I saw this at The Cornerhouse in Manchester. Before the film had started a woman at the back shouted 'Can you stop crinkling your packets please, this is a sad film'...
Everyone chortled, but she wasn't wrong.
It opens with a series of almost still images, which I've never really seen in film before.
Hyper-real, super-edited photographic images, set the tone for a slightly different take on the disaster movie aesthetic and are genuinely mesmorising.
The film is set around the wedding of a manic depressive, Justine (Kirstin Dunst) at a country manor, owned by her filthy rich brother-in-law John (Keifer Sutherland), complete with it's own 18 hole Golf course.
The location is amazing, and is beautifully shot with typical Von Trier spin with lots of hand-held, eratic but smooth camerawork, incredible framing and beautiful soft warm lighting.
The film is split down the middle into two parts. The first is more of a character focus, dealing with how depression can over ride 'the happiest day of your life' and how Justine spirals down to the darkest depths of human dispair.
The relationship of the two sisters is the main focus, Justine's depression stifles her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who organised the wedding, to be left wondering why she bothered...
The second part (which I enjoyed a lot more) explores the anxiety and impending doom of how the approaching extinction of the human race affects relativly level-headed Claire, who is fearful for the life of her son, and her planet.
The celestial tango of the planet Melancholia is shown through some extaordinary CGI, set to some beautiful pieces of music and is entrancing to watch.
Extremely beautiful and profound, Melancholia is very dark and relentless, giving a rather tame (by Von Trier's standards) insight into the psychological trauma of the human mind and the fear of planetary apocalypse.
Artistically unique, original and increasingly intense, I can't recommend it enough...
7.5/10
Trailer:
Cal x
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