Melancholia (2011)

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Melancholia

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Directed By Lars von Trier Lars von Trier Starring Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Dunst  •  Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Gainsbourg  •  Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer Sutherland  •  Charlotte Rampling Charlotte Rampling  •  John Hurt John Hurt Genres Apocalyptic Film  •  Disaster Film  •  Drama  •  Family Drama  •  Psychological Drama  •  Psychological Sci-Fi  •  Sci-Fi Disaster Film  •  Science Fiction Studios &
Franchises
Magnolia Pictures  •  2011 Fantastic Fest  •  2011 AFI Film Festival  •  They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?  •  Artificial Eye  •  Sight & Sound's Greatest Films of All Time Poll  •  European Film Award for Best Film Winning  •  Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated  •  Saturn Award for Best International Film Nominated  •  National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film Winning  •  French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Prix Léon Moussinac  •  Zentropa Entertainments  •  Cahiers du cinéma: Top 10 Lists  •  Bodil Award for Best Danish Film Winning  •  Indiewire's 100 Best Movies of the 2010s
Release Info 2011-05-18T00:00:00Z May 18, 2011
Color  •  130 minutes R Rated R
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The Tree of Life vs. Melancholia

The Tree of Life Melancholia VS.

rewster said on 8/6/2019

"the two best movies of 2011. The Tree of Life is #1 though." more ►

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Comments (7)

 
ear

ear on 10/13/2011 Reply  · 

A magnificent film that grabs you in and shakes your world.
It is a beautifully filmed work that shows both the beauty and magic of a doomed planet and our ability to cope with
the inevitable. Kirstin Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg are outstanding in this sad but ultimately uplifting work of life affirming art. The musical soundtrack is outstanding. Melancholia is a keeper.

1 person liked this  √ 

Carnelian

Carnelian on 10/13/2011 Reply  · 

I think this is a beautiful but flawed film. The music is absolutely gorgeous and hits the spot 100%. Kirsten Dunst's performance as a deeply depressed individual is also amazing and utterly convincing. Charlotte Gainsbourg again is very real. The end of the world visuals are also a joy.

The problems I found was the two half structure of the film. These halves which do not relate to each other in too many ways. While either of the halves would have made excellent films in their own right, together they are mismatched.

For example, many of the characters raised in the first half just fade away with no real impact. The first half is full of expert observed and dare I say it, hilarious moments of dysfunction between friends and family. The second half looses any humour and introduces two elements: 1) a very realistic portrayal of someone in a very deep and horrible depression and 2) a supernatural and and creepy element.

It is the second half therefore where the themes and the plot get muddled. There was no need for the supernatural melodramatic elements in this film. Or alternatively, if this was the film Lars von Trier wanted to make, he should have gone full blown on this aspect of the film, and really ramped up the tension/creepiness.

Overall, a bit of a wonky film, but a very interesting one nonetheless. And i cannot praise the music or Kirsten Dunst enough.

0 people liked this  √ 

JRM

JRM on 3/17/2012 Reply  · 

I think I enjoyed the film much more than you did, but I definitely agree with your points of view. Particularly with the two half structure not working very well. It confused me more than anything.

0 people liked this  √ 

Ja

Ja on 3/19/2012 Reply  · 

personally this is one of the worst movies i have ever seen. extremely slow and uninteresting. it was a terrible attempt to make a powerful movie.

2 people liked this  √ 

ltcomdata

ltcomdata on 8/13/2012 Reply  · 

Bad cinematography is bad cinematography, whether done by an amateur or by a world-renown director.

This movie suffers from the delusion that a shaky camera (a.k.a. bad cinematography) makes the movie better. In reality, it only makes people like me nauseous. It doesn't matter how good the story is or how great the special effects are if no one can watch them, seeing how they had to walk out in the middle of the movie and find themselves throwing up outside the theatre.

And it is a shame, because the music was too good, at least on the part I could stomach.

1 person liked this  √ 

seve24

seve24 on 4/29/2015 Reply  · 

A good film, not a great film.

1 person liked this  √ 

PiccoloKing

PiccoloKing on 9/13/2018 Reply  · 

It starts off slowly, really slowly, but then picks up and never lets go...

1 person liked this  √ 

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