User reviews

Melancholia is a 2011 film written and directed by the controversial Lars Von Trier and follows two sisters as the end of the world draws near. The film is actually more about the current lives of the two sisters than it is the end of the world; yet the impending doom does heavily influence a series of events. Presently, the film has received mostly positive reviews and was praised for the imagery used throughout the film.

To truly appreciate all that Melancholia has to offer the film must be analyzed by taking a look at its two separate acts. The feel of the first act is much different than the feel and plot of the second act. The first act is titled "Justine", as it focuses on the character Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and her severe depression on her wedding day. The first act doesn't have much to do with the fact that all life on Earth is going to be wiped out. In fact, it doesn't really focus on the impending planet collision at all; it is simply about Justine as a character and all those around her at the time of the wedding. It is clear the Justine suffers from some type of mental illness but it is not made clear exactly what is wrong with her. She does very odd things throughout her entire wedding day including cheating on her husband. She spends a majority of the time away from her party, hiding out either on the golf course located outside or with her nephew, which seems to be the only things she derives joy from. Justine can be a very annoying character to watch as she seems to want to do nothing but ruin her own party, yet the camera shots of her off on her own either on the golf course or in the backyard are some of the best in the film.

The second act of the film titled "Claire" focuses mainly on Justine's sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and the impending impact of the planets. The first act can be slightly more interesting because as a viewer it is not really explained why Justine is doing all of the things she does, a lot of mystery surrounds her character. The second act picks up slightly after the events of the first, but follows Claire this time. She is worried about the collision yet her husband assures her it will miss Earth and they will be able to gaze upon it with their telescope. Throughout the second act Claire must deal with her Justine's depression as well as her own husband and child, all while constantly worrying about the collision. The second half of the film is much more intense than the first, and the editing reflects that, especially towards the climax. The use of shaky shots gives the viewer a sense of uneasiness and uncertainty as to how it will end.

Perhaps Melancholia's greatest achievement is its cinematography and beautiful sequence of unique shots, most notably in the opening sequence. The first opening sequence takes place entirely in slow- motion, showing many of the main characters, and is one of the highlights of the entire film. The camera work and settings used in this film are really something to talk about. The setting of a mansion is both isolating and elegant, and these two things are reflected within the carefully planned camera work.

My biggest gripe with the film would definitely be its pacing. It will be really engaging one minute and then slow down to a dead halt the next. However, when the film does have its shining moments, they are extremely memorable.

Yesterday I had the chance to see Melancholia. I was a bit anxious given the mixed reception here (either euphoric or very negative).

It seems the media are talking more about the disaster-press-conference-from-hell Lars gave in Cannes. Which is a shame.

Like always, Lars von Trier does not want to appeal to the general public, but in stead wants to present the viewer something unique and honest.

It was influenced by his own "melancholia", of which he suffered when working on this project.

I, for one saw solid acting and great directing from a person who carefully observes and understands human interaction. For me it works.

This movie is by no means perfect but it was thought provoking, and heart touching and that's exactly what a decent movie should try to achieve.

Thank you for reading my opinion.

I didn't really want to go but I did. I got dressed up, went to a nice dinner, sat nicely for a couple hours, clapped when others clapped, and in the end, I felt nothing.

Don't get me wrong, I had an appreciation for what I witnessed. The skill to execute what they did and the years of practice to achieve those skills is amazing. But still nothing.

That is how I felt after watching this movie. I was appreciative of what it took to accomplish the movie but I felt nothing towards it. I guess I should reiterate my point because IMDb wants 600 characters but I thought my review was quite good with 112 to spare.

I don't like this film, nor do I love it. I won't watch it again. But it is a 10/10 movie for making me feel things so intense I haven't felt in a long time.

This movie is about depression, and it's portrayed in a beautiful way. Sometimes it's achingly slow, other times a ton of things happen all at once. But the dread remains.

The movie is divided in two parts; Justine and Claire. And their ways of dealing with life is really different. I won't spoil anything but do know that both sections intertwine but don't necessarily deal with each other very directly.

Lars von Trier is a master at making movies that are both equally beautiful and destructive. I finished watching it two hours ago but the pain in my chest hasn't gone away. And that to me is quite the accomplishment. He knows how to portray pain in a way that is so accurate it's scary.

Melancholia is LVT's Wagnerian opera. Justine is a mythological creation. She is the white goddess, Diana bathing, la Belle Dame Sans Merci, Cassandra tormented by futurity. It ends in Gottedammerung, the destruction of the world.

The Cannes jury was right to honour it. In 2, 10 or 100 years this will be manifestly THE film of 2011, capturing as it does this precise historical moment, on the cusp of epochs. More than just an economic crisis, or even the end of Western capitalism, or the American Century, or of Europe - though it is all that - it is the consummation in fire of all we have ever known. Leaders and experts sit mesmerised and powerless, making reassuring noises, or setting aside puny provisions; taking shelter in denial or custom. While Melancholia and Earth act out their dance of death; gravity, the most ineluctable force in the universe, does its work.

Justine, being incapable of happiness, is therefore incapable of illusion. She has always known. Herself untouched by affect, by human assimilation or persuasion, she writes the killer tag lines which manipulate others. Having a damaged soul, she suffers from a disorder of perception - she sees things as they actually are. She knows precisely how many beans are in the jar -like those who called the top of the Dow Jones index, at 12807 exactly. On one level, she represents the spirit of financialisation, the final, hottest white dwarf phase of capitalism, quantifying, inhumane, ultra-competitive (seen also in Skaarsgard's brutal ad boss, and in the brother-in-law who paid for the wedding - "an arm and a leg, for most people" -he means it literally I think - chilling!) And, like the Sybil, Justine wants to die. She wills the destruction of herself and everything else. 'The Earth is evil.'

LVT is the holy idiot of European cinema. Much as Justine destroys her stellar career, then hours later, in the garden, consciously and irrevocably obliterates her marriage and future happiness, so LVT - in the most perfect example of parallel process - in his acceptance speech at Cannes compulsively befouls himself, his credibility, future opportunities, his film and all associated with it. (Poor Dunst, beside him. Did she always know? I wonder.)

Which brings me to Kirsten Dunst.Once the all-American teenage sweetie in some of my favourite films.(The US invented the teenager, much as the English Victorians invented childhood, and its richest and most creative seam of film and TV deal with this stage of life. In a way, America is the world's teenager; and all teenagers are Americans by proxy.) In fact, Dunst is German-American, with all the ancestral baggage that implies. (Read Sylvia Plath's 'Daddy' if you don't know what I mean). Beneath the apple-pie sunny exterior of her teen roles, there was always something remote and uncanny about her beauty. And now, with teen / young adult roles behind her, this strangeness, this well, German-ness, is exposed. In the riveting opening shots of 'Melancholia' she looks like Marlene Dietrich - unheimlich, fascinating. Like la Belle Dame Sans Merci, she takes possession of a man through his unconscious: like the groom in the film, he will follow her, exchanging all that is dear - home, family and hope of happiness - for bitterness and despair.

In the scene in the limo, the earliest, lightest part of the story, she seems American, in accent, face, body, She becomes less American , more northern European, and ultimately less like a human being at all, as her story unwinds. Those who criticise the inconsistency in her accent are missing the point. The change is about the character, not her nationality, which is purposely vague. (In fact, in what country does the film take place? Would you ask that question of 'the Ring'?)

I get the impression that just as Lars is working through some issues around his German-ness – hence the Wagnerianism -, so is Dunst, which must have made his Cannes performance doubly excruciating. (I hear she wants to be called 'Keersten' now, pronounced the German way.) For the girl who has been being other people superbly well from her childhood, it seems to me that Dunst the adult truly exposes something painfully real of herself in this film. ('Exposing' is the right word in every way.)

And she pulls it off. The film is stunning. She is stunning, and thoroughly deserves Best Actress. Bravo, Lars von Trier!

There's a serious polarity in the reviews for this film,and I'm not surprised. If you've ever suffered depression this bleak movie will hit hard, and you'll pick up on all of the subtle messages it sends out. It's done so well it can't be anything other than achingly familiar. The despondency, and the frustration the sufferer feels at their own despondency, in particular, is well conveyed.

Unfortunately I think a large chunk of the people who've seen this film (and there aren't many who have, sadly) went to it expecting a slightly arty apocalypse movie. It's not a smarter Deep Impact. The (blue) planet Melancholia is just a metaphor for depression. Unrelenting and irresistible, Melancholia has the main character in its thrall.

For those who don't "get" this movie, no it's not a pretentious, pseudo intellectual flick. Rather it's a well crafted take on the fine detail of a subject matter that you have been fortunate enough to not have had to understand. Long may that be the case.

After "Anitichrist" I had given up on Lars Von Triar but I was tempted back after reading some articles on his new opus "Melancholia" I'm glad I did. He is still the most maddening of filmmakers because his chutzpah is larger and more up front than his talent, that means a huge, monumental chutzpah. "Melancholia" has many things going for it: the performances by the two female leads, Kirsten Duntst and Charlotte Gainsburg are pure cinematic brilliance. The photography, superb with some sound design worthy of superlative praise. Glimpses of John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling are also a major plus but the script littered by infantile dialog was a crashing blow. The film left me without appetite or willingness to talk. The one thing that I have to confess, I may, just may see it again one day.

This movie completely freaked me out. It was SO well done, but if you've ever suffered from serious depression it really gets under your skin.

People I know who watched this movie thought it was boring and didn't understand it. I understood it very well. I have never seen a better metaphor for depression, and the seductiveness of "giving in."

If you're very depressed, don't watch this movie alone.

I've never seen anything so painfully familiar. Every move of Justine, her every word echoes with the heartache of a melancholiac. And the inability of the others to understand this pain, their inability to feel it and understand - it only makes it more familiar to the ones drowning in this mute slow-motion everyday despair. After watching this movie I went home without saying a word, I sat down on my chair and sat there silently for about an hour. I like Lars von Trier, I liked his movies before, but this one was a headshot. In this one film Lars von Trier succeeded to show all the ultimate emptiness of the everyday rituals, the endless longing of a melancholiac and the unbearable helplessness of this condition - like a bulletproof glass cocoon around you, muting the sounds and making the colors dim. I vote "excellent", 'cause this film is closer to my heart than any other I've seen before.

The unstable and depressive Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) arrive late in the expensive wedding party promoted by her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her wealthy brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland) in their real estate.

Justine is promoted by her boss Jack (Stellan Skarsgård) to art director and the affectionate Michael is very happy. However, Justine's bitter mother Gaby (Charlotte Rampling) makes acid comments destroying the happiness of her daughter. Sooner Justine is depressed again and she offends Jack and loses her job and she decides to split from Michael.

She stays with Claire, John and her nephew Leo (Cameron Spurr) recovering from her break down. Meanwhile the erratic blue planet Melancholia is in collision route with Earth, but John is calm and believes in the predictions of the scientists that the planet will pass by Earth. Claire is afraid and fears the end of the world, but John calms her down. Until...

"Melancholia" is a depressive film by Lars von Trier that shows how insignificant we are and incapable to control our fate. Divided in two parts, the first one (Justine) shows the relationship of a dysfunctional family on the night of the wedding of Justine. Kirsten Dunst performs a character that is not able to be happy even on the day of her wedding. The bitterness of her mother and the indifference of her father explain the behavior of Justine. The second part (Claire) is better and better and shows how vulnerable the human race is.

The cinematography and soundtrack of "Melancholia" are very beautiful. Lars von Trier is among my favorite directors and once again he makes an original and beautifully crafted movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Melancolia" ("Melancholia")

I thought I didn't give it a fair go when I first saw it and was depressed, I read that the director Lars Von Trier had alcohol and drugs when he wrote this, I thought I should do the same - don't do the same

When we think about the end of the world, we usually think about the things we have always wanted to do, but never got the chance to. In whatever way it is that we wish to live our last hours on earth, whether it be by going out with close friends and relatives, or doing the things you never thought you'd do, the feelings of impending doom are the driving force behind our decisions. There have been many films lately that seek a comedic twist to something of this level (which isn't a bad thing), but what Lars Von Trier does with Melancholia is give us a beautifully orchestrated vision about the beauty that comes with the destruction of our planet as well as very realistic and often somber interactions between the characters in this film. One can't help but be mesmerized and terrified by the magnitude of Melancholia and the attention to detail, the science (dear lord!) was easy to understand and though it wasn't the focal point of the film, it was enough to offer the audience an idea as to how something like that was possible. (I would be lying if I said it didn't make me weep.) The film is separated by chapters that focus on the two sisters played by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg and their lives before and after they found out about Melancholia. I believe that by taking the time to show us how the sisters were before the end of the world even became a possibility, we understand why they react the way they do to the news. Accepting what is to come instead of fearing it is what separates the sisters and the conversations/arguments that transpire speak a lot about the human condition and forces us to ask ourselves: What will I do with the time I have left? I watched this film about a month ago and I still think about it. It's captivating and absolutely worth your time.

I think there are people who when they see a slow movie with classical music as a soundtrack will always say automatically "brilliant, spectacular, amazing", but I think that's not enough, the movie is boring and predictable, there are many dialogues but without emotional depth it's trivial talk all the time, movie talks about depression portraying a depressed character as a provocative person making the victim role, it doesn't thrill at any time, it's too cold it has not led me to identify with any character, it's just cinema for intellectuals who appreciate classical music in slow movies, almost to lull us for not pay attention to the void of ideas, a movie cannot be just that for the highest grade. And i'm not saying that i don't like slow movies, actually i love most of them, but this one is a failed attempt to be a masterpiece.

There is a reason the movie is called "Melancholia". There is also a reason why Kirsten Dunst mood changes. If you are paying attention there won't really be a surprise towards the end. Only surprise being that the characters themselves didn't think of it. And don't watch it, just for the "flesh".

Kirsten Dunst delivers a power house performance. And the other actors are good too. I was still missing something. I liked the movie (and I can tell you there weren't that many in the cinema I watched it, who actually liked it) and I could see the allegories and everything Lars v. Trier was trying to convey. Still thought the break (it's kind of like watching two different movies back to back) didn't really work that well in my opinion. Some of course will just like it, because it's different. That's OK too, just be sure to know what you let yourself into.

''Melancholia'' - Lars von Trier's best work to date. The movie is about the nature of depression and how 2 sisters go through it. Kirsten Dunst (Justine) accepts her melancholia by the time a planet that was hiding behind the sun threatens to collide the Earth, while other sister (Charlotte Gainsbourg - Clair) is afraid to face the reality and her own personal emotions. If you have any little doubt whether you want to watch this movie or not, you better don't, because this is not for everyone, and if you still want to see this then prepare yourself for what you're going to face. The movie is all about how Lars Von Trier sees the world, the people and the dearness between them. It's beautiful, it's real, it's disgusting, it's terrifying - it all depends on how you want to perceive this film. The opening and the ending scenes are mesmerizing! The music used in the film is taken from Wagner's ''Tristan and Isolde'' opera which fits the movie perfectly. Cinematography - amazes. Special effects, not for 3D, but are very realistic and breathtaking. Kirsten Dunst gives us her best performance to date, forget the girl in Spider-man, this is a new level for her. She finally proves us how good she can be with the right movie choice. An Oscar nomination is on its way... I'm not a fan of Lars and his movies, but this one had me at the edge of my seat to the last minute. 10/10

Yes, it was visually impressive but of the 7+ billion people on the planet, why did Lars von Trier choose to follow this particular nutty woman? Surely others could have offered something more insightful, and maybe even meaningful. I found the characters' behavior...unlikely, even given the circumstances that we later come to appreciate. Many, many books and movies (both fictional and not) have covered the topic of people facing impending doom. Personally, I prefer a combination of the Hemingway hero and Kurt Vonnegut's main character in Cat's Cradle: fight with dignity to the end, but then thumb your nose at the world. Like Breaker Morant: "Shoot straight, you bastards! Don't make a mess of it!" OK, the subject deserves a variety of treatments, but I found this one less than compelling.

This is not an easy movie to watch. It's tough from the very beginning - a prologue prequel with music by Wagner and an apocalyptic perspective. Any movie in which dead birds fall from the sky in the first three minutes is not going to be light and fluffy.

But this movie, about deep melancholia experienced by Justine (Kirstin Dunst), the principal character, and the melancholia of the potential end of life itself, is an artistic triumph. Great acting, great cinematography, great music. Even the sometimes puzzling plot - the post-prologue movie comes in two halves - is engrossing and pregnant with underlying meaning. The three principal characters all represent a point on the compass of human feelings: Depression, anxiety, and something resembling nice normalcy. How each deals with the apocalypse is a well-threaded effort.

While the movie is dark, it is by no means humorless. The wedding that occupies the first half of the movie has a great deal of fun alongside the depression.

Not a movie for everyone, and a bit too long, but if you watch it, stick with it. You may not want to see it twice but you could be glad you saw it once.

If you watch this film once... you'll watch it again... and still not be disappointed.

Left me wondering who is sane, and who is insane when the comfort of a perceived reality changes... dramatically !

Almost Flawless !