I went to see Lars Von Triers’ Melancholia yesterday evening with my friend Karen.
We both loved it. The photography is so gorgeous, it’s deeply moody and atmospheric and it has left us with a deep impression. This movie from Danish provocative Lars Von Trier is actually an apocalyptic melodrama that connects existential pessimism with cosmic doom. The glorious music brings it all together.
Everything begins with a visual and musical prologue. An ‘end of the world ballet’ on music from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. I couldn’t help but notice that people around me were suddenly awkwardly silent. Get ready to experience 10 minutes symbol loaded and dreamlike images (a bride tries to break free of lianas, a falling horse, a collision between a planet and the earth), an overture to prepare yourself for diving into the rest of this story.
The sadness of the overture’s vision makes you understand immediately the title of this movie. What follows is a story in two chapters, respectively, a psychodrama, and an apocalyptic tale.
In Chapter 1, “Justine”, we follow a self-destructive Kirsten Dunst that destroys everything on her wedding day. Chapter 2, “Claire,” shows how her sister rational in the grip of fear and desperation to hit the planet on a collision course with Earth Melancholia seem, despite reassuring calculations of scientists.
The apocalypse, when it eventually comes, is so beautifully filmed that the film has the quality of a fairy tale and it will leave you completely knocked out.
