I was quite excited when I saw Melancholia suddenly appear on Netflix, a movie I had wanted to see for some time. I remember hearing quite a bit about it last summer and fall, at the Cannes Festival or on NPR, mostly praising Kirsten Dunst's performance. It's not often I watch a movie twice in one week, unless it's something truly original and captivating. Well that is definitely the case for this art-film directed by Lars von Trier, unlike anything I've see before.
From the get-go it's quite clear that this movie is a "gloom-and-doom" story, by no-means a feel-good movie for the faint of heart. Lars von Trier, makes it clear in the beginning that the world is going to end. However never has an end-of-the-world film, looked so beautiful. It is dosed with a powerful Wagner score, incredible astronomic visuals (similar to Tree of Life), and an amazing landscape setting. Throughout the film the planet Melancholia, is having a death dance with Earth, and there is no escaping this planetary collision. However the story doesn't focus on the total chaos of the end of the world, yet instead presents the reaction of a few.
The main protagonist is a depressed bride named Claire, played by Kirsten Dunst, who begins to unravel at the beginning of the film. At her reception, she displays an extreme behavior of aloofness and disconnection from her loved ones. Her new husband can hardly recognize her, while her sister and brother in-law are quite frustrated with her ungratefulness. "I am trudging through this grey wooly yarn, it's really heavy to drag along" she tells her sister, confessing her depression. The wedding is a total debacle of awkward exchanges, between Claire and her groom, her parents, and her boss.
The movie then takes a different turn in the second part, focusing on Claire's sister Justine, and the peculiar planet of Melancholia. Justine is a concerned mother, afraid that the planet may collide with Earth. She is however constantly assured by her scientific husband, that it is no more than a "fly-by". Justine takes care of her depressed sister, while growing more anxious of the planet. Suddenly it becomes a reality that the planet is on a death path to Earth. The interesting contrast that occurs in this film, is the different reactions of Claire and Justine. Justine begins to panic at the inescapable doom, while the depressed Claire remains calm. The final moment of this film, where the planets collide, is quite sensational. It is a conclusion of sheer gloom, and yet done so in such an artistic fashion.
From the get-go it's quite clear that this movie is a "gloom-and-doom" story, by no-means a feel-good movie for the faint of heart. Lars von Trier, makes it clear in the beginning that the world is going to end. However never has an end-of-the-world film, looked so beautiful. It is dosed with a powerful Wagner score, incredible astronomic visuals (similar to Tree of Life), and an amazing landscape setting. Throughout the film the planet Melancholia, is having a death dance with Earth, and there is no escaping this planetary collision. However the story doesn't focus on the total chaos of the end of the world, yet instead presents the reaction of a few. The main protagonist is a depressed bride named Claire, played by Kirsten Dunst, who begins to unravel at the beginning of the film. At her reception, she displays an extreme behavior of aloofness and disconnection from her loved ones. Her new husband can hardly recognize her, while her sister and brother in-law are quite frustrated with her ungratefulness. "I am trudging through this grey wooly yarn, it's really heavy to drag along" she tells her sister, confessing her depression. The wedding is a total debacle of awkward exchanges, between Claire and her groom, her parents, and her boss.
The movie then takes a different turn in the second part, focusing on Claire's sister Justine, and the peculiar planet of Melancholia. Justine is a concerned mother, afraid that the planet may collide with Earth. She is however constantly assured by her scientific husband, that it is no more than a "fly-by". Justine takes care of her depressed sister, while growing more anxious of the planet. Suddenly it becomes a reality that the planet is on a death path to Earth. The interesting contrast that occurs in this film, is the different reactions of Claire and Justine. Justine begins to panic at the inescapable doom, while the depressed Claire remains calm. The final moment of this film, where the planets collide, is quite sensational. It is a conclusion of sheer gloom, and yet done so in such an artistic fashion.
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