forbidden commerce

His films consistently critique capitalist exploitation and the commodification of human labor, dignity, and social welfare.

He explores transgressive commerce through provocative narratives involving the sale of bodies, sexuality, and morality in works like Dancer in the Dark and Nymphomaniac.

His films examine illicit and destructive commercial exchanges—addiction, bodily commodification, and the human cost of ambition in films like Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan.