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From the manufacturer

MELANCHOLIA - Directed by Lars Von Trier

Kirsten Dunst, Alexander Skarsgaard, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Gainsbourg in MELANCHOLIA.

Special Features

About Melancholia
The Universe
The Visual Style
Visual Effects
HDNet: A Look at Melancholia
Theatrical Trailers

MELANCHOLIA

A FILM BY LARS VON TRIER

Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) celebrate their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of Justine’s sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland). Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth threatening the very existence of humankind…

Starring:

KIRSTEN DUNST
CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG
ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD
BRADY CORBET
CAMERON SPURR
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING
JESPER CHRISTENSEN
JOHN HURT, STELLAN SKARSGÅRD, UDO KIER and KIEFER SUTHERLAND

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Product Description

In this beautiful movie about the end of the world, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgerd) are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland). Despite Claire's best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth MELANCHOLIA is a psychological disaster film from director Lars von Trier.

Product details

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.5 x 5.3 x 6.8 inches; 2.22 ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ MGNO10448BR
Director ‏ : ‎ Lars Von Trier
Media Format ‏ : ‎ AC-3, Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen, Closed-captioned, Subtitled
Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 15 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ March 13, 2012
Actors ‏ : ‎ Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgard, Brady Corbet
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ Spanish
Studio ‏ : ‎ Magnolia Home Ent
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006KH6CI6
Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #781 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #10 in Romance (Movies & TV)
- #109 in Drama Blu-ray Discs

Customer Reviews:
3,471 ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the film's cinematography for its beautiful visuals and well-made shots, while the acting receives positive feedback for its stellar performances and psychologically well-portrayed characters. The movie is thought-provoking and captivating, though customers find it slow at the beginning and somewhat depressing. The plot receives mixed reactions, with some finding it interesting while others consider it nonsensical, and the language is also mixed, with some finding it well-written while others say it barely makes sense.

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Cinematography Acting quality Thought provoking Plot Language Movie quality Pacing Depressing content

313 customers mention "Cinematography"309 positive4 negative

Customers praise the cinematography of the film, describing it as beautiful with nice visuals, though some note that it is artistic for the sake of being artistic.

"...At least this film made me feel seen, a rare thing in our culture. And it did so with grace and intelligence, and in the form of high art...." Read more

"...The imagery is stunning. Lars von Trier has a great track record of using a film's cinematography to eclipse the viewer and sustain his themes...." Read more

"...Everything is beautiful in the castle guesthouse, but the newlyweds are two hours late and a whiff of despair accompanies them. We don't know why...." Read more

"...So anyway, the movie is beautiful...." Read more

158 customers mention "Acting quality"116 positive42 negative

Customers praise the acting in the movie, particularly the lead actress and the stellar performances, noting that the characters are psychologically well portrayed.

"...However, it displays a lot of fine acting and cinematography, and the way that startling and beautiful images are put together with concertos from..." Read more

"...The photography is nice, the storyline odd, the actors famous, the horse pretty, and physics be damned that a planet doesn't have to stay on it's..." Read more

"This is the most effective and emotionally powerful movie I have ever seen on what it is like to be the Identified Patient in a family. "..." Read more

"...This film is not for everyone...." Read more

66 customers mention "Thought provoking"66 positive0 negative

Customers find the movie thought-provoking and captivating, describing it as a profound and engrossing experience.

"...`Melancholia' is a unique and engrossing experience that is less what it seems and more what you'd come to expect from an auteur as controversial as..." Read more

"...While it is very depressing and devastating, it leaves an impression that is unlike anything you've experienced in film before...." Read more

"...debutant type this is strong role for Kirsten and punches through any pre-concieved notions one might have of her as an actress...." Read more

"A very slow-moving but beautiful art piece that raises some interesting questions without offering any answers...." Read more

248 customers mention "Plot"123 positive125 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the movie's plot, with some finding it interesting and realistic, while others describe it as nonsensical.

"...a go, I am mentally different and I found it refreshing to see such an honest and heartfelt depiction of something that's part of my every day life...." Read more

"...bit too much; the "surprise" death of a major character is not plausible and is flagged with blinking neon lights; we wonder how Justine..." Read more

"...I was really taken by the nostalgic score, one that embodied the same sound and atmosphere as the classic apocalyptic and science fiction films...." Read more

"...on the subtitles to understand the script,..bizzare...the wedding would make anyone sick...and she fu--s a guy that she never met after she rejects..." Read more

40 customers mention "Language"14 positive26 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the movie's language, with some finding it well-written and poetically expressed, while others say it barely makes sense and is confusing at times.

"...of movie you may not be able to get over the fact that a LOT OF THINGS DONT MAKE SENSE...." Read more

"...unrelentingly thought-provoking, and like the best art, it's open to interpretation. Grade: A-" Read more

"The opening scenes were disorienting...." Read more

"...Some elements don't make sense..." Read more

172 customers mention "Movie quality"27 positive145 negative

Customers find the movie to be of poor quality, describing it as weird, boring, and depressing, particularly in its last section.

"...That being said, this is not a happy film...." Read more

"...5 is simple-I hate the stupid hand held "shaky cam" crap-it is horrible film-making. In fact,I will not watch a movie that is filmed that way...." Read more

"...(yes, it is pretentious and yes it is slow moving)..." Read more

"This is the most excruciatingly boring film I have ever seen in my life. I kept waiting for the good part, but they payoff never came. Cheaply made...." Read more

172 customers mention "Pacing"51 positive121 negative

Customers find the pacing of the movie slow, particularly at the beginning and during the first half.

"...One star is being generous. Here's my literary take...slow moving, solemn, depressing, no one knows how to smile, lots of wasted footage, horrible..." Read more

"...The first half may drag,but it sets up the second half...." Read more

"This film is visually stunning and visceral in it's masterful and highly stylized portrayal of depression...." Read more

"...I get it. The movie is slow paced. I get it. The science fiction is a mere backdrop rather than the focus...." Read more

127 customers mention "Depressing content"27 positive100 negative

Customers find the movie's content somewhat depressing, describing it as boring with a pointless story and looming sadness in the mood.

"...Melancholia looming, unknowable, the cause of much consternation and scientific guessing (as most mental health diagnosis are today), and there's..." Read more

"...guesthouse, but the newlyweds are two hours late and a whiff of despair accompanies them. We don't know why...." Read more

"...likely you'll have your heart broken, lose a good friendship, disappoint yourself, act like a jerk in a way you can never take back, experience the..." Read more

"...prelude to Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde set the tone of the film perfectly. My one petty complaint, is the naming of the planet...." Read more

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virtualjupiter
I loved this, but not everyone will.
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2021
Verified Purchase

This film is visually stunning and visceral in it's masterful and highly stylized portrayal of depression. I could watch it with the volume off and understand everything that's happening, but not feel at all that the story is dumbed down or lacking, the acting and layout of the film is that good. In fact, everything about this film is superb, especially the acting. I have tried really hard to review this without spoilers, but I probably didn't do such a good job lol because there is just so much to say. Reader, beware, you might feel spoiled past this point.
Two sisters, their relationship and the relationships around them are real but also symbolic, the planetary events, the wedding, just... wow. It will make you think deeply, especially if you are mentally different or someone who loves and cares for someone who is. Very often while watching I had the impression that the story was pure allegory, all just being played out in the mind. The fun of this was deciding what was real from what was internal, and then realizing there is no difference and that this is one of the main messages of this film. Melancholia looming, unknowable, the cause of much consternation and scientific guessing (as most mental health diagnosis are today), and there's nothing anyone, not anyone, can do about this massive world and the inevitable conclusion it will bring.
The wedding, all the resources (monetary and emotional) spent to join well meaning but ultimately fruitless efforts to bring stability and happiness (based on the opinions of others; what they think will bring her happiness, or what traditionally brings it, or what makes them personally happy) to change the protagonist lol... and while they're doing this, its so artful how this film shows each character bringing to bear the many kinds of anxiety a mental health patient may feel from everyone around them while those people are trying to "fix" them and the pressure put upon them to become "fixed". While well meaning, none of it was really ever for the protagonist, it's done so others can feel better. These were performative acts that forced the protagonist to also perform- to be performatively happy, to cover up what's really always there, looming, like an inevitable planet about to crash into and destroy everything....
This film is not for everyone. Its going to make a lot of people uncomfortable in a similar way depression and mental differentness in real life can make others react and feel. This is clearly reflected in the film, as some want to fix the person, some want to just get them in the bath, have them eat a meal. Some, like the boss at the wedding, just want to take advantage of the brilliance that often comes from such differences. They who are different, like the protagonist, need loving, real human interventions at times, and that need can be met with many different types of responses and actions, both nurturing and destabilizing. And it is often a thankless job to be the helper, it can bring hopelessness, and there is an understanding that this will be a persistent need. These themes make everyone ask questions, you'd have to be empty and foolish, maybe even a little vapid, if you left this film without a lot to consider.
That being said, this is not a happy film. It shows depression in a very visceral way, explicitly, and even while doing so in complete artistic beauty, there's no denying what the film is expressing. The message relating to all this beauty on the outside (the mansion, its lush grounds, the horses, the gown she wears etc) is that to the depressed person, wealth and opulence are meaningless when you cannot feel happy. Depression can be so debilitating that nothing can change it, and it cannot be cured. So, if you are prone to depressions I think you'll love this film, but you might want to be feeling stable when you watch it. This should not be your go-to if you're already sad, save it for another day. But do give it a go, I am mentally different and I found it refreshing to see such an honest and heartfelt depiction of something that's part of my every day life. Usually my condition is paraded about by the press, sensationalized, and very little help comes from the constant flow of public opinions on this subject. At least this film made me feel seen, a rare thing in our culture. And it did so with grace and intelligence, and in the form of high art. I'm flattered, I really am, and I hope if you're different, that you'll feel a little more free from watching this. A little more seen. and know you're not alone.

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Andrew Ellington
Behold; the Death-Star!
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2011
Verified Purchase
`Melancholia' is a film that is going to be extremely divisive. Not everyone is going to appreciate this, and yet there are going to be some that laud this as one of the finest films ever made. I can certainly see its flaws, and yet there is this underlying captivating atmosphere that I can't help but wholly appreciate.

`Melancholia' is a unique and engrossing experience that is less what it seems and more what you'd come to expect from an auteur as controversial as Lars von Trier.

The opening montage of cataclysmic destruction plays out like a Vogue editorial shoot captured in slow motion. It seems almost anticlimactic to show us the end before the beginning, and while I understand that this cinematic trick (or gimmick) is initially rather off-putting and presumes to fail the overall purpose of the film somewhat by showing us the cause of concern before we truly understand the concern building in the key characters, it works in a way that I can't quite explain. I personally was rather upset with the sequence upon watching it, but as the film tied itself together I found myself calling it to mind with awe for I saw how the pieces of that puzzle came together in an unexpected way.

And, one cannot forsake its beauty.

And then the actual film starts, which is broken into two sections.

The first part of `Melancholia' focuses on Justine, the bride. Her lavish wedding begins with promise. Her `filthy rich' brother-in-law has paid for the spectacle to take place at his gigantic home, complete with a butler, an 18 hole golf course and a slew of guest rooms (with baths, not showers). The joyous couple show up late, thanks to an oversized limo and some narrowly curved roads, and then all joy seems to evaporate as Justine's intense depression sets in and begins to erode her happiness. Everyone around her fails to understand her condition, even though most of them try (especially her groom and her sister). Justine seems bewitched by a red star she seems looming overhead; a star that goes unseen by the others. This star sets a strange precedent for the remains of the evening as Justine's behavior becomes more reclusive and catatonic almost.

Bridges are burned, relationships are broken all hope is lost.

The second half switches focus to Claire, the elder sister. While Justine is certainly suffering from depression, Claire begins to delve into paranoia as the impending collision with the mysterious planet Melancholia grows closer and closer. They don't ever say how much time as elapsed since the wedding, where that `star' first reared its head, but Justine is still sulking in misery and the agitation she caused on that `blessed day' obviously still lingers.

"It tastes like ashes."

With only five days left before Melancholia is supposed to `pass' Earth, Claire and Justine begin to come to terms with the inevitabilities of their futures.

At the core of `Melancholia' is a sharply constructed look at mental instability and the effect it has on our own personal survival. Justine's character is of particular interest because her depression, which is initially assumed to stem from the planet traveling towards Earth, is almost eased by the foreknowledge that the end is coming. She possesses a unique bond with the planet, a connection (as seen by her nude moon-bathing) that helps ease her dissention since she is obviously of the accord that life on Earth is corrupted; infected with an evil that, even in its most unintuitive form is still prevalent and contaminating.

For her, eradication is a way out of a life she cannot support.

From a technical standpoint, `Melancholia' is something special. The imagery is stunning. Lars von Trier has a great track record of using a film's cinematography to eclipse the viewer and sustain his themes. `Antichrist' was a film that suffered in conception and yet it was sustained to a degree thanks to the beautiful and captivating way in which it was shot (not to mention Gainsbourg's phenomenal performance). Here, the night sky is illuminated by cascading stars and eerily shifted cloud structures. Even the murky yet polished way in which the close-ups are rendered is astonishing to watch. I was really taken by the nostalgic score, one that embodied the same sound and atmosphere as the classic apocalyptic and science fiction films. The drama is there, bolded with each swell in the music.

Performance-wise, the film belongs to Kirsten Dunst. She is remarkable here. This is a truly restrained and intimate performance, no real showboating or dramatics involved. Instead, Dunst takes a far more realistic look at depression by holding it all in. Sure, she has her crying fits and breakdowns, but she internalizes so much. I'm so happy for her Cannes win, especially since Oscar will most likely look the other way (they like their actresses to SHOW their pain), but I completely concur with many who say this is quite possibly her finest work. She has been one of my favorite actresses for years, and I am so thrilled to see her making some intriguing and rewarding film choices (she should have won the Oscar last year for her tremendous work in `All Good Things'). I also was wholly impressed with Kiefer Sutherland, who dwelled in the skin of his character, adding little touches that made him feel complete as opposed to a mere prop (unlike the younger Skarsgard, who just proved uninteresting). Kiefer portrays an odd warmth, paternal and yet elusively selfish. You can see his colors changing as the film progresses, and his many shades, while never blatant or wholly exposed, haunt long after he's left the screen.

In the end, `Melancholia' is probably the strangest `apocalyptic' film you'll ever see, and while it contains certain flaws, those flaws are swallowed and digested by the films ravenous pluses. The pacing is extraordinary (don't listen to the naysayers claiming this film drags, for it most certainly does not) for it allows the impending dread to set it slowly, meticulously, calculated and yet entirely natural so that you feel yourself letting go as you watch Justine and Claire prepare themselves for the afterlife.

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Victoria Sánchez
Se trata de una gran película las secuencias finales son sobre todo excelentes
Reviewed in Spain on December 31, 2022
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Excepcional película

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Gary Fuhrman
Larger than life, deeper than hope?
Reviewed in Canada on June 22, 2012
Verified Purchase
Lars von Trier himself has said that this film is about depression, which is part of his own personality. Those who are anxious to preserve an optimistic and "positive" outlook on life might be wise to avoid it. But then there are those more inclined to agree with Thoreau's remark: "Be it life or death, we crave only reality." And from that point of view, this film is a masterpiece.

It may seem odd to mention "reality" in connection with a story in which a science-fictional element plays a central part. In this film, "Melancholia" is not only an old-fashioned term for depression but also a planet (blue, of course) which has wandered into the solar system and, we are told, may or may not collide with Earth. In astrophysical terms, this is highly unlikely but not impossible. The main implausibility here is that nobody seems to have seen this planet coming years before, although it's much larger than Earth, because it was "behind the sun." But that's a relatively minor detail, not hard to suspend one's disbelief about. And that's worth doing, because the real focus of the story is the relationship between two sisters who respond in diametrically opposed ways to the situation presented by Melancholia.

Justine (Kirsten Dunst) is the depressive sister, and the first half of the film deals with her struggle between a promising future (it's her wedding day) and the gravity that threatens to pull her into a black hole. Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is the more normal of the two. She sometimes hates her sister for spoiling the party, but also cares about Justine enough to recognize her condition as an illness and try to help her get over it. Both Dunst and Gainsbourg are superb in their roles, and the interplay between them (not to mention the other characters) is psychologically realistic to an almost painful degree. In the second half of the film, while Justine's inner melancholia is on the wane, the planet Melancholia becomes the dominant factor in the story, transforming the relationship between the sisters. And that, in my view, is what makes this film a masterpiece, because the sisters, without ceasing to be finely drawn individuals, represent (to me at least) two different but equally essential sides of human nature.

Cinematically, this film is unusual in several ways. Most of the events and interactions of the story are shot in a quasi-documentary style with hand-held camera. Yet it's preceded by a long overture that foreshadows key elements of the story in extreme slow-motion images, accompanied by Wagnerian music (from the opera Tristan and Isolde). It's a combination of artistic Romanticism with realism that should not work, but for me only adds to the power of the film. Of three or four von Trier films i've seen, this is far and away the most engaging.

The Blu-ray (i haven't seen the DVD version) includes a fairly short but illuminating extra in which von Trier, Gainsbourg, Dunst and a psychologist comment on the story. Other extras comment on the visual style and how the effects were created. The film certainly is beautiful (both picture and sound) in 1080p. The dialogue is all in English, but there's also a version dubbed into French as well as subtitles in both languages.

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P. Lankau
Der Baum des Todes: Melancholia
Reviewed in Germany on January 16, 2012
Verified Purchase
Auf die Handlung möchte ich nicht tief eingehen. Sie transportiert ohnehin nur die Protagonisten von einer Szene in die nächste.

Was mir an diesem Film sofort positiv auffiel war die Hochzeitsgesellschaft. Brillant inszeniert, mit dem Skalpell werden nach und nach die Oberflächen von den Menschen entfernt. War anfangs jeder noch perfekt in seiner Maske, wird gegen Ende der Farce deutlich, dass die Darstellung des Scheiterns allumfassend ist. Nicht nur die Braut versemmelt grandios und nur schwer nachvollziehbar den Abend, auch der Bräutigam scheitert grandios in seiner Rücksichtnahme, die sich als Schwäche erweist. Die Gastgeber scheitern in ihrem Mitleid und dem Perfektionismus, der sie sonst so geradlinig durchs Leben zwingt. Die Eltern der Braut feiern sich selbst in ihrer verzweifelten Rücksichtslosigkeit, was dem Zuschauer ohnehin von Anfang an klar wurde. Der Agenturchef entledigt sich frei von Mitgefühl seiner Mitarbeiterin. Diese Gesellschaft ist bereits vor dem verspäteten Eintreffen des Brautpaares gescheitert.

Eine Bemerkung zur Handkamera: sie wird stilistisch eingesetzt, das finde ich absolut passend. Wer nur konventionelle Hollywood-Szenerie gewohnt ist, der wird natürlich schnell ermüden. Die großen Landschaften jedoch stehen still, auch die Planeten dürfen sich orbital auf gedachten Stativen präsentieren.

Eine Überraschung war der Beginn des Filmes. Es wird tatsächlich alles zu Anfang vorweggenommen. Das macht die beiden anderen Drittel nicht langweilig. Das Ziel ist klar umrissen, der Weg dorthin wird jetzt aufgedröselt.

Über Kiefer Sutherland habe ich mich in diesem Film gefreut. Er darf einen Menschen spielen, der vielfach im Publikum sitzt. Vordergründig rücksichtsvoll, umsichtig, gebildet und praktisch anpackend zugleich, ein Pfundskerl mit großem Herz. Aber am Schluss fehlt der Mut, das eigene Leben bis ans Ende zu leben. Sehr überzeugend gespielt.

Die Hauptfigur ist für mich die zwiespältigste Person im Film. Sie ist die eigentliche Katastrophe. Ihr Leben und ihre Lebensäußerung ist ein ständiges Nehmen und Beherrschen der anderen. Sie okkupiert die Familie ihrer Schwester, ohne einen Ausgleich zu schaffen. Bis zum Schluss. In der letzten Sekunde der letzten Szene wird sie aktiv und rettet sich. Lars Trier hat hier grandios einen Kontrapunkt gesetzt, der wohl den wenigsten Betrachtern aufgefallen ist, denn man glaubt alles zu wissen und sucht am Ende nur noch Bestätigung. Wer aufmerksam bleibt bis zum Schluss, kann erkennen, wie sich der Film zum Ende hin verwandelt.

Der Score des Films ist brutal einfach und dennoch sensibel. Warum Wagner? Das habe ich mich auch gefragt. Vielleicht weil man den auch noch hören kann, wenn es laut wird? Oder weil Wagner ein ähnliches Publikum hat wie Lars Trier? Oder weil ihm die Musik gut gefällt und hier auch thematisch passend eingesetzt werden kann? Es wird eine Provokation sein, weil sich herausstellen wird, dass es diesmal keine war. Ach Wagner? Ja war gerade im Studio verfügbar. So könnte es sich in 10 Jahren anhören.
Das tiefe Grummeln und basslastige Dröhnen passt hervorragend. In der Mitte des Filmes fragt sich jeder Tierfreund, weshalb die Pferde nicht aus dem Stall gelassen werden. Ihr Rufen und Schreien erfüllt gespenstisch den Hintergrund. Das hört jedoch wieder auf, als der Planet scheinbar abdreht.

Das Bild der Drahtschlinge ist grandios. Im Verlauf der Handlung entwickelt sich ein kleines optisches Werkzeug zur Metapher des Untergangs.

Alles in allem war Melancholia mein persönliches Filmereignis 2011. Zusammen mit "Baum des Lebens". Beide Filme verwenden erstmals die Möglichkeiten der gerechneten Bildgebung zur inhaltlichen Unterstützung der Handlung. Sie werden nicht mehr Hauptdarsteller des Plots, es sind nur noch Stilmittel. Das hat mich beruhigt, denn mittlerweile kann ich den rasanten Aktion-Grau-Brei nicht mehr gut ertragen. Haben wir nicht in den letzten Jahren jeweils zur Entwicklung eines 3D-Programms den passenden Film präsentiert bekommen? Das muss aufhören. Lars Trier hat damit angefangen.

Was ich nicht gut hören konnte war die Aussage, dass es ausserhalb der Erde kein Leben gäbe. Da frage ich mich tatsächlich, ob Herr Trier in diesem Punkt seinen Optimismus entdeckt hat? Mir scheint diese Aussage weder depressiv noch pessimistisch. Da versucht sich jemand zu retten. Völlig unnötig, denn seien wir ehrlich, Melancholia hat uns erst das Leben ermöglicht. So ist die Erde zu ihrem Lebensbewahrer gekommen: dem Mond.

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Karla
Me encanta
Reviewed in Mexico on February 2, 2025
Verified Purchase
Sin duda alguna es de las mejores o la mejor película sobre Melancolía que hay, y la mejor de Lars Von Trier. Me encanta y me identifico actualmente con la protagonista y sus familiares.

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John Ferngrove
I'm in the 'work of genius' camp
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2012
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I suppose it was pretty predictable how opinion would divide about the controversial Lars von Trier's (relatively uncontroversial) film. People will either love it or hate it. Those who are in thrall to Hollywood conventions of pace and narrative structure will not have the patience and stillness to absorb and relish this brooding meditation on madness and the end of the world. This is film as art, almost symphonic in conception, expressing complexes of thought and emotion that could never be communicated with words, or even images alone. It is a film about many things; madness and the paradoxical strength to be found at the bottom of despair; the fragility and irrationality of love; the absurdity of life in an insentient universe. It is also about the treacherously beautiful planet, Melancholia, which increasingly fills the sky as the intense but understated drama unwinds, until impact and near instant annihilation. This is not a science fiction or disaster movie; the planet is merely a device by which to explore the deepest human potentials of its characters, in otherwise inconceivable circumstances. The resulting film is a slow and majestic philosophical epic, on the theme of Schopenhaurian pessimism, in the spirit of Tarkovsky or Kubrick.

I will never look at Kirsten Dunst, an actress I've never really taken much notice of before, in quite the same way again. Her characterisation of Justine, sister to Charlotte Gainsbourg's Claire, and her descent into severe depressive illness, and then fragile but timely reintegration in the face of cosmic catastrophe, is a lifetime achievement, and it is no surprise she took best actress at Cannes. Kiefer Sutherland as Claire's uptight, somewhat pompous, but essentially decent husband, John, is also magnetic, his presence being felt as much through the spaces he leaves for the sisters. Another star is the magnificent Swedish castle of Tjolöhom and its grounds, which provides the basis of the sumptuous cinematography, which at times verges on the painterly, reminiscent perhaps of the German Romantic, Caspar David Friedrich.

Another key ingredient is the extensive use throughout of Wagner's transcendentally beautiful prelude to Tristan and Isolde, rather in the way that Visconti used the Adagio from Mahler's 5th for Death in Venice. My guess is that many of those who didn't respond well to the film might well have taken exception to this music, which is not just used as emotional filler, but as an integral component in the film's narrative flow.

By all accounts Trier is not the most pleasant of people, and seems to wilfully court controversy and misunderstanding. Nonetheless, a mind capable of conceiving this work of bleak, enigmatic genius, must have some nobility hidden somewhere in his soul.

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Melancholia [Blu-ray]

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