Melancholia

Space has always been a subject of fascination since the dawn of man. We, like our ancestors can’t help but gaze upward in wonder and awe at the limitless beauty. With all the potential and endless possibilities, it seems an obvious subject for film. Such great lore in cinema can be found involving space. Whether you’re venturing to a galaxy far far away or to infinity and beyond there’s bound to be a tale for you. Today however I want to talk to you about a film that deals with space in it’s own way. One that looks outward toward the stars and also inward at the soul. A film about an approaching foreign planet and one that introduced me to a modern powerhouse of cinema.

So if you’re like me and you enjoy film and the emotions and impact that it can convey, then grab a glass of your preferred liquid and join me for the next little while. For me that’s a glass of pinot noir from our friends at Barefoot winery. So sit back, relax and let’s talk about the love of film. Welcome to Glazed Cinema.

The four years prior to 2011 were quite informative for me as a film lover. I had built up a rolodex of directors whose work I admired and was seeking more and more. Like a red giant swallowing up its planets I saw an increasing number of films, adding to my collection. It wasn’t until the eleventh year of the millennium that I got to etch another director’s name onto that list. One that I had heard lots about, from the great country of Denmark.

I remember seeing the poster for the first time and it really intrigued me. It was Kirsten Dunst lying in water with greenery floating on either side. She was wearing a wedding dress...her vail floating above her head. Gazing at me, her hands clutched a bouquet of green leaves and baby’s breath. I remember that I was quite taken aback by the image, wondering why a bride would be floating in what looked like creek water. The name of the film, which was below her hands read “Melancholia” and below that read “Directed by Lars Von Trier”.

Now, I knew Kirsten Dunst from other films like the Spiderman trilogy, The Virgin Suicides, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. As a sidebar, I’ve always liked Kirsten Dunst. I think for a while she was cast as a certain archetype, but her range of acting is quite expansive and I think she shines in her roles. Especially in her more indie exploits...her characters feel very real and three dimensional to me, oftentimes stealing scenes. However, I has not seen any films from the director. At that time, unbeknownst to me Von Trier had already made a name for himself in cinema having won several awards internationally. The only film of his that I had heard of at that time was recommended to me by a friend, which was Dancer in the Dark. So, having heard many great things I decided to tune in to Melancholia.

I remember exactly where I was when I saw this film. I was home alone as my parents were out of town for the week and I had a few films on the docket including today’s subject. I rented it off of, what at that time was Time Warner Cable and I had a pizza all ready to go too. I didn’t know what to expect, but what I was greeted with exceeded the expectations I had. The first sequence is a slow motion account of specific events throughout the film, told in hauntingly beautiful imagery. Every time I watch this movie I am transfixed by this initial sequence. Before I get into too much more though, let me give you a brief rundown of the plot.

Melancholia is about a family dealing with two events at the same time. The first event being a wedding and the second being a major celestial event. The film hosts an impressive cast including Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland, John Hurt, and Stellan Skarsgard.

Melancholia was received well when initially released and was received positively by most critics. It was met with controversy at Cannes however, after Lars himself made some unacceptable comments during a press conference. This led to a seven year ban from him appearing at the Cannes Film Festival. Something that has only just recently been lifted. This most certainly tarnished the film during award season as it should have been nominated for much more. The cinematography and acting deserved far more, at the very least in the form of nominations, but I digress.

The film itself is told in two parts and each part centers around one of two sisters. Though related by blood, neither sister resembles the other in either physique, mindset or personality. The two parts are aptly named after both sisters and each one plays like the title sister’s personality.

You’re probably wondering what this major celestial event is that I’ve been dancing around this whole time. Well, to put it simply the event is the title of the film. Melancholia is a planet, which is on a rogue trajectory and will pass by earth at a fairly close proximity to where it will be bigger and brighter than the moon in the Earth’s sky. There are several different feelings about this event as it's approach draws closer.

Each character's feelings about this event change as the film plays out. For instance, Justine is quite curious and welcoming, acting quite laid back about it. Claire is tense and always on guard towards it. John, Claire’s husband is excited and marveled, constantly breaking out his telescope to get the best views with their son.

I don’t think we ever learn what John does for a living, but we can piece together that he loves science and space and that he makes a lot of money. Played by Kiefer Sutherland, he has a top of the line telescope and talks about three things throughout the film. Money, his dislike for his wife Claire's family, and Melancholia. If he's not complaining about how much money he’s spending, he's gloating about how much he can afford to spend. Despite all this we can tell that he is in love with Claire and helps her in any facet to help make her happy, including helping her ease any worries regarding the title planet.

Melancholia is a bright cyan hued planet that has been hidden behind the sun somewhere in the universe. As it gets closer and closer it’s size and beauty grow, forcing each character to confront it's presence and meaning. The planet itself is a gas giant, much like our Jupiter, though smaller in size. I love the scenes where the planet makes an appearance as the effects are quite spellbinding.

Without saying much more regarding what happens with the plot, I do want to talk about the aesthetics of this film. Melancholia is without question a Lars Von Trier film. His stamp can be felt throughout and reminds me of his other films, namely Antichrist. Which I suppose makes sense since they were made back to back with Antichrist coming out two years prior.

This initial half titled “Justine” centers around Justine played by Kirsten Dunst, who suffers from crippling depression, anxiety, and mood swings. This initial half is a kind of tumultuous experience. Things happen in quick cuts and feels chaotic at times, which helps represent the inner turmoil of Justine’s mind. Through her wedding and the interactions with those around her, we learn a lot about Justine and her family. We see her care, joy, impulsiveness, heartbreak, and resentment all unfurl in different ways throughout her wedding reception. Her friends and family, an array of characters all exude quite hectic and opposing personalities. Justine, in the middle of it all is seemingly just trying to stay afloat.

She starts out happy as we join her and her new husband in a limo. The driver is trying to maneuver the elongated vehicle through a a turn in the road. On one side is mossy rockface and the other side a forest with stone stumps lining the roadway. With the sun bouncing off the white paint he tries to maneuver the car. With little success the new husband Michael gets out to help along with Justine. Taking turns behind the wheel they each try to navigate the vehicle without hitting the trees on either side. After a quick cut, it is night and we are now in front of a large castle. We meet Claire and her husband John. Commenting on their tardiness the group walks across the asphalt toward the breathtaking building. Before entering the stone archway Justine looks skyward and asks, “What star is that?” After a bit of discussion John comes to lend his expertise and asks “Which one are you looking at exactly?” Justine retorts “The red one.” John, observing the object in question states, “I’m amazed that you can see that. That’s Antares. It’s the main star in the Scorpio constellation.” Sharing a glance John smiles as they turn to walk inward, unknowingly bearing witness to what will consume them for the remainder of the film.

Now, if you’re new to this podcast you should know that I strive to be a spoiler free program. The reason behind that is simple. If I tell you how something ends the journey is over. You’re almost limited to my opinion and understanding…my experience. That just shouldn't be. I want you to have your own experience and opportunity to inflect your own opinion or understanding when it comes to art. I just hope I can inspire you to press play.

The reason I say that is that this film is quite unique. Unique in the fact that the ending isn’t really the point of the film. After all if you’re seen the beginning, then you’ve already seen the end. Having said that, I will not spoil the end, nor the journey to it.

If you’re unfamiliar with Von Trier’s films, I can tell you this...his films reside in an uncomfortable place. Confronting our psyche and emotions through storylines that put us between a rock and a hard place, he is a true artist. Another thing that I like about his films is that each one features a strong female in the leading role. Melancholia is no different. Von Trier made this film to mirror his own battle with depression and anxiety, which he exudes through the main character, Justine. The end result is quite an affecting experience wherein, we the audience partake in it all. Of course the best way to showcase something is to have a variable of it...Justine's sister Claire is that variable.

The second part, titled “Claire” centers around Justine’s sister Claire, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. This half revolves around the major celestial event and how her family copes with it. It is much more linear and helps to illustrate the grounded, steady, and logical nature of Claire. This part begins after the wedding and we see Claire get a call from Justine, who is in the middle of an episode of depression. Claire seems worried and is verbally helping her get into a cab to come see her. When the cab does arrive we see a rather broken down Justine exit the cab. She can hardly move, her hair down across her face. Claire helps take her into the house as John begrudgingly pays the cab driver. We see Claire care for her sister in many ways. She helps her into bed and helps her feel safe, makes her a bath and get in it. She also makes meatloaf, to which she explains to John “If this doesn’t get her out of bed nothing will.” We can see that even though she has a hard time understanding Justine that she truly loves her sister.

I don’t want to give too much away here. As I said it’s a hard movie to talk about without spoiling anything by way of story. I think it is important to discover both characters' journeys through these two halves and put yourself there.

There are many scenes that I enjoy within this film, but none other than when Claire and John are outside waiting for Melancholia to rise over the horizon. It's clearly early morning as it's very dark outside. We see the long green lawn, which overlooks a large body of water. John turns to Claire stating "Leo should be watching this". Justine descends the steps in a kind of nightgown to the stone plateau to join them. John peers through his telescope as Justine meets the last step and sits down, planting herself close to her sister Claire. John looks up from the eyepiece in awe as the camera pans to Claire's face looking on in disbelief. Soon we hear the brooding friction and shaking of the earth as glassware rattles around. John slowly walks forward, his breathing heavier and more labored as the brightness grows. The camera cuts to the yard again, this time showing Melancholia cresting over the horizon and reflecting on the water. Though only an eighth is showing it appears absolutely massive, easily ten times as big as the moon. Birds start chirping as the planet continually rises, showing more of its cyan blue brilliance. The camera moves to each character's faces as John has Claire look into the telescope. Within the eyepiece now we see a vibrant blue with white clouds spread intermittently across the surface, the brooding sound still in the background. The camera cuts to Justine who is looking on with a slight grin as John asks Claire, "Are you afraid?" to which Claire states, "No, it looks...it looks friendly." Before the scene ends we see Melancholia in the sky, all of it visible now...a magnificent sight indeed. I love that scene. It's the first time we see not only the planet, but everyone's interaction to it. There's a lot to love here, but the sound of the planet is quite eye opening as well.

The sounds of this film are also quite awesome. The score, like the rest of the film is untraditional, but present. To fit the mood of the film Lars chose a piece from Wagner, which feels quite appropriate. Titled Tristan and Isolde, the piece has depth and drama that just melds wonderfully throughout. Most of this film contains no music...in fact the only other songs that are heard are during some wedding sequences where people are dancing. Lars uses excerpts from Tristan and Isolde brilliantly though, dressing plot altering scenes to create a bit more depth and drama. Apart from these bits of music the rest Melancholia is just sounds of the earth whether that be people talking, birds chirping, insects buzzing, or water flowing. Something that just makes us feel closer to the earth, where at times we feel a bit removed from it.

This film impacted me in a lot of ways. This might sound odd, but the first time I watched this my Livingroom seemed to shrink. When the film ended and flashed to black I looked around almost sobering up to the fact that I was home. I felt a range of emotions, but I really appreciate how Lars made depression tangible. It reaches out and makes contact with you, forcing you to see, feel, and relate to it. The fact that a director can make a film about an emotion they are dealing with and embody it through the finished product is quite exquisite. I usually come away with an internal struggle, feeling inspired, sad, oddly comforted, and amazed by the whole experience.

This film takes a lot of weighed risks as well, the biggest of all starting with the end and ending with the beginning. It's a brilliant risk though because we as an audience essentially must give ourselves to the film that much more. As I said earlier...my experience is not the be all end all and you may find something completely different after watching. However, I feel as though because we are surrendering our expectations at the beginning that everything afterward feels just a little more amplified. This is delivered in a major way by the actresses and actors and their deliveries. Every scene, sequence, and emotion feels authentic.

The acting is brilliant from all fronts, but Kirsten Dunst does a phenomenal job here. In fact, she took home the Best Actress award at the Cannes for her amazing portrayal of Justine. I really enjoyed watching her character throughout and her scenes with Charlotte Gainsbourg are amazing as they both feed off of each other. Justine is among the best performances of Kirsten's career, if not the best...at least in the film medium. I can't say enough great things about it.

After I watched Melancholia I went out and saw two more of Von Trier's films in quick succession. Though I like many of his films I still hold Melancholia in high regard and is my personal favorite of his films, though admittedly I have not seen them all. So whether you're out for an interesting and compelling film, or looking for an introduction to Von Trier this may be the film for you. I highly recommend giving it a watch to experience it from start to finish...I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If you’d like to watch Melancholia for yourself, you can find it on Hulu. Hulu has different pricing structures including Basic for $5.99 per month with other plans for each person’s needs.

Apart from Hulu you can also find it on Prime Video. If you have a Prime membership, you can watch Melancholia at no extra cost.

Other services where Melancholia can be found include Vudu, Pluto TV, and Tubi if you subscribe to those services. You can also find it on YouTube, Google Play, or iTunes for rent at either $2.99 or $3.99.

If you’d like to learn more about the podcast please feel free to visit our website at glazedcinema.com. There you’ll find some background on the show and also a place to submit ideas for future episodes. For film fans who are hearing impaired the blog page on our website features each episode in written form as well. If you like this podcast tell your friends or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Each week there will be new content including hints about episodes before they air. As always, thanks for listening and I hope to see you next time, with a beverage and another fine film.