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Melancholia (2011)

Ron-P

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Title: Melancholia

Tagline: Enjoy it while it lasts

Genre: Drama, Science Fiction

Director: Lars von Trier

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt, Alexander Skarsgård, Stellan Skarsgård, Brady Corbet, Udo Kier, Jesper Christensen, Cameron Spurr, Deborah Fronko, James Cagnard, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm, Charlotta Miller, Claire Miller, Gary Whitaker, Christian Geisnæs

Release: 2011-05-26

Runtime: 135

Plot: Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.

Looks like a retelling of a classic.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810221716/video/26498306
 

TonyD

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Ron I don't thi k this is going to be anything like the older When Worlds Collide.
 

Ron-P

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It most likely will not but, but it sure looks like it's going to have a very similar storyline, without space ships and so forth though. The trailer just reminded me a lot of that film.
 

R-T-C Tim

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For anyone unfamiliar with the Danish director's work - this is not a sci-fi or disaster film.
I saw it yesterday in the cinema and it was an amazing experience, but like most of his projects it is deliberately outside of the normal genre categories. A harsh portrayal of a woman with depression and how it affects those around her, combined with a world ending scenario.
The closing shot is one of the best cinema endings of all time.
 

Southpaw

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I saw this was available on VUDU already but for like $10 to rent the HDX. I don't know, I might check it out.
 

Michael Elliott

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HDNet Movies will be playing this (for free) three times on Thursday starting at 7:30.
 

Richard V

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Saw it on HDNet Movies. Strong performance (and nude scenes) by Kirsten Dunst, which I don't think she has ever done before. Decent performances by others in the cast including Kiefer Sutherland, Udo Kier (in a cameo), Charlotte Rampling, Charlotte Gainsbourgh (as Dunst's sister), Stellan Skarsgard, and John Hurt. Overall very depressing movie, although very well done.
 

TonyD

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Just watched this the other night and  i'm still trying to wrap my head around it.
whatever is going in in Von Trier's mind must be a nightmare to live with.
This movie is all about depression and how it takes over ones entire world before completely destroying it.
The prologue is a brilliant short film just on its own and basically encapsulates the entire movie in about 6 minutes. 
Dunst was nude in a couple of shots but it isn't anything that is a reason to see the movie. There was nothing sexy or romantic about the scenes even a little bit.
It felt to me to be metaphor for depression and how the only way to find relief is for everything to come to an end and in this movie the "everything" is taken to the furthest extreme possible. 
On the other hand when someone dies, doesn't that mean the end of the world for that person, once you're gone there is no world anymore, it's all gone.
Maybe that was von Trier's point
I saw Tree Of Life only a few weeks ago and I can barely remember much more than a handful of scenes. This movie is stuck on my mind and the end and most of the movie will take some time to fade, especially the last shots of the movie.
To me is the exact opposite to Tree Of Life.
Amazing, depressing and frightening. Don't know if I can ever watch it again. That's a compliment.
 4.5 stars
 

cineMANIAC

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Good movie. Refreshingly lacked the trappings of a typical disaster flick: people gathered around a TV watching footage of scientists scrambling to come up with a solution, epic scenes of masses of people in panic, etc. One thing though - was Kirsten Dunst just depressed or was she actually stark raving mad? That part I didn't get.
 

Richard V

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elDomenechHTF said:
Good movie. Refreshingly lacked the trappings of a typical disaster flick: people gathered around a TV watching footage of scientists scrambling to come up with a solution, epic scenes of masses of people in panic, etc. One thing though - was Kirsten Dunst just depressed or was she actually stark raving mad? That part I didn't get.
She struck me as being bipolar, with depression being the major psychological status.
 

Hans M.

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I'm hoping to catch the film again. I don't feel it's a perfect movie (uneven maybe a good word), but it was something to see on the big screen. I wrote a pretty in-depth review here:
http://indieethos.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/melancholia-offers-intimate-if-flawed-look-at-the-end-of-the-world/
Check it out, and I invite comments there too. I've recently written about many indie films, so some might find it an interesting blog to follow. I also write about indie music and have a profile on the way with an important indie musician (Lou Barlow of Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr.)
 

Ronald Epstein

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So, this reply comes more than a year later.
Someone talked me into watching Melancholia and I
took the opportunity to watch it yesterday.
I am still haunted by it a day later.
On the one hand, it's a brilliant film. On the other,
there are lots of moments, particularly dealing with
its first half, that I question the necessity of.
It was a pleasure reading the review Hans wrote
(referenced in above post). That and other reviews
sort of cleared up some of the oddities that I am about
to discuss here.
So, I am not going to add spoilers. I am simply going
to warn anyone who hasn't seen this film not to read
any further.....
My problem with this film rests solely on Justin's (Kirstin
Dunst) behavior in the first half of the film.
I can accept her sudden bout of extreme depression if
she became internally aware of her pending doom. It is
told to us, near the end of the film, that Justin was aware
of "things." After all, she correctly guessed the number
of beans in the jar which is a near impossibility.
However, not one bit of her sudden bout of depression
makes sense by watching the first 30 minutes of the film.
Here we are introduced to a very happy couple, full of
smiles and love. You mean to tell me that the groom
had no idea that his bride was inflicted with this mental disorder?
Why so much money spent for an immensely grand wedding
when (and if) everyone knew that a happy marriage between
these two individuals was not possible? And what is with all
the emphasis on the dysfunctional family? That would explain
Justine's depression (family history), but again, did her personal
battles exist prior to the wedding or during?
I mean, it's completely hard to grasp those happy moments
at the beginning of the film and then understand why she
has sex with this guy she just meets at the party. It's behavior
that is completely unexplainable, perhaps even when attributed
to depression.
Again, it kind of all makes sense if she suddenly became
aware of her future -- but none of that is made completely
clear in the storytelling.
It's the second half of the film that really caught my interest....
I think Melancholia did an amazing job of portraying people's
feelings when they are aware of an oncoming Apocalypse. The
way that story slowly unfolds and gradually builds intensity had
me riveted to the screen. We go from uncertainty, where Jack
(Keifer Sutherland) is confidently comforting his loved ones to
certainty, where he completely falls apart. It's an amazing change
in character, and perhaps the most haunting aspect of this film.
Watching this film, I felt very bothered by the final 20 minutes,
which is exactly what the story aimed to do. Sound played a
very important part of this. To watch these characters in the
final moments of their lives as the rear channels provide this
constant rumbling reminder of an oncoming planet, is a truly
disturbing experience.
In all, I thought Melancholia was pretty damn amazing. I love
the style in which the story was told, despite the fact that not
all of it completely made sense to me. This is a film that I am
certainly going to revisit in the near future.
 

Tommy R

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I saw it some months ago, and agree with the above; perplexed by the first half but really loved the second. It was a very beautiful film and really resonated with how I find myself looking at things in life at times. Now excuse me while I go nude planet-bathing.
 

Brett_B

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I had the excellent opportunity to watch this film twice in a span of 24 hours when it came out (was on On-Demand same day as the theater - saved me a long drive). I agree with most reviews about being confused during the first half, but after watching it the second time it made better sense...to me. Since this thread had been started over a year ago, I am going to add some SPOILERS below. What really summed up the first half was the revelation towards the end of the movie when Kirsten Dunst's character told her sister that "she knows things", and quoted the amount of jelly beans in the jar. I viewed the prologue as a glimpse into Justine's "prediction". When she arrives at Claire's house for the reception, she pauses to look up at the stars and notices the "red" star (this is the same star shown in the prologue getting eclipsed by the planet Melancholia). It is at this moment (my opinion) that she realizes that this vision is coming true - the whole world is going to end, and the entire human race will no longer exist anywhere in the universe. The first half then plays as a character study of all of the people important to Justine. We see her husband is only concerned about the wedding night sex, Claire's obsession to present a perfect wedding, the boss who is more concerned about his work than of the people he employs, the father who can't have a sincere talk because he is too wrapped up in his partying, a mother who just wants to bad mouth the father, and so on. So, in all, after the first viewing I wasn't sure if I liked it or hated it. After the second viewing, I ended up LOVING it.
 

Bryan^H

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To put it in persepctive, I thought 'Antichrist' was a more cheerful film. 'Melancholia' was draining. Not saying it wasn't good, I liked it quite a bit. I liked the character Claire(Charolette Gainsbourg) who overall was my favorite character in the film. I felt bad she was stuck with a manic depressive at the end of the world, but what an ending! Very good film-It certainly made a dreary day(the day I watched it) more dreary, and dark. That is true art I guess.
 

Aaron Silverman

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Wow, Ron, you and I watched this movie on the same day! Weird. I'm glad we're all still here, though. :) Interesting film. I think I enjoyed thinking about it afterward more than I enjoyed actually watching it, as it was mostly very slow paced. Justine's revelation at the end was intriguing, as it put her depression in a whole new light. Maybe. There are still questions -- was the intent really that she's psychic? Or did she maybe overhear the number from someone, and was messing with Claire? There was some interview footage with Lars von Trier in the extras. I'm only vaguely familiar with him (I think his only other film that I've seen is Zentropa, which was many years ago), but my understanding is that his films are all quite dark and depressing and comment on American society (although he's never been here). He seemed pretty upbeat, and stated that this is the happiest ending of any of his movies! It makes sense, though, if you look at it as the sisters finally making peace, despite the apocalyptic overtones. Incidentally, IMO the first nude scene was not sexy but the second one sure was. Kristen's birthday suit is pretty magnificent. :)
 
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