This was my first Lars von Trier film, and it was very interesting to say the least. Melancholia is about impending doom, and starts off with a sort of prologue, an overture, highlighting the main events to come. The opening scene is very surreal. One of the main characters, Justine, is seen trying to crawl through branches grappling her, in another scene the marshes are sucking at her feet, and then the camera switches to a horse, then a little boy whittling a stick into a spear. Finally the viewer sees the Earth colliding with a massive planet, "Melancholia," destroying Earth completely.
So, from the very beginning, this almost Shakespearian-like introduction (when the plot line is completely uncovered coupled with the Ophelia references) gives the viewer an uncomfortable feeling, almost a feeling of being stuck.
This feeling of nowhere to go is immediately reinforced with the first scene after the prologue. Newlyweds Justine and Michael are in a stretch limo, and the driver is trying to turn around on a cramped gravel road in the middle of the countryside. The scene is exceptionally light-hearted after the dramatic opening scene. Michael and Justine are giggling at the incompetence of the driver as he makes a zillion-point turn, von Trier using jump cuts to emphasize the lengthy floundering of the limo driver at the same time giving it a cool French New Wave feel like in Godard's Breathless. and finally Michael offers to try his hand at turning the car around. When he fails, Justine gives it a go, in her wedding dress and all, and clearly has no idea what she is doing either, especially when she is trying to put it in gear but hits the wind shield wipers instead. This scene is crucial to the rest of the movie for creating this "stuck" feeling, having no where to go. The viewer has no idea just how dysfunctional Justine and her family is.
The movie then proceeds to the wedding party, set in Claire's (sister of Justine) husband's chateau. Claire is upset with the newlywed's tardiness, and the movie becomes darker and darker from then on. Justine ends up not being able to go through consummating her marriage but has sex with a complete stranger her boss introduced to her that night. Perhaps she did this because of the claustrophobic feeling marriage has given her (even if only for a few hours) and wanted to spite its constitution for doing so.
Von Trier does not place marriage in a flattering light. Again, this stuck, claustrophobic feeling is felt by the viewer, watching Justine and Michael struggle to be happy on their wedding night. Von Trier's view is also relayed through Justine and Claire's mother, Gaby. She explicitly states in a wedding speech she despises marriage. If these things don't get you to rethink getting married, then look at the collision of the two planets. They will be joined in matrimony, ultimately destroying one part and damaging the other, as paralleled with Justine and Michael.
Another element of this film is the lack of knowledge. No one knows what the deal is with Justine. She seems pretty alright at the beginning, but then she shows her true self. It seems like she had issues because of some of her dialogue with her sister, "Justine, I don't want you to make any scenes tonight." or "I tried Claire, I really tried." The only certainty provided in the film is the doom of the Earth, and this fact is made clear only to the viewer. The characters believe that the planet will simply pass by. Also, the setting is unclear. It seems this handful of characters is cut off from the rest of society. You don't get any outside sources about Melancholia. No scientists, no media. There is no other contact with the outside world, so it seems it is just these people's own personal world about to be obliterated.
The way this film is shot is very much like a hand held, documentary style, similar to the bits of Hurt Locker we watched in class. The camera movements are shaky, with zooming in and out. A Wagner piece plays sometimes as the soundtrack, but many times the film is eerily silent. The lack of music adds to the film's feeling of isolation from the real world. They are so far removed from society there is no background noise. There is nothing, and this gives the film a very creepy quality.
I enjoyed this film because I discovered a new director and I plan on exploring his other works, and also because it was a weird film. Something so average as marriage--representing life, new beginnings, etc...-- is juxtaposed with something extraordinary, the end of the world, and the feeling this paradox creates is different from the typical movies nowadays.
3.5/4 stars
Very well said, Devon. You do a really great job of explaining a movie that is, well, incredibly difficult to explain. This is definitely not a movie for most people. It's artsy and really weird. But, those who are into more challenging, abstract storytelling might appreciate this film and everything it's trying to accomplish. In a weird way, it's kind of like "Tree of Life" from 2011. They're both exploring issues of family and personal connection, with the world (the beginning or the end) as the backdrop/metaphor.
ReplyDeleteGreat job picking up on and making sense of all of the situations we come across (Justine being stuck, the viewer being stuck, the planets being destroyed, marriage destroying Justine, etc.). I hadn't thought of some of that, and it makes sense.
Keep it up, Devon. I like how you really seem to challenge yourself with very different films.