A withering indictment of American social values, written and directed by a man who has never set foot in America, Lars von Trier’s Dogville is an ambitious provocation. With an all-star cast led by Nicole Kidman, this epic Brechtian drama is a raw examination of small-town hypocrisy and prejudice.

From controversial director Lars von Trier comes the first entry in his Golden Heart trilogy, which was followed by The Idiots and the Palme d’Or winning Dancer in the Dark. Starring Emily Watson in an uncompromising performance, Breaking the Waves remains one of Von Trier’s finest achievements.

A difficult yet rewarding film from the equally complex Danish provocateur Lars von Trier! This fiercely polemical, little-seen sequel to Dogville tackles a topic as sensitive as slavery, all the while maintaining its predecessor’s Brechtian premise, anti-American bent, and yes, its brilliance.

Lars von Trier has never been shy to burnish his reputation as the malevolent puppet master of his protagonists’ misfortune, but never quite so literally as in this playful documentary. One of the great films about filmmaking, The Five Obstructions is a reflexive marvel of cinematic problem solving.

Lars von Trier dialed down his ferociousness in the mid-2000s to make a satire of neoliberalism that is, in fact, surprisingly sweet! Circling around an eager thespian who bears the brunt of a peculiar act of outsourcing, this droll, lo-fi version of the office sitcom never needs a laugh track.