Melancholia

A pure pleasure. The opening is flawless, the finale fatal. It is excellent for lovers of Richard Wagner and Kirsten Dunst's bust and dimples. The pleasure is multiplied, of course, in the Justine section, which has everything and lacks nothing. Humor is combined with absurdity and symbolism. Why waste the primitive aspects of Udo Kier when we have Alexander Skarsgård's wonderful newlywed games? He hasn't been this close to orgasm since True Blood, and that's saying something. (03/07/2011)

My first meeting with Lars von Trier went very well. After the breathtaking introduction I was sorry I didn't catch Melancholia in the movie theatre. After the first part I was delighted and after the following part I was slightly confused but still extremely satisfied. The combination of handheld "earth" camera, "space" views (of which there are not many), music (Wagner!) and perfect acting performances (with the unbeatable Kiefer Sutherland in the lead) was a success. I probably didn't understand everything, but that's why I'll gladly watch the film again in the future. (13/05/2012)

Melancholia was my first film of Lars von Trier's and I can already say with certainty that it won't be my last (on my viewing side). At the beginning, it looks like some kind of avant-garde film, with a succession of highly expressive scenes that may or may not be related. Then there's a wedding with all that entails, but it doesn't go as planned, and to make matters worse, the planet Melancholia is moving towards (away from) Earth, as if deciding whether or not to crash into the blue planet. As far as the cinematography, the production design and indeed the overall visuals are concerned, it's a really good show. The performances by Kirsten Dunst (again in a troubled girl role) and Charlotte Gainsbourg are amazing and breathtaking, which, along with the perfect musical score, add to the overall stifling atmosphere. In short, a film that is definitely not for everyone (even I had to keep my distance at times), but I have to say it is worth seeing on the big screen. (22/01/2012)

They should have cast Bruce Willis instead of Sutherland; only with that savior of our plant “asteroid my ass" would Trier throw an ironic grin at the audience; Jack Bauer is just too little time for something of that caliber. But seriously, now... A surreal “music video" of Wagner, Forman-style wedding and Trier in an intimate, emotional, but still visually most powerful ever end of the world. Several parts of it really manage to get across that specific atmosphere and the feelings typical for states of melancholy which you see/experience very rarely in movies. (29/05/2011)

There aren't many male authors who write out their feelings and then let women play it out. I consider Melancholia one of the most honest authorial statements of recent years and the opening prologue with slow motion shots and Richard Wagner's impressive music an aesthetic orgasm. What the 19th hole meant is, I don't think, very indicative (I can already see Von Trier laughing under his beard as he reads the various nonsensical explanatory theories). (27/07/2011)