SKC Workshop Spring 2025

Tina Kandiashvili

(The University of Edinburgh, UK)

"Kierkegaardian ‘Knights of Faith’ in Lars von Trier’s Golden Heart Trilogy"

This paper examines Lars von Trier’s Golden Heart Trilogy (Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998), and Dancer in the Dark (2000)) through the lens of Søren Kierkegaard’s ethical theory. It argues that the protagonists—Bess, Karen, and Selma—progress through Kierkegaard’s three stages of existence: the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious. Drawing on Either/Or and Fear and Trembling, the paper explores how these characters embody Kierkegaardian ideals of ethical and spiritual development while challenging modern societal dogmas. The analysis also highlights von Trier’s use of Kierkegaardian irony, depicting "Knights of Faith" as working-class women whose ethical transcendence is punished by the rigid systems of their respective narrative worlds: the Calvinist church (Breaking the Waves), middle-class norms (The Idiots), and the American justice system (Dancer in the Dark). This irony is reflected not only in the narrative but also in the films’ form, with von Trier employing stylistic elements such as handheld camerawork and abrupt editing to create a dissonance between ethical ideals and societal expectations, mirroring Kierkegaard’s own ironic writing style. More broadly, the paper argues that von Trier, like a Kierkegaardian ironist, challenges contemporary moral frameworks through provocative film narratives and form. By doing so, he encourages audiences to critically reflect on the ideological beliefs they take for granted and to question societal dogmas through a subjective lens.