Lars Von Trier
Unlike some other directors on this list, Trier actually kind of cares what you think about him. Truth is, he wants two things out of you. He wants you to know he is a genius, and he wants you to know he is an asshole. He is the one out of the five who actually seems to relish in having people hate him. Hell, having the word FUCK tattooed across your knuckles clearly states you are not trying to win any elections. Add to that the subject matter behind his films, and you have a director (and brain) that seems to be on a whole different level than most.
But I’ll tell you, Lars Von Trier wants to scar you. He wants you to walk away from his movies changed. The problem is, even with kids falling out of windows and crippled men making their wives fuck other men and genital mutilation and pretty much real sex scenes….yes, he claims he used CG in his most recent work when it came to hardcore sex scenes, but I will tell you flat out, I think he just told us that to not get in trouble.
You watch Nymphomaniac and either this is the best CG in the world, or his actors and actresses are actually fucking. I will leave that up to you to decide. But even at the end of the day when you know he just wants a reaction, the problem is, he is a remarkable director with an unbelievably keen eye for both the beautiful and the grotesque.
But again, I ask, what must the brain of this man be like? I just imagine a lot of talking vaginas, dead babies, and the constant, looming sense that something awful is right about to happen. Like, right……….now.