Charlotte Gainsbourg won the Best Actress prize at Cannes for her brave portrayal of a grief-stricken mother who has retreated to a woodland cabin with husband Willem Dafoe, a coldly rational therapist, who hopes the break will coax her back to life. The getaway proves ill-advised as the couple are plunged into a nightmarish labyrinth of witchcraft, mythology, and sexual violence. A challenging work, even by Von Trier’s standard’s, which the director has cited as being performative therapy following a long period of depression.

Notes by David O’Mahony

Screening as part of Lars von Trier: Enduring Provocations. Multi-film pass available.