Speaking of limos, let me state here that I'm in love with the first scene in the Justine section and was hoping someone would bring it up in one of their posts. It sets the stage perfectly. Coming off the meditative beauty of the Prelude (is that what's called?), the entire limo scenario - filmed by shaky handhelds - offers a jarring contrast from the previous 10 minutes in a way that captures the humor in absurdity (I think vT sees most human life and social interactions as absurd). It's sublimely comedic while giving a hint of what is to come.
John gave us a few quotes to work with in his first post on the film. I'd probably examine the movie from the lens of another one. Montaigne writes, "To philosophize is to learn how to die." I think this works well here because Montaigne, like vT, is saying that "learn[ing] how to die" is actually a way of understanding that death comes to us all; it's a way of transcending the fear of or desire for death and instead learning how to live. No doubt (as one of you mentioned) vT has gone through dark times. But MELANCHOLIA is not about embracing or romanticizing them. VT takes depression and social anxiety and displays all their harmful and terrible aspects. He uses subtle and - yes, Jeff - extremely cynical humor to do this. He seems to be saying that there are legitimate reasons for depression but if you look closely enough it can all be very, very comical.
Quoting John: "Melancholia is stupid." Yes, exactly, though I'd prefer to use "ridiculous" because it then allows me another quote that I think is a perfect companion for the film. This time it comes from Henry Miller in Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch:
The question is, where do we want to go? And, do we want to take our baggage with us or travel light? The answer to the second question is contained in the first. Wherever we go, we must go naked and alone. We must each of us learn what no other can teach us. We must do the ridiculous in order to touch the sublime.Meditate on MELANCHOLIA and think about what Miller said above.
A few of you have mentioned vT gets an excellent performance out of Dunst, which I absolutely agree with. She captures the smile that isn't a smile, the eyes that are dull with inner pain, the desire (and ultimate failing) to appear happy because she thinks she should be, because everyone is telling her to be. There is obvious self-loathing beneath the surface because she isn't happy, which only serves to make her more unhappy. A snake eating it's tail.
It's hard, as Jeff mentioned, to actually "like" a depressed character. There are so many layers to examine here. First, Dunst is truly in trouble on a psychological level. Oftentimes, films will have the depressed character as some sort of struggling artist who is cool and hip because they are an outsider (wildly oversimplifying but you know the archetype to which I'm referring). This is not he case here. Justine's depression is real and palpable. But the question remains: why is Justine depressed? She's got it all. Money, beauty and Alexander Skarsgard. VT doesn't answer this question though. It's just a fact of the film in the same way it's a fact of life.
Do we "like" Justine? I don't know, no? Not really? Does it matter for this film? Probably not. Like I mentioned, Justine doesn't like herself. So, why are we expected to like her?
I really like what Charlie Jane Anders writes at io9:
Melancholia is one of those films that will make you cringe, as you come to identify with characters who are trapped in their own delusions. Dunst's character comes to seem like the only person who's willing to shed all of her falseness, even if it leaves her like a shell of a person. Sure, it's incredibly nihilistic — it's showing how everything we value and puff ourselves up about is transitory and meaningless. It takes a giant planet smashing into our own world to illuminate the meaninglessness of our petty crap. And like I said, what's left is a transitory but very real beauty.Moving away from Dunst's portrayal of Justine, I think that Skarsgard is actually quite charming in this film. And when the two of them get together, it's just heartbreaking. They are both so obviously trying but the disaster is unstoppable. It's left right there on the chair.
One more shout out to the actors: Kiefer Sutherland and Charlotte Gainsbourg (clitoris presumably intact) are both excellent in their supporting role in the first half and know how to up the drama and make the second half as tense as it needs to be. Also, the wedding planner was funny even though it was a joke that I had to rewind on my second time through to understand (it's so quick that it's easy to miss).
Jeff, I know you've said that you are coming around to the film more so I won't belabor this much. I truly think that on subsequent viewings you will start to enjoy MELANCHOLIA. This is a film that I find myself appreciating more and more every time I think about it. Anyway, I have to disagree with you about the movie lacking cynicism. Maybe it's not as overt, but it's there. That said, perhaps it is a more "mature" film compared to his previous ones. I've only seen ANTICHRIST, which fucked my head up for weeks, so it's hard for me to really chime in here. Also, I think I understand what you're saying about the whole "punk/juvenile/selling out" thing. But just because this film is different from earlier vT doesn't necessarily mean he is selling out. He's making the movie he wanted to make, the movie he needed to make. Anyway, just have to put this here even if it doesn't necessarily have much to do with what you were trying to say.
Alright, Rollins is always a good note to end on. I'm sure there is lots of interesting discussion I'm missing because I wrote this without re-reading everyone's posts from the weekend.
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