Melancholia

After reading other reviews of this movie, it's difficult to know how to react. I get no joy from bashing others for anything except who they voted for in the last election, so I will say just that clearly, we all seem to agree that this movie definitely does appeal to a certain demographic, and definitely does not appeal to a certain other demographic. I come at this from a fairly unique perspective: I'm an astrologer (not by profession because it just does not call me to get paid for it, but I could get paid for it.). I am also a highly-sensitive person, which is a) a real thing (you'll find books on it right here on Amazon) and b) not a disorder and c) while this type of person is predisposed to depression more than someone who isn't an HSP, depression does not necessarily go hand in hand with it. So NO, you do not have to have experience with depression to enjoy this movie as some have said – that’s RIDICULOUS. You just have to be a bit on the deep and existential end of the psychological and philosophical continuum. Anyway, perhaps my astrology knowledge and the spiritual views this has created in me lets me see these scenes differently from most. This is a movie about how knowing the certain end is ahead of you affects the psyches of the people involved and how they deal with the impending end of everything and everyone. It does not matter that these characters are rich, and that alone should not exclude treating them like people in your minds (again, reflecting other reviews I read). I think they’re wealthy with everything we value on Earth going for them in order to illustrate that when the ending comes, it comes for all, and at the time of the total destruction of the planet, nobody will be saved by how much money they have. Yes, Kirsten Dunst's character is deeply depressed, but it's being rather pedestrian to not see the reason. She is aware because she has heightened sensitivity that causes her to feel this planet -- she has something of a kinship with it -- that it is coming to destroy everything. The scene in which she basks naked under its glow is meant to reflect her energetic resonance with it. She’s comfortable, even ecstatic, under its influence. Think of what you might do under the sun and why if nobody was watching, and that might accurately reflect why she is lying naked on rocks basking in the glow of Melancholia. It's not random and it was not just an excuse to get a nude shot of Dunst into the movie. Because Mel is coming to destroy everything, nothing in her life that she's held as meaningful is meaningful anymore. She's has episodic, existential depression in the beginning, and by the way, good luck not having any yourselves if this situation were to happen in real life. She had an important, prestigious job but worked for an appalling man for whom she had no respect, and like so many of us, had to put on a lot of masks to make that work. She's gotten married to a cute guy whom she cares about but this marriage too was probably a choice made to please others (Alexander Skarsgard plays her fiance/husband of ten seconds. "True Blood" fans will know as "Eric," the Viking vampire). With no future ahead of them, it has no MEANING; she's going through with the party because her brother-in-law (Sutherland) paid for it (he doesn't let anyone forget this for a second) and can't get his money back. All the masks come off, the wall of illusion crashes, because there simply is no REASON to maintain them anymore. At the wedding reception, which is about to happen as the film opens, everyone is aware that this planet is headed toward Earth, but not everyone is of the same mind as to whether or not it will make impact or pass close by, especially Dunst's wealthy scientist brother-in-law who has his own special brand of denial going happening. By the end of the movie, everyone has dealt with it in a way that makes sense for who they are. I can take up more space talking about how beautifully shot this was, but that’s been said. I can’t see anyone who thinks deeply and sees life for what it is not appreciating this film, and if that’s not you, that’s fine, just be a student of life and the world at least enough to not say things like “Maybe it’s for you if you have experience with depression.” It’s just an incredibly shallow view of life and other people. It's not for people with major depressive disorder only because YOU don't get it, you just don't get it.

`Melancholia' is a film that is going to be extremely divisive. Not everyone is going to appreciate this, and yet there are going to be some that laud this as one of the finest films ever made. I can certainly see its flaws, and yet there is this underlying captivating atmosphere that I can't help but wholly appreciate. `Melancholia' is a unique and engrossing experience that is less what it seems and more what you'd come to expect from an auteur as controversial as Lars von Trier. The opening montage of cataclysmic destruction plays out like a Vogue editorial shoot captured in slow motion. It seems almost anticlimactic to show us the end before the beginning, and while I understand that this cinematic trick (or gimmick) is initially rather off-putting and presumes to fail the overall purpose of the film somewhat by showing us the cause of concern before we truly understand the concern building in the key characters, it works in a way that I can't quite explain. I personally was rather upset with the sequence upon watching it, but as the film tied itself together I found myself calling it to mind with awe for I saw how the pieces of that puzzle came together in an unexpected way. And, one cannot forsake its beauty. And then the actual film starts, which is broken into two sections. The first part of `Melancholia' focuses on Justine, the bride. Her lavish wedding begins with promise. Her `filthy rich' brother-in-law has paid for the spectacle to take place at his gigantic home, complete with a butler, an 18 hole golf course and a slew of guest rooms (with baths, not showers). The joyous couple show up late, thanks to an oversized limo and some narrowly curved roads, and then all joy seems to evaporate as Justine's intense depression sets in and begins to erode her happiness. Everyone around her fails to understand her condition, even though most of them try (especially her groom and her sister). Justine seems bewitched by a red star she seems looming overhead; a star that goes unseen by the others. This star sets a strange precedent for the remains of the evening as Justine's behavior becomes more reclusive and catatonic almost. Bridges are burned, relationships are broken all hope is lost. The second half switches focus to Claire, the elder sister. While Justine is certainly suffering from depression, Claire begins to delve into paranoia as the impending collision with the mysterious planet Melancholia grows closer and closer. They don't ever say how much time as elapsed since the wedding, where that `star' first reared its head, but Justine is still sulking in misery and the agitation she caused on that `blessed day' obviously still lingers. "It tastes like ashes." With only five days left before Melancholia is supposed to `pass' Earth, Claire and Justine begin to come to terms with the inevitabilities of their futures. At the core of `Melancholia' is a sharply constructed look at mental instability and the effect it has on our own personal survival. Justine's character is of particular interest because her depression, which is initially assumed to stem from the planet traveling towards Earth, is almost eased by the foreknowledge that the end is coming. She possesses a unique bond with the planet, a connection (as seen by her nude moon-bathing) that helps ease her dissention since she is obviously of the accord that life on Earth is corrupted; infected with an evil that, even in its most unintuitive form is still prevalent and contaminating. For her, eradication is a way out of a life she cannot support. From a technical standpoint, `Melancholia' is something special. The imagery is stunning. Lars von Trier has a great track record of using a film's cinematography to eclipse the viewer and sustain his themes. `Antichrist' was a film that suffered in conception and yet it was sustained to a degree thanks to the beautiful and captivating way in which it was shot (not to mention Gainsbourg's phenomenal performance). Here, the night sky is illuminated by cascading stars and eerily shifted cloud structures. Even the murky yet polished way in which the close-ups are rendered is astonishing to watch. I was really taken by the nostalgic score, one that embodied the same sound and atmosphere as the classic apocalyptic and science fiction films. The drama is there, bolded with each swell in the music. Performance-wise, the film belongs to Kirsten Dunst. She is remarkable here. This is a truly restrained and intimate performance, no real showboating or dramatics involved. Instead, Dunst takes a far more realistic look at depression by holding it all in. Sure, she has her crying fits and breakdowns, but she internalizes so much. I'm so happy for her Cannes win, especially since Oscar will most likely look the other way (they like their actresses to SHOW their pain), but I completely concur with many who say this is quite possibly her finest work. She has been one of my favorite actresses for years, and I am so thrilled to see her making some intriguing and rewarding film choices (she should have won the Oscar last year for her tremendous work in `All Good Things'). I also was wholly impressed with Kiefer Sutherland, who dwelled in the skin of his character, adding little touches that made him feel complete as opposed to a mere prop (unlike the younger Skarsgard, who just proved uninteresting). Kiefer portrays an odd warmth, paternal and yet elusively selfish. You can see his colors changing as the film progresses, and his many shades, while never blatant or wholly exposed, haunt long after he's left the screen. In the end, `Melancholia' is probably the strangest `apocalyptic' film you'll ever see, and while it contains certain flaws, those flaws are swallowed and digested by the films ravenous pluses. The pacing is extraordinary (don't listen to the naysayers claiming this film drags, for it most certainly does not) for it allows the impending dread to set it slowly, meticulously, calculated and yet entirely natural so that you feel yourself letting go as you watch Justine and Claire prepare themselves for the afterlife.

"La vita sulla Terra è cattiva. Nessuno la rimpiangerà se finisce". In questa frase c'è tutto il film. Eppure proprio la consapevolezza del male di vivere rende Justine, la sorella depressa e anticonformista, forte di fronte al disastro. Capace, a differenza di Claire la sorella forte e tradizionalista, mostrare al nipotino che l'amore può essere l'arma migliore per affrontare le catastrofi. Grande film

Lars von Trier himself has said that this film is about depression, which is part of his own personality. Those who are anxious to preserve an optimistic and "positive" outlook on life might be wise to avoid it. But then there are those more inclined to agree with Thoreau's remark: "Be it life or death, we crave only reality." And from that point of view, this film is a masterpiece. It may seem odd to mention "reality" in connection with a story in which a science-fictional element plays a central part. In this film, "Melancholia" is not only an old-fashioned term for depression but also a planet (blue, of course) which has wandered into the solar system and, we are told, may or may not collide with Earth. In astrophysical terms, this is highly unlikely but not impossible. The main implausibility here is that nobody seems to have seen this planet coming years before, although it's much larger than Earth, because it was "behind the sun." But that's a relatively minor detail, not hard to suspend one's disbelief about. And that's worth doing, because the real focus of the story is the relationship between two sisters who respond in diametrically opposed ways to the situation presented by Melancholia. Justine (Kirsten Dunst) is the depressive sister, and the first half of the film deals with her struggle between a promising future (it's her wedding day) and the gravity that threatens to pull her into a black hole. Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is the more normal of the two. She sometimes hates her sister for spoiling the party, but also cares about Justine enough to recognize her condition as an illness and try to help her get over it. Both Dunst and Gainsbourg are superb in their roles, and the interplay between them (not to mention the other characters) is psychologically realistic to an almost painful degree. In the second half of the film, while Justine's inner melancholia is on the wane, the planet Melancholia becomes the dominant factor in the story, transforming the relationship between the sisters. And that, in my view, is what makes this film a masterpiece, because the sisters, without ceasing to be finely drawn individuals, represent (to me at least) two different but equally essential sides of human nature. Cinematically, this film is unusual in several ways. Most of the events and interactions of the story are shot in a quasi-documentary style with hand-held camera. Yet it's preceded by a long overture that foreshadows key elements of the story in extreme slow-motion images, accompanied by Wagnerian music (from the opera Tristan and Isolde). It's a combination of artistic Romanticism with realism that should not work, but for me only adds to the power of the film. Of three or four von Trier films i've seen, this is far and away the most engaging. The Blu-ray (i haven't seen the DVD version) includes a fairly short but illuminating extra in which von Trier, Gainsbourg, Dunst and a psychologist comment on the story. Other extras comment on the visual style and how the effects were created. The film certainly is beautiful (both picture and sound) in 1080p. The dialogue is all in English, but there's also a version dubbed into French as well as subtitles in both languages.

Achtung! Hier sind ein paar Spoiler enthalten. Lesen auf eigene Gefahr! Der Planet Melancholia rast auf die Erde zu und bereits in den ersten Minuten des Films sehen wir das Ende der blauen Kugel. Wie ein Staubkorn wird sie von einem Giganten zur Seite geschoben. Diese Eröffnungssequenz erinnert einen natürlich direkt an "Antichrist". Majestätische Bilder in Verbindung mit klassischer Musik, gab es dort schon einmal zu bewundern. Allerdings ist so etwas bei dieser Ästethik einfach nur wunderbar. Direkt zu Beginn saugt der Film einen dadurch in die Leinwand. Cut! Wir begleiten ein Brautpaar zu ihrer Hochzeitsfeier. Das Glück und die Heiterkeit währt allerdings nicht lange. Justine leidet an Depressionen, die Schubweise auch den eigentlich glücklichsten Tag ihres Lebens beeinflussen und letztendlich auch zerstören. Dieser von Lars von Trier als Teil 1 deklarierte Plot, bleibt die komplette Laufzeit auf der Hochzeit, die in Ansätzen an "Das Fest" erinnert. Ihre Verwandschaft ist bis auf ihre Schwester Claire nicht gerade traumhaft und auch Teile der übrigen Gäste mag man nicht unbedingt als Freunde haben. Dieser Part des Films wird wieder im Dogma Stil vorgetragen, was Gegnern der Home-Video-Wackel-Kamera absolut nicht zusagen wird. Eher dokumentarisch wohnt man den Gegebenheiten bei, die allerdings sehr viel Aufschluß über die Hauptpersonen geben. Wer also darauf hofft das Bruce Willis mit ein paar Sprengköpfen die Erde rettet, sollte von Melancholia weiten Abstand gewinnen. Dafür gibt es aber unglaublich einfühlsame und interessante Charaktere, die von Kirsten Dunst und Charlotte Gainsbourg phänomenal wiedergegeben werden. Auch der weitere Cast ist mit John Hurt, Charlotte Rampling, Kiefer Sutherland und Stellan Skarsgard unglaublich gut besetzt. Allerdings verlangt der komplette Part den Zuschauern einiges ab. Man muss konzentriert bleiben und sich auf die Geschehnisse einlassen. Hier steht nämlich keineswegs der bevorstehende Weltuntergang im Vordergrund, wobei auch hier fantastische Bilder serviert werden. Dies hat meist mit einer unglaublich starken Ausleuchtung der Sets zu tun, aber auch die brillanten Dialoge sorgen weiterhin für ungemeines Interesse. Sofern man etwas für Dialoge übrig hat. Der zweite Teil des Films, der vom Regisseur auch extra so betitelt wurde, löst den Dogma Stil ab und versprüht Ruhe. Ungemeine Ruhe. Die beiden Schwestern befinden sich auf dem Gelände des reichen Ehemanns von Claire. Nur ihr Sohn und ihr Mann ist noch anwesend. Langsam aber sicher beschäftigt man sich mit dem näher kommenden Planeten. Claire wird immer panischer und hat tiefergehende Angst, das Melancholia das Leben ihrer Familie auslöscht. Justine dagegen taut aus ihrer tiefen Depression langsam wieder auf und durch den bevorstehenden Tod kommt wieder Leben in sie. Zum ersten Mal bringt man sie mit Freude und Sehnsucht in Verbindung. Sehnsucht nach Melancholia. Die Charaktere der Schwestern tauschen langsam die Rolle, genau wie es bei der Kameraführung geschehen ist. Jetzt bereitet uns von Trier ein melancholisches Fest für die Sinne, bei dem ich unglaublich dankbar bin, dabei gewesen sein zu dürfen. Der Film ist ein unheimlicher Brocken, der nur schwer zu verdauen ist. Nach dem Film bin ich erstmal eine Kippe rauchen gegangen und schlenderte ziellos in der Kinogegend umher. Bei einem Italiener bestellte ich mir unbewußt einen Cognac, obwohl ich nur sehr selten Alkohol trinke. Möglicherweise um das Gesehene besser zu verdauen, aber da wird der Cognac nicht ausreichen. Ich schätze das ich Melancholia noch eine Zeit lang verarbeiten werde. Meine Verabeitung hat wirklich länger gedauert. Die Rezi hatte ich mal geschrieben, als ich aus dem Kino kam. Heute war die Zeitsichtung auf Blu Ray und der Film hat mich erneut absolut umgehauen. Das war nämlich für mich der einzige Punkt bei dem ich nicht sicher war. Begeistert er auch beim zweiten Mal? Für mich persönlich kann ich es uneingeschränkt bestätigen. Aber nicht nur um den Film mehrfach sehen zu können, lohnt sich der Kauf der Blu Ray. Die ist nämlich ebenfalls klasse. Das Bild wird man zwar wahrscheinlich nicht als Referenz einordnen, da es kein Mainstreamer ist, aber ich finde es sehr detailreich und ausgesprochen scharf. Die Kontraste sind absolut klasse und die Bildgewalt kommt in HD verdammt gut rüber. Aber auch in den überwiegend leiseren Sequenzen verschafft das Bild einem das Gefühl dabei zu sein. Der Ton ist ebenfalls ausgesprochen gut, wobei er etwas frontlastig ist. Dies passt aber absolut zum Film, da die Dialoge wichtiger sind als räumliche Effekte. Der Bass war an den wenigen brachialen Stellen aber ein wenig unsauber. Kann aber auch definitiv an meinem Hörraum gelegen haben. Neben der Deutschen ist natürlich auch die Englische Tonspur vorhanden, zu der man optional deutsche Untertitel hinzuschalten kann. Als Bonusmaterial gibt es neben den Trailern zum Film, noch 4 Featurettes die einige Interviews und auch Deutungen bereit halten. Die sind in jedem Fall sehr interessant und beinhalten nicht nur das obligatorische Schwärmen vom Set. Für Flatschengegner ist sogar ein Wendecover dabei. Somit ist das für mich eine absolut gelungene Veröffentlichung.

Just before I start, let me WARN those viewers who would like to sit on the couch and watch a fun film with a linear story for 2 hours and forget tomorrow to look elsewhere. There is NOTHING WRONG with being a casual viewer. But with this, you will live the film, days and weeks (and perhaps years) after watching it. I think currently there are only 3 directors alive capable of producing masterpiece after masterpiece: Bela Tarr, Michael Haenke and Lars Von Trier (hope havent forgotten anyone). The film is a perfect masterpiece - perhaps too perfect as Lars himself put it. Cinematography stunning, casting and acting perfect, editing just done right and Wagner's music taking the film to another world - the world of Melancholia. Lars has done it again (Breaking the waves, Dogville, Dancer in the Dark). The film is depiction of colliding two different worlds (not really planets, they are just symbols): the world of Melancholy (named Melancholia) and the normal world. Justine belongs to the world of Melancholy - she is a foreigner on the earth hence she cannot go through the wedding without destroying everything. She even seems to make love to the planet in the second episode. Melancholia makes her to feel calm there, feel at home. She is worried and terrified in the first episode. A sense of eventual doom lingers on in the first half of the film which then turns into a calm and peace while everyone else panicks in the second half. So what is it about after all? There is yet a hidden core to the film which I have yet to uncover. But it might be years until the sunconscious works its way to mind. Which happened to me with Tarkovsky's Solaris.

Sin duda alguna es de las mejores o la mejor película sobre Melancolía que hay, y la mejor de Lars Von Trier. Me encanta y me identifico actualmente con la protagonista y sus familiares.