Lars Von Trier Isn't Technically Sorry He Made That Nazi Joke

"What can I say? I understand Hitler," said Lars von Trier during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival in May. "But I think he did some wrong things, yes absolutely, but I can see him sitting in his bunker. But there will come a point, at the end of this... I'm just saying, I think I understand the man. He's not what you would call a good guy, but yeah, I understand much about him and I sympathize with him a little bit." Needless to say, the ill-advised attempt at humor ("humor") caused the 'Melancholia' director much grief: he was named as a persona non grata by Cannes Film Festival organizers and, not surprisingly, had to apologize for the remarks. About that apology. Said Von Trier to GQ in an exclusive interview: To say I'm sorry for what I said is to say I'm sorry for what kind of a person I am, I'm sorry for my morals, and that would destroy me as a person. It's not true. I'm not sorry. I am not sorry for what I said. I'm sorry that it didn't come out more clearly. I'm not sorry that I made a joke, but I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear that it was a joke. But I can't be sorry for what I said-it's against my nature. Maybe, but that's maybe where I'm really sick in my mind. You can't be sorry about something that's fundamentally you. Maybe I'm a freak in that sense. The the lengthy interview with GQ writer Chris Heath also features a moment when Von Trier is forced to watch his infamous Cannes press conference. "This is why I shouldn't do interviews," he said when confronted with the footage. "I should just shut up and I should do my films. This was terrible to listen to." [via GQ] Photo: GF/bauergriffinonline.com

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