As the conference drew to a close, the director, who won the Palme d’Or with “Dancer in the Dark,” was asked about comments he made in a recent interview regarding his interest in the Nazi aesthetic.
“No, that was a joke”
“I thought I was a Jew for a long time and was very happy being a Jew,” he said (referring to the fact he discovered only late in life that he was German). “Then later on came (Jewish and Danish director) Susanne Bier and then suddenly I wasn’t so happy about being a Jew. No, that was a joke, sorry. But it turned out I was not a Jew – but even if I’d been a Jew I would be kind of a second rate Jew because there is kind of a hierarchy in the Jewish population. But anyway, I really wanted to be a Jew and then I found out I was really a Nazi, you know, because my family was German, Hartmann, which also gave me some pleasure.”
It looks very likely that Von Trier has a mouth that works on its own. But Dunst and the reporters were not sure how to take his comments.
…”not what you call a good guy…”
“What can I say? I understand Hitler. I think he did some wrong things, yes absolutely, but I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end. I think I understand the man. He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews. I am of course very much for Jews. No, not too much because Israel is a pain in the ass. But still, how can I get out of this sentence?”
The fuss will inevitably be misinterpreted, misquoted and used against the film. He looks as if this is supposed to be a joke.