@Jack ew
DillPhobia becareful dude. He’s *_jack_*
Ryan you have to cover “Angst” from 1983 it’s one of the most disturbing and insane horror films of the 1900s
shut up, travis seconding this, that movie is criminally underrated (and also really short)
@@regulardog I thought you were insulting him.
That”s usually what I do when someone agrees with me yes
The way you worded referencing the 80s made it seem jarringly farther back than it should for someone born in the 90s.
In this video UA-cam Auteur Ryan Hollinger, constructs a masterful visual experience sure to wow even the most casual viewer. His strong tour de force performance pulls together a unrelenting 15 minute and 43 second sobering introspective look at the depths of what makes us truly human. Mirroring the cyclic nature of life, his opening hints subtly at what turns into a harsh and gut wrenching truth when he reveals the void at the center of human existence. In a masterful stroke Hollinger then offers a thread of hope to us, his audience, a chance to fill that void with stylish and affordable audio equipment. 10/10
But seriously I love your videos keep up the strong work dude
Thank you for answering my request Ryan! I loved this film, and I wondered why no one spoke about it. You go to such depths in your vids that I was hoping you'd review it!
Lars Von Trier's best work will always be his role as Pie in Too Many Cooks.
@Calvin Schuster Alan Resnick is one of my favorite creators!
@@punkuke what's up turotial heads?
I might have to watch this movie later. Most artists spend so much time trying to control the way other people view them and their art rather than just letting it be. It's easy to forget that everyone connects with an artistic piece in a different way for a different reason, weather it be a book, a movie, a game, a painting or anything.
Also very interesting that it's suggested that he's killed by the police when they get in, right when he "falls into hell".
Keep up the good work!
I think when it comes to writing and directing, Von Trier is completely up his own ass to a very annoying degree, but I’ll still hold up Breaking the Waves, Antichrist, and The House That Jack Built as great movies.
I think his best film is Dogvillre by far. It has the most simple setup out of all his movies, yet the most intriguing execution as well: probably becasue the performences - von Trier really showed with it how masterfully he can direct actors.
Most of his other work are just too arrogant for meg; and the Jack's house movie...textbook definition of arsty-fartsy
Like Kermode says, "oh Lars"
I gotta be honest I can't take Antichrist or The House that Jack Built seriously. It may be my own personal dislike for Von Trier as an artist and a person (with some exceptions) but they feel like movies made by a pretentious troll. Especially House that Jack Built.
I could believe Antichrist had something genuine to say (Even if I'm still not entirely sure what it is. I've heard both the "It's misogynist" and "It's not misogynist" arguments and neither really stick with me.) but House that Jack Built felt like Von Trier masturbating in front of people while reading from Dante's Inferno and books about the Holocaust and then mocking the people who have the hubris to think what he's doing is simultaneously gross and ridiculous and finishing it all with a "It's ART bro get over it!"
It tries so goddamn hard to shock you while trying to justify it with a slight "nothing matters" smirk that all I really experience is frustration and boredom and a desire for all the fucking screaming to stop but for the love of god let the intervening moments be filled with something other than more of Lars Von Triers slideshows and monologues.
I still like melancholia. In terms of metaphors for depression, and the ways the characters react...yeah, it worked for me.
@@Csilaverte Dogville is definitely his best.
Breaking the Waves was good.
I remember liking Dancer in the Dark but I can't remember anything about it so I can't honestly comment about how I'd feel about it now.
I can't stand much else by him but I would be lying if I didn't say I had something of a hate-boner for him. I guess because I think he's talented and I want him to pull his head out of his arse and just make movies but his ego stinks up so much of his work that all I really end up doing is spending hours making fun of them.
Don’t watch this film when you’re clinically depressed
Don't watch any von Trier film!!
Guillermo de Baskerville Melancholia is an ode to depression
@@StringSun I found that film weirdly hopeful.
Niall Reid I agree. The ending is incredibly cathartic
I dare you to watch the movie when your clinically depressed
I love the scene where falls into the pit of hell
It was oddly satisfying
My kind of still hot take is that Jack is in fact lying about picking them at random.
A.) No human picks anything at random, not really.
But more importantly, what kind of narcissist would pull five random bits of their portfolio out? Nah, he's giving you the clear beginning, followed by the best bits, and then the finale. Dude's a prima diva.
Loved this movie. This is one of the most original movies ever. Lars Von Trier takes every serial killer in the book...and then makes every scene into something original or unheard of! Matt Dillon was brilliant. The film was also a satirical film (25% of it being comedy).
Great take on the film!
listening to this while sewing cute lil gloves that look like cat paws is the biggest aesthetic clash (gr8 video btw
:)
I think this movie deserved the Oscar nomination that it didn't get. At least should of given Matt Dillon the nomination.
maybe, but who cares about the Oscars when Von Trier is literally sh***ing on them and on every form of art critique?
@@ciinthiamk don't forget björk, her swan fresa and literary putting an egg on the red carpet. Like a Boss.
No art films like this ever win. That's why film buffs don't even watch them. Cannes is better and they are far from perfect
@@madamefeast4824 fun fact, Von Trier was actually banned from attending Cannes festival when in 2011 he made awkward comments on Hitler. It took 7 years for him to be okayed again into the festival and that's when he presented this movie. Talk about a comeback
Nothing makes a bad day better than content from our Boi! Hyped to see your take on this film
Never in my life have I seen the crowd in the movie theatre go so wild. People were actually SCREAMING, accusing others of being perverts for enjoying that. Awesome
I just want to say that this channel is genuinely excellent. The editing style is great, the commentary is always interesting and it seems that real time and effort goes into each video. Keep it up, man.
Discovered your videos a few weeks back and I must say, I love them. I’ve been really looking forward to this one as to my knowledge you haven’t covered any Lars Von Trier movies yet. You’re quite right, so many are intimidated by his movies or just miss the point.
Honestly I really loved it, I got to go to one of the midnight Director's Cut screenings & came out thinking it was the best American Psycho successor ever made.
I can understand some finding it tasteless, awful or vile, but honestly there's such a weird added dose of comedy that really helps fuel it along, everyone at the screening I was at was having a blast, screaming, laughing & gasping all aloud. The music, horror, cinematography, & lead performance were all really great, obviously we're not sympathetic towards Jack, but t=following it is both fucked up yet horribly fascinating, it's able to juggle being genuinely horrifying & laugh out loud hilarious at times (the "Grumpy was grumpy no more" line still gets me) & the final act in hell is a wonderful, surreal way to cap off an already insane journey
It's eerily similar to American Psycho in a lot of ways & is on par w/that as one of my favorite horror movies to date, easily the best midnight screening I've ever attended.
The House That Jack Built is just Johnny the Homicidal Maniac for film snobs.
I am down for that
U rite
Accurate.
This is a comment of beauty
This is painfully accurate.
In Denmark there was a really big Dogme scene in the early 2000's with quite a few really good movies if you can take the tragic-comic mood in most of them, the movie ''Okay'' is a really good example. Mads Mikkelsen did a whole boat load of those movies back then, before he went international with his career :)
Again, GREAT review of the film !!! One thing you forgot to mention was the EXCELLENT use of David Bowie’s song “Fame”. Just when is its needed to break things up or add levity to the film. It’s very, very funny, too. The darkest of dark humor. I learned a lot from your video!!! I haven’t been able to recommend this film with out concern that ppl would think “ what’s wrong with you man?” It is master class in filmmaking.
I like some of Lars' films. visually they're quite great, and I highly respect some of his ideas. but I've always gotten the feeling of "did you see what I did there? its a biblical reference, get it!". A lot of jerking off his own ego. but still, this movie was quite fun to watch and I liked it, except the ending
And its way better than Nymphomaniac, so thats a thing
ending is the best part
Yup he's all jerking fr his own ego, and cheap shock value bullshit, i give him an point because he is Jack, no way this movie is not an auto critique
Ryan: You can't explain the movie, because it's part of the joke
Also Ryan: Challenge accepted
Von Trier is one of the best living directors if you value films for their ability to let you peek into how their director sees the world. There's a very vulnerable quality to his movies, like they're all him confessing that he has dark thoughts and where they originate.
The problem is while that's a quality, it lends nothing at all to the entertainment value of the film itself.
Why Jack succeeds, IMO, is it manages (even if by total accident) to be entertaining. For once, he got certain aspects of emotion and humor correct.
I really enjoyed this movie when I saw it. It is a very long movie though, i rewatched it twice to understand it and everytime I love it more. I love the interactions between Jack and Verge. Matt Dillion was amazing im this film and loved every second with him. The whole Dante's inferno scene was outstanding and I would've loved to see more of it. I loved the scene when Jack sees the peaceful field and begins to cry fully knowing he'll nevee get peace and that he never belonged there.
You know, Vergil himself seems like another reference to Jack’s worthless pretentious self-image. When the divine comedy was written, Virgil had only been dead for a couple of decades, so his presence was more as a fairly recent but famous figure that could easily used as such, and could fill a role as an example of the aspirations of Dante’s time. Unlike Dante, there’s no real reason or logic behind Jack being led by Virgil, implying Virgil’s presence is less for any real metaphorical meaning and more because Virgil is associated with a great artist traversing hell before leaving for heaven, a view Jack probably assumes is what will happen.
Of course, by attempting to analyze the choice of Virgil, I may be falling for the same fallacy as Jack, attempting to find or force meaning into something.
Virgil died 19 years before the birth of Christ… The Divine Comedy was written 1339 years later. Less time has passed between now and Dante’s era than between him and Virgil’s, by a pretty significant amount ahahaha.
I know I’m replying a year late, but my point still works now that I actually know what I’m talking about(lol). Vergil was chosen as Dante’s guide due to Vergil’s own writing about entering hades, establishing a link between Dante and Vergil as writers describing the afterlife, something that Jack’s pretentious “art” doesn’t touch on at all.
This movie was tough to sit through & I watched “Antichrist” 😶
If you've never seen it, I highly reccomend his 90's Danish-language TV series called Riget (The Kingdom). There are some truly strange things in that show and it's often compared to Twin Peaks due to its dream-like, "wait, what?" nature. It's like the horror is born out of the incomprehensibility. Worth a watch!
I read that LVT may be doing another set of episodes soon.
When Jack started talking about how the materials of the house weren’t good enough I immediately knew what he was gonna build the house out of.
Also two more things. Were the cops actually trying to arrest Jack for robbery? I don’t know what happened in the time that Jack decided to skip over but couldn’t he have just denied that he robbed anything. Let’s say he did actually commit a robbery. It’s kind of pathetic that after all the shut he did the robbery was the thing that got the cops called on him. Also the hunting kill was disturbing as hell.
I actually thought part was hilarious. The irony of Jack being caught for something he didn't even do! He tried to say he didn't do it, but society refused to believe him. And Jack could not wait to get back to to the freezer to take the shot...so I assume he was tired of avoiding the cops so he just left the sirens on.
I think he was accused of stealing the green car when in reality he just killed the woman who drove it in the beginning.
You know the weird painting part of the thumbnail on the right? That's the Taxidermy child's face.
I watched this film with my mom because we were both sold on the serial killer premise. I loved it because it was an examination of the mind of a deranged man, but I also immediately caught onto the connections to The Divine Comedy. My mother thought it was boring and stupid.
Alright, I'll admit, the out of focus but fully concerned shifty eyes at 0:11 got me
This is a minor point but one I see often enough that I feel the need to point it out. I heavily disagree with the way you use the terms "Serious".To take something seriously is merely to give it the attention it deserves, to give it focus, and to not be dismissive of it. At some point, it seems to have become synonymous with terms like depressing, or dull, even pretentious, while terms like "Joke", which I also have serious issues with the modern use of, have seemed to become synonymous with terms like dismissive but with a dangerously positive connotation.
"Virgil" (Ver-Jil)
BRO FORREAL the intrusive thoughts were actually the most accurate ive seen in any movie and it never felt like sensationalised or anything like it makes so much sense, when i think about bugs it goes exactly like the blood stain flashes. uncanny
referring to 4:17
since I live in Italy and our teachers love to torture us, I have to study the entirety of "La Divina Commedia" and its poetic structure while also having to learn certain parts by heart for the end-of-year exam.
as King George III said in Hamilton: AWESOME. WOW
Two points I feel you missed that I want to discuss with people here: The fact that the young woman he murders is named Jacqueline; the female equivalent of Jack and he even goes as far as cutting off what symbolizes her femininity; her breasts. In light of this video I feel like it could be a taunt for people to read into it saying that Jack struggles with his masculinity, but I also believe it says something about how out of touch Jack is with himself and the world around him. Secondly Jack is as said in the video somewhat meta-contextually both the narrator and point of view of the movie but also of the director Lars Von Trier. You can't overlook the fact that the notion about art doesn't comment on Von Trier's other works. At some point Virgil and Jack discuss whether or not an artist's art reflects the artist themselves; here being juxtapositioned with clips from some of Von Trier's other works. It seems like a comment on the reception a lot of his movies has had; a lot of people blame Von Trier for being twisted, him trying to convey that who are we to compare a work of art to its creator. All of that seems like a satirical comment on his own movies further emphasized by the obnoxiously violent "house" at the end of the movie. Let me know what you think!
Now that Ryan's done The House That Jack Built, I'd like to see his take on The Houses October Built.
Similar titles, very different stories.
The kid in the thumbnail is scarier than the kid in the movie
I didn't know it was possible
" The hoose! The hoose!
The moose?
Nai, the HOOSE!"
I love the idea of a serial killer killing people and trying to justify his actions while going through a dantes inferno hell quite entertaining while it's clear that he isn't smart or intelligent, but he likes to think he is he is, and it makes for quite a fun movie to watch without having to read dantes inferno or some divine comedy to understand the movie
I don't have an artsy or anywhere near intelligent remark.
Just that Jack kind of looks like a young Bruce Campbell to me.
It takes a lot to bother me but the scene with the mother and her kids really got to me. Von Trier is a sick man!
My opinion on Von Trier is: he always has a good idea, but the way the he makes his films, the end product ends up being a life draining, boring exercise in patience.
And it pains me to see good actors, delivering good performances in movies that are so boring, drawn out and long, that i cant appreciatte how good said performances were.
I feel kind of similar. I want to like Von Trier’s movies more than I actually like them, if that makes sense. I get that VT has his own style and does his own thing, but I feel like having some outside editors have some influence and tighten up his concept the final product would be more enjoyable
Ryan, thank you for flat out saying you're Northern Irish. I'm fascinated by accents within the English language as a non-native speaker and I've always wondered if this soothing voice of yours was, in fact, an Irish one.
that prevented me from being more deeply traumatized yet getting the point so thx
Lars von Trier is just the Kanye of the film world.
I'm a big Von Trier fan and that comment instantly made me angry hahaha
has lars on trier mentioned the novel "zoo" by otsuichi? some of this reminds me of some of the short stories in it :) you should check it out!
The only film I've not been able to finish. So disturbing and realistic, I felt physically ill and only made it a little over an hour into the movie. I watch horror films all the time. It's my favorite film genre but something about this one was just too much for me. And I've seen other von Trier films before. He's an extremely effective filmmake, just difficult to get through his films (for me, at least) in one mental piece. I'm grateful you made this video so I can know more about the movie without having to finish it myself.
I was starting to miss the "love you" in the intros...glad to have the more cheerful Ryan back:)
The scene with the mother and two kids is one of the hardest things I have ever watched.