Von Trier sickened as Breivik named 'Dogville' top film

COPENHAGEN: Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier said he feels "excessively sick" that the self-confessed perpetrator of the Norway massacres named "Dogville" as one of his favourite films.

The right-wing Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who has claimed responsibility for the death of 77 people, listed on his Facebook profile Von Trier's 2003 film as one of his top three favourites.

"It makes me excessively sick when I think that 'Dogville' -- for me my best film -- could have been used as a sort of script for him. It's horrible," the filmmaker told Denmark's daily Politiken newspaper.

"The last scene of 'Dogville' bears painful similarities with Utoeya," the Danish director said, referring to the island near Oslo where Behring Breivik opened fire on a summer camp, killing 69 people.

"You're asking me if I'm sad for having made this film? Yes, if it's proved to have inspired him, I've sorry for having made it," he said, explaining that the film's intention was to educate the public, not inspire violence.

In the interview published on the paper's website late Friday, Von Trier argued that Behring Breivik was clearly influenced by the ideologies of Denmark's extreme-right PPD political party.

"For several years there has been a strong tradition in Denmark of fearing Islam," he said.

He alleged the PPD "has committed atrocities in using legislation to harass this minority and they have a political line that corresponds to the one professed by Behring Breivik." Behring Breivik believed he was fighting to protect Europe against an Islamic invasion, according to his lawyer.

"This racism," von Trier said, "has spread to other Nordic countries and it was installed in Behring Breivik's conscience and without a doubt it gave him the justification that he needed."

"I can't help but think that as a nation we bear some responsibility in the Norwegian tragedy," he added.

He asked PPD chief Pia Kjaersgaard "to admit his responsibility in what happened in Norway."

Von Trier, known for making provocative comments, was declared persona non grata at this year's Cannes Film Festival, after saying he understood Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and sympathised with him "a little bit." (AFP)