CANNES: Controversy gripped Cannes Wednesday with Lars von Trier expressing “a little bit” of sympathy for Adolf Hitler and Peter Fonda calling US President Barack Obama a traitor in four-letter fashion. The rhetorical double feature overshadowed what many expected would top the bill for uproar at the film festival – French director Xaviar Durringer's telling of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to power, “The Conquest”. At a press conference for his new film “Melancholia”, which is up for a Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, Von Trier – a notorious provocateur who later Wednesday apologised for his remarks – was asked about his German roots. “I understand Hitler,” he said. “I think he did some wrong things, yes absolutely, but I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end.” His star Kirsten Dunst, who is also of German descent, looked uncomfortable and murmured “oh my God, this is terrible” to co-star Charlotte Gainsbourg. “But, come on, I'm not for the Second World War. And I'm not against Jews (but) not too much because Israel is a pain in the ass.” “Okay, I'm a Nazi,” Von Trier finally shrugged, prompting nervous laughter. Later on Wednesday, in the festival's American Pavilion, Golden Globe winner Fonda reached for an obscenity to lash out at Obama's handling of the Gulf oil spill and aftermath.
