French Authorities Drop Charges Against von Trier

The public prosecutor from the French city of Grasse (just north of Cannes) has officially dropped defamation charges against Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, following his outspoken comments during the Cannes Film Festival press conference for his film MELANCHOLIA. Grasse’s public prosecutor Jean-Michel Cailleau has said that “the case has been officially closed” and that authorities won’t press charges against Von Trier for his comments that may have “justified Nazi war crimes” which is punishable by five years in jail. Von Trier infamously told journalists at the Cannes Film Festival that he “understands Hitler, he certainly did some wrong things, but I can imagine him sitting in his bunker towards the end…now how can I get out of this sentence? OK, I’m a Nazi.” The Festival responded by declaring him persona non grata, barring him from the awards evening which saw his lead actress Kirsten Dunst take the Best Actress prize. Von Trier has since declared that he will no longer participate in press conferences or conduct interviews, since he apparently cannot control his errant tongue.

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