Melancholia (Trier, 2011)
Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011)
I’ve now typed three different reviews of this film and have deleted every one of them. I’m finding it almost impossible to accurately represent all of Trier’s genius and failures that is Melancholia through my words. There are scenes that haunted me, annoyed me, moved me. Trouble, fear, anger, drama, tears, shame, ignorance, peace - a wide spectrum of human experience and emotion on display. And to top it all off, one of the most intriguing and restrained science fiction plots I’ve seen. Often bogged down with unnecessary and over-ambitious symbolism, though, the bad accompanies the good.
Shot with a mix of in-your-face handheld realism, and surreal operatic cgi fantasy, Trier brings the end of the world into our lives in intimate and subdued fashion. All uncertainties plaguing the film’s characters have already been answered for the viewer in the chilling introduction, letting us focus on the people over the plot. Thank heavens, because this batch of characters require undivided attention if the big event is going to mean anything to you. 8.5/10
January 5, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Wasn’t a fan…. My favorite of his works is still Europa — I watched his interview before the screening at my theater and he mentioned how he wished he’d thought about how horribly kitchy putting well-dressed people on a golf course would look…. All I could think about was expensive perfume commercials when the world was destroyed.
January 6, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Haha, your comment reminds me of a time when someone told me The New World was nothing but an Obsession perfume commercial. Their dig was actually a compliment.
I need to see more Trier now. The only other I’d seen was Dogville which I hated.
January 6, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Well, in this case my comment wasn’t really a compliment
Hehe, but I agree with von Trier, the film was too kitschy.