This week I saw ‘Melancholia’ by Lars Von Trier. The film opens with a clip on ‘Tristan and Isolde’ Wagner music. Difficult to say if it's the music or the pictures which stand in the forefront or background. The ambiance of the film-ouverture is utterly ‘german romantism’ with impressive video slow moves and references to paintings like ‘Ophelia’ which inspired the advertising picture of the movie. Very emotional and in full accordance with the tone of the music it’s really a high –end clip. Even if Symbolism looks a bit cheap and heavy as the dead birds falling from the sky, the overall feeling is very aesthetic and emotional. I just wish to see plenty of clips as
good as this one and I warmly recommend it to who loves or want to discover Wagner’s music.
For me the theme of this film is depression, melancholy, not at all a story about the end of the world. The part one (Justine) is a crescendo showing evidence after evidence the nervous disease of Justine. During this part the camera is vey mobile and stands very close to the faces of actors. Actors are great; you can catch what happens just from the pictures. No doubt that kirsten Dunts merits the interpret palm, but John Hurt as well is totally convincing. This part of the film, which makes think to Danish movie Festen, shows the bitterness of social life. Here only love seems working as a solid mode of communication, until the point where it appears that love is just a one way phantasm. To illustrate it, the groom gives a picture to his future wife asking her to keep itl lifelong and she just let it on the sofa when she stands up. I Think here to Jacques Lacan :’love is offering something we don’t have to someone who do not want it’.
The second part of the film ‘Claire’ is under the sign of the ‘Melancholia’ asteroid rushing to earth. In reality the main event is the visit of Justine who is going through a deep and contagious nervous breakdown. By her presence, her attitudes (see the meatloaf sequence) she communicates, in the confined ambience of the manor, her depression to the three characters. At the end of film Claire’s husband commits suicide , his wife and his son wait for death with Justine who feels much better as she found a morbid reason to live , Claire and her family dive to rescue Justine that was drowning and they perish in this salvage.
At the end of the day ‘Melancholia’ is not perfect but very good because of the beauty of photography, the accuracy of actors and Richard Wagner’s music. It is also very dark and despaired. Basically it tells that social life, and humanity is hell on earth, love is a phantasm. So it is quite nihilist and despaired but very aesthetic. It pushed me to see other films by Lars Von Trier.
Cheers !
