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Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and brother-in-law (Kiefer Sutherland). Meanwhile, the planet, Melancholia, is heading towards Earth... MELANCHOLIA is a psychological disaster movie from director Lars von Trier.
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Format:DVD
I'm a Lars Von Trier fan. I love most of what he does and this film is unmistakably his work: the usual handheld cameras, a disfunctional main character caught in a difficult situation, some surreal elements (in this case a previously unknown planet called Melancholia appears from behind the sun), and some subtle humour (the wedding planner who refuses to look at the bride).
The cast is brilliant, Kirsten Dunst in particular but also Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland.
The weakness for me is partly in the disjointed nature of the plot, which is in 2 parts that don't fit well together and in the conclusion, or at least in the meaning of the conclusion, which is left (I assume) deliberately ambiguous. There is more than enough room for the viewer to add his/her own meanings to the planet, it's effects on the characters and so on. While I enjoy some freedom to add my own meanings, for me there are too many loose ends which is unsatisfying and a bit of a cop out as if Von Trier couldn't quite decide what it all meant and so left it up to us.
With that said, it's interesting, unusual, well acted and worth watching but not a classic.
The cast is brilliant, Kirsten Dunst in particular but also Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland.
The weakness for me is partly in the disjointed nature of the plot, which is in 2 parts that don't fit well together and in the conclusion, or at least in the meaning of the conclusion, which is left (I assume) deliberately ambiguous. There is more than enough room for the viewer to add his/her own meanings to the planet, it's effects on the characters and so on. While I enjoy some freedom to add my own meanings, for me there are too many loose ends which is unsatisfying and a bit of a cop out as if Von Trier couldn't quite decide what it all meant and so left it up to us.
With that said, it's interesting, unusual, well acted and worth watching but not a classic.
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
I would recommend without hesitation that you watch this movie. I was torn between giving this 1 or 5 stars. But it reminded me of a movie by the allegedly great Jean Luc Godard called Contempt that I saw one art-filled weekend with a fellow movie nut. This is a movie that is on the EDGE of greatness, just like Godards, but it fails to make it to greatness. Like Brando says in Apocalypse Now "I saw a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor....."
Every point the director wants to make, is made. And yet, you wish for 1 tiny, even 10 second piece of, something, but it never happens - and perhaps that is his point. People comment that the characters are unlikeable, but thats not the flaw. The incredible thing is that you put Lars next to my next door neighbour who is gloating because his life is in heaven because he's just purchased a Range Rover, and you know why this movie was made.
My view is that Dunst and Gainsbourg were miscast, he should have gone for the shock of syrupy Hollywood actresses....
PS The flaw is in using the title Melancholia, think about it.
Every point the director wants to make, is made. And yet, you wish for 1 tiny, even 10 second piece of, something, but it never happens - and perhaps that is his point. People comment that the characters are unlikeable, but thats not the flaw. The incredible thing is that you put Lars next to my next door neighbour who is gloating because his life is in heaven because he's just purchased a Range Rover, and you know why this movie was made.
My view is that Dunst and Gainsbourg were miscast, he should have gone for the shock of syrupy Hollywood actresses....
PS The flaw is in using the title Melancholia, think about it.
Format:DVD
Imagine capturing the immediacy of a wedding knowing or not knowing something catastrophic may or may not occur. The audience and the characters are in the same position in Melancholia.
Now imagine you are very rich and having that same wedding in your own mansion with expansive well manicured grounds. Horses in the modern stables. Two or three 4x4s and a butler plus assorted servants to help with the reception. Are the proceedings normal or are they normal plus?
Undercurrents do eventually surface. The two sisters who centre the story are a clash of types. The creative and the stoic. The father is a s...bag. You may disagree. This is a live action story with the drama both extreme AND non-existent. Isn't that how middle-class problems are dealt with? Some other place, not in conversation and never admitted.
Looming doom. I love the magic cave, that would be me. But then I don't drink wine. I savour a film of humans sane. Civility is an art form. Green.
Now imagine you are very rich and having that same wedding in your own mansion with expansive well manicured grounds. Horses in the modern stables. Two or three 4x4s and a butler plus assorted servants to help with the reception. Are the proceedings normal or are they normal plus?
Undercurrents do eventually surface. The two sisters who centre the story are a clash of types. The creative and the stoic. The father is a s...bag. You may disagree. This is a live action story with the drama both extreme AND non-existent. Isn't that how middle-class problems are dealt with? Some other place, not in conversation and never admitted.
Looming doom. I love the magic cave, that would be me. But then I don't drink wine. I savour a film of humans sane. Civility is an art form. Green.
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Published 1 month ago by Omnes
Boring or what!
From the write ups reviews etc; I thought this was a film well worth buying.
Buying films is something I very rarly do, so to part with hard earned money on this film the... Read more
Buying films is something I very rarly do, so to part with hard earned money on this film the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. G. V. Ennis
I now want to brutally murder Kirsten Dunst!!!
OMFG WORST MOVIE EVERRR!!! *wipes sweat from forehead* .. Ok .. After reading the amazing reviews from the press I was pretty excited about watching this movie. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lewz88
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This is a subject you are either at one with, or,you have little or no sympathy with.
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