Lars Von Trier's Cannes Flub: 'I'm a Nazi'

Director Lars Von Trier ("Dogville") shocked attendees at Cannes and people around the world yesterday when he spoke the following words during a press conference: "I'm a Nazi."

At the conference, which was for his new film "Melancholia," Von Trier was asked a question about his Germanic roots. This is how he answered:

"For a long time I thought I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew, then I met Susanne Bier and I wasn’t so happy...no, that was a joke, sorry."

Bier, it should be noted, is a Danish--and Jewish--director. Von Trier continued:

"But then I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family were German. And that also gave me some pleasure. What can I say? I understand Hitler…I understand the man. He's not what you'd call a good guy but...I sympathize with him a bit.”

Yes, Von Trier actually said that he sympathizes with Hitler. Yes, that Hitler. Von Trier seemed to understand that he had gone too far (perhaps it was Kirsten Dunst's expression of shock and anger as she sat next to him during this whole thing) and he attempted to explain:

“I don’t mean I’m in favor of World War II and I’m not against Jews, not even Susanne Bier. In fact I’m very much in favor of them. All Jews. Well, Israel is a pain in the ass but...now how can I get out of this sentence? Ok. I'm a Nazi."

Wow. Von Trier hasn't always been a guy who has been good with public speaking...he tends to find awkward things like this very funny. But he pushed it too far this time...maybe it's easy for him to brush aside the fact that one of the worst genocides in the history of the human race happened at Hitler's hand, but not for pretty much all of the rest of the world.

Von Trier apologized later in the day, saying that he "let himself be egged on by a provocation." I'm not sure what provocation he meant...the reporter asked about his Germanic roots and about a quote he had given before about a fascination with the Nazi aesthetic. It seems that his failed comedy routine was entirely his choice.

You can watch the whole press conference on the Cannes website. The train wreck starts at about 34:00.