This is the first study that employs a materialist framework to discuss the political implications of form in the films of Lars von Trier. Focusing mainly on early films, Politics as Form in Lars von Trier identifies recurring formal elements in von Trier's oeuvre and discusses the formal complexity of his films under the rubric of the post-Brechtian. Through an in depth formal analysis, the book shows that Brecht is more important to von Trier's work than what most critics seem to acknowledge and deems von Trier as a dialectical filmmaker. This study draws on many untranslated...

A comprehensive re-examination of Brechtian film theory Offers the first full-length study on Brechtian film theory and cinema dedicated to connecting Brecht's writings with classical film theory, contemporary film theory and German Media Theory Seeks to connect theory with practice so as to identify the ways the dialectic works within the film object Investigates Brechtian cinema with reference to a variety of filmmakers who share aesthetic and cultural differences, but also similarities in their employment of the dialectical method Making a compelling argument for the continuing...