History YMMV / LarsVonTrier

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: [[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/lars-von-trier-breaking-silence-worries-he-can-t-make-films-sober-1.2854739?cmp=fbtl&utm_content=bufferd2671&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer His works actually]], Lars has stated that they came from drug and alcohol abuse, and that he may have to stop since he is a recovering addict.

** Lars von Trier is a major candidate for the most divisive filmmaker in the history of cinema. Either you think he's a brilliant underrated genius who singlehandedly reinvented the very art of filmmaking or you think he's an pretentious, misogynistic edgelord who lives to make audiences as bitter and miserable as his films. Those two descriptions are, of course, not mutually exclusive.

* BrokenBase: Lars von Trier is a major candidate for the most divisive filmmaker in the history of cinema. Either you think he's a brilliant underrated genius who singlehandedly reinvented the very art of filmmaking or you think he's an pretentious, misogynistic edgelord who lives to make audiences as bitter and miserable as his films. Those two descriptions are, of course, not mutually exclusive.

* NeverLiveItDown:
** The infamous "I understand [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]]" comment at the Cannes Film Festival, which resulted in a lifetime ban until 2018.
** His very cruel treatment of Music/{{Bjork}} in ''Dancer in the Dark'', something Björk fans have never let him forget. Björk actually has stated that while she hated her time working with him, she has stated she knows Trier can be a good man. That said, she has stated that she would ''never'' work with him again.
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: A major criticism about his films among his detractors.

* BrokenBase: Lars von Trier is a major candidate for the most divisive filmmaker in the history of cinema. Either you think he's a brilliant underrated genius who singlehandedly reinvented the very art of filmmaking or you think he's an arrogant pretentious edgelord who lives to make audiences as bitter and miserable as his films. Those two descriptions are, of course, not mutually exclusive.

* BrokenBase: Lars von Trier is a major candidate for the most divisive filmmaker in the history of cinema. Either you think he's a brilliant underrated genius who singlehandedly reinvented the very art of filmmaking or you think he's an arrogant pretentious edgelord who lives to make audiences as bitter and miserable as his films.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: [[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/lars-von-trier-breaking-silence-worries-he-can-t-make-films-sober-1.2854739?cmp=fbtl&utm_content=bufferd2671&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer His works actually]], Lars has stated that they came from drug and alcohol abuse, and that he may have to stop since he is a recoverring addict.

* BrokenBase: Lars von Trier is a major candidate for the most divisive filmmaker in the history of cinema. Either you think he's a brilliant underrated genius who singlehandedly reinvented the very art of filmmaking or you think he's an arrogant pretentious hack who lives to make audiences as bitter and miserable as his films.

** ''Film/{{Melancholia}}'' is either a real heart-wrenching film enforcing the idea of HobbesWasRight, or it makes the characters so unlikable [[spoiler:[[RootingForTheEmpire you just want the damn planet to kill everyone]]]]. This is of course assuming you can get behind that premise.

* SmallNameBigEgo: In addition to his reputation as a filmmaker, the amount of things that von Trier has said in the past certainly doesn't help. But notable examples have included telling Creator/PeterJackson that he would have made a better ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' adaptation and saying he understood UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler while at the Cannes Film Festival (Nazism is a touchy subject in France) which, until 2018, led to a lifetime ban from the festival.

** His very cruel treatment of Music/{{Bjork}} in ''Dancer in the Dark'', something Bjork fans have never let him forget. Bjork actually has stated that while she hated her time working with him, she has stated she knows Trier can be a good man. That said, she has stated that she would ''never'' work with him again.

* AwardSnub: Why Lars hasn't been nominated for an Academy Award for his directing yet?

** His very cruel treatment of Music/{{Bjork}} in ''Dancer in the Dark'', something Bjork fans have never let him forget. Bjork actually has stated that while she hated her time working with him, she has stated she knows Trier can be a good man.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: Lars didn't invent this game, but he now owns it the way Tiger Woods owns golf.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Due to the ''extremely'' angsty tone of his work, most of Trier's films are prone to fall into this.

* NeverLiveItDown: Hooo boy...how about the infamous "I understand [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]]" comment at the Cannes Film Festival.
** ''All'' his films being the enforced DarknessInducedAudienceApathy and HobbesWasRight mentality.
** His very cruel treatment of Music/{{Bjork}} in ''Dancer in the Dark'', something Bjork fans have never let him forget (which is shocking since Bjork actually has stated that while she hated her time working with him, she has stated she knows Trier can be a good man).
* SmallNameBigEgo: In addition to his reputation as a filmmaker, the amount of things that von Trier has said in the past certainly doesn't help. But notable examples have included telling Creator/PeterJackson that he would have made a better ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' adaptation and saying he understood UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler while at the Cannes Film Festival (Nazism is a touchy subject in France) which led to a lifetime[[note]]until 2018[[/note]] ban from the festival.

* SmallNameBigEgo: In addition to his reputation as a filmmaker, the amount of things that von Trier has said in the past certainly doesn't help. But notable examples have included telling Creator/PeterJackson that he would have made a better ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' adaptation and saying he understood UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler while at the Cannes Film Festival (Nazism is a touchy subject in France) which led to a lifetime[[note]]though, [[http://www.indiewire.com/2017/03/lars-von-trier-the-house-that-jack-built-cannes-1201791773/ this might change]][[/note]] ban from the festival.

** ''All'' his films being the enforced DarknessInducedAudienceApathy and HobbesIsRight mentality.

* LoveItOrHateIt: Lars von Trier is a major candidate for the most divisive filmmaker in the history of cinema. Either you think he's a brilliant underrated genius who singlehandedly reinvented the very art of filmmaking or you think he's an arrogant pretentious hack who lives to make audiences as bitter and miserable as his films.
** To drive this point home, ''The Movie Show's'' Margaret Pomeranz gave ''Dancer in the Dark'' 5 stars out of 5, while her partner, David Stratton, gave it ''zero stars''. That was the only time that'd happened in the history of the show. To say that Lars is a polarizing figure is an understatement.
** ''Film/{{Melancholia}}'' is either a real heart-wrenching film enforcing the idea of HobbesWasRight, or it makes the characters so unlikable [[spoiler:[[RootingForTheEmpire you just want the damn planet to kill everyone]]]]. This is of course assuming you can get behind that premise.

* SmallNameBigEgo: In addition to his reputation as a filmmaker, the amount of things that von Trier has said in the past certainly doesn't help. But notable examples have included telling Creator/PeterJackson that he would have made a better ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' adaptation and saying he understood UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler while at the Cannes Film Festival (Nazism is a touchy subject in France) which led to a lifetime ban from the festival.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Most of his films are prone to fall into this.