# Why Movies Are Mostly Trash > Lars von Trier’s bold cinema contrasts today’s formulaic films. - Title: Why Movies Are Mostly Trash · VICE | Shortify - Summary: Lars von Trier’s bold cinema contrasts today’s formulaic films. Modern movies lack risk-taking and depth, needing more unconventional filmmakers like von… - Keywords: lars von trier, movies, cinema, film industry, hollywood, screenwriting, nordic cinema, film directors, acting, film criticism, news, culture - Source: VICE — https://vice.com/en/article/why-movies-are-mostly-trash-these-days-and-what-needs-to-happen-to-fix-them - Author: Jillian Drachman - Published: 2026-10-17T18:52:02+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: lars von trier, movies, cinema, film industry, hollywood, screenwriting, nordic cinema, film directors, acting, film criticism, news, culture ## Lars von Trier’s Film Legacy Lars von Trier made Idiotene (1998), a polarizing yet inventive film that earned tears through absurdity. > Idiotene, which I initially decided to watch after seeing that celebrity author Karl Ove Knausgård had given his endorsement ## Modern Cinema’s Decline Today’s films are derivative, formulaic, and lack risk-taking, with poor writing and acting. > The fact that hardly anything is well-written, well-directed, and well-acted can also, to an extent, be attributed to professors and pedagogues. ## Hollywood’s Money-Driven System Hollywood prioritizes profit over art, discouraging individualism and eccentricity in filmmakers. > Whereas von Trier co-founded Zentropa, his own production company, in 1992, in part, so that he could take risks and embark upon endeavors that might lose money, other filmmakers and the systems they exist within are obviously too money-oriented ## Training and Casting Issues Film schools have degenerated, and casting directors often hire unqualified actors who lack talent. > A shocking number of prestigious institutions claiming to teach film and the dramatic arts have degenerated into sad jokes ## The Problem with Themes Filmmakers misuse social issues for profit, leading to shallow and inauthentic stories. > Women’s rights and more aren’t a way for your grubby paws to make money to spend cheating on your wife, pal. ## The Need for Literary Influence Screenwriters should learn from literature to avoid formulaic scripts and create meaningful stories. > If screenwriters took more instruction from fine and ennobling literature (and were encouraged by their bosses and colleagues), then perhaps their scripts wouldn’t be so impossibly formulaic. ## Historical Context Spirituality and historical accuracy are missing in modern cinema, unlike past masterpieces. > The fact that our filmmakers need to be more erudite (and scrupulous) routinely comes across in period pieces, as they are not always accurate enough to warrant our belief. ## Nordic Cinema’s Strength Nordic filmmakers like von Trier create bold, unconventional cinema that resonates deeply. > Von Trier does not seem to have lost an ounce of that childlike wonder with which he animated his first short film as an 11-year-old, Turen til Squashland (1967) ## The Solution More filmmakers like von Trier, who embrace risk and creativity, are needed to revive cinema. > But what we really need are more playful idiots. Idiots not only like von Trier but also Paprika Steen! Vibeke Windeløv. ## The Future of Cinema Cinema needs bold, unconventional filmmakers to create meaningful, impactful stories. > The cerebral tour de force it proves. ## Key takeaway Modern movies lack risk-taking and depth, needing more unconventional filmmakers like von Trier to fix the industry.