Politics as Form in Lars von Trier

Angelos Koutsourakis is Associate Professor in Film and Cultural Studies at the Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures, University of Leeds, UK. He is the author of Rethinking Brechtian Film Theory and Cinema (2018) and the co-editor of Cinema of Crisis: Film and Contemporary Europe (2020) and of The Cinema of Theo Angelopoulos (2015).

• Preface and AcknowledgementsNotes to the TextForeword: Looking Back 1. From Brechtian to Post-Brechtian Cinema. Lars von Trier and the Post-Brechtian Brecht on the Film MediumBrecht’s Critique of the Institution of CinemaWhat is Post-Brechtian Cinema?Locating von Trier in the post-BrechtianChallenging the Cinematic InstitutionArtaudian Cruelty as Verfremdungseffekt 2. Historical Fragments in the Europa Trilogy Europe is PainfulBeyond the FabelAudiovisual Plenitude: the Individual in Crisis Dialectical Images Literalization of the Medium: the Essay as FormHistory as TransitionOn Film Voyeurism 3. The Primacy of the ApparatusBack to the 1970s? Dogme 95 Realism and Anti-Illusionism Technology and ProductivityThe Idiots: Performant Function and Performative CameraInterrupting the NarrativePerformance as FormCharacters as Bodily EffectsPerforming out of CharacterReflections on the Primacy of the Apparatus: Post-Dogme Developments, Rules and Automavision 4. Dogville and Manderlay: Experimentation and Dialectical NegationsRepresentation as an ExperimentExperimentation as PedagogyTheatricality: Attitudes in SpacePerformative ContradictionsNarrative Openness as Negative DialecticsEpilogue: Dialogue with the ‘Dissensual’ PastAppendix:Interview with Lars von TrierInterview with Jørgen LethManifestos Filmography and BibliographyIndex

From Brechtian to Post-Brechtian: Koutsourakis moves beyond the mere allegorical readings of the films' content and challenges the simplistic dichotomies that traditionally [restricted] von Trier's Brechtianism [...] Unlike other books on von Trier . . . this richly illustrated study pushes the analysis to reveal von Trier's multiple connections with the avante-garde and Italian Neo-Realism, also including interviews with the director and his mentor Jorgen Leth.