Melancholia

The second movie of 2011 to have some breathtaking images of a planet in the Earth sky, MELANCHOLIA fulfilled everything that ANOTHER EARTH promised. In Lars von Trier's downer, we get an operatic vision of the apocalypse. The film is broken up into three parts. The first part, a prologue, depicts the destruction of the Earth is ultra slow motion, but also places all of the characters on the lawn of a grand estate in their finest attire, as if they were about to bow upon an opera stage. In the background pounds Wagner's prelude to Tristan und Isolde. Clearly, von Trier is setting up something grandiose. The next part is called JUSTINE, and follows the eponymous newlywed bride (Kirsten Dunst) as she arrives and endures her wedding reception. She is clearly depressed, but Dunst evokes this in a brilliantly nuanced performance. This whole first part reminded me of James Joyce's short story, The Dead, as Justine has to do a great put-on for everyone at the reception. Her desperation is harrowing, and this portion of MELANCHOLIA seems to be the real apocalypse, the real melancholia. In the last part, CLAIRE, we follow Justine's eponymous sister as she cares for her in full-on depression. Kiefer Sutherland lends some stunning scenes to Charlotte Gainsbourg's Claire, who, like Justine in the earlier part, has to pretend to be happy at the estate. More prominently focused on in CLAIRE is the planet Melancholia, which may or may not crash into the Earth. Sutherland and Gainsbourg's exchanges are breathtaking as they fret in various ways. But this film is a real triumph. It earns every indulgent scene it has with another scene of nuance. It's deeply sad, but through its performances, buts a very human face on ideas and acts that would have otherwise seemed like cynical whining.

★★★★ out of Five