'Torture Porn' Shown at Cannes

Filmmaker Lars von Trier may not win any awards at Cannes for his latest, Antichrist, but he certainly is getting plenty of publicity. The new movie, starring Willem DaFoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, has sent film critics into a tizzy as they try to wrap their heads around what in the world von Trier is trying to say. The movie chronicles a bereaved couple's descent into madness as they struggle to cope with the loss of their young child. In an effort to help his wife recover, DaFoe's character decides that they should spend some time in an isolated cabin in the woods. Things go downhill from there. Really downhill. Along with extraordinarily graphic sex scenes, Gainsbourg ends up torturing DaFoe and mutilating herself, often in close-up. Once the film concluded at Cannes, a spattering of unsure applause was drowned out by a wave of boos. Von Trier, for his part, is not explaining his art, saying, "I am the best film director in the world," and "I don't think I owe anyone an explanation."