FSM Board: Lars von Trier's MELANCHOLIA (2025)

My first Lars von Trier experience was 1992 and his world war II thriller "Europa", which I love instantly after the first viewing, vor its expressionist motifs, its beautiful and haunting score by Joakim Holberg and the fascinating story and great actors. I haven't heard of Von Trier before, and didn't know of his troubled life until the mid-late 90s, but this movie also lingered in my mind, and stayed there until now. My next Von Trier was "Breaking The Waves" in 1996 with Emily Watson's striking performance.

Sadly after that, I lost Von Trier a little out of sight, and caught up with him again, when he released "Dancer In The Dark", which I found a little too much on the heavy sight of life. I have just seen "Dogville" for the first time yesterday, and it again proved to be a mesmerizing film experience, one I hope will be as effective as "Manderlay", which I will see in the next coming days. I don't quiet know as of yet, if I should see "Antichrist", but I guess I will eventually.

Long speech short, now on to "Melancholia". When von Trier announced, that he would do an apocalyptic sci fi film, I was intrigued. Of course, Von Trier didn't dissapoint. For me, "Melancholia" is the best film of the year, one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, with such an utterly breathtaking production design and an original angle on the apocalypse genre. The cast is magnificent, and I was surprised to see Kiefer Sutherland in a Von Trier film, but he did a great job. But my favorite was Charlotte Gainsbourgh, whose side I was taking in the film, not the view of Kirsten Dunst's charackter.

"Melancholia" is a profound viewing expericence fro me, and one I hope I will cherish many times more, once the movie comes out on blu ray.

A striking film.

One HUGE problem was that I had no idea this movie existed until I signed on to IMDB and saw a poster and the trailer and decided to give it a watch....

DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER !!!

Unlike THE TREE OF LIFE where the trailer gives you an IDEA, MOOD, and TONE, the trailer for MELANCHOLIA really does lay out the basics beats of the whole that damn thing.

and Kirsten Dunst, wow. she was incredible. really hope she gets an oscar, just amazing as a woman so crippled with depression that she can't even enjoy her own wedding. incredible actress. didn't know she had it in her.

loved the last shot in the movie, I kept rewinding it, and rewinding and rewinding. just an amazing shot. and love how he let the sound of the destruction linger on even after the screen goes black. great movie. really hope to see in the theater someday.

and anyone get the sense that the opening of the movie was her premonition of things to come? I mean she said she knows things, so what if the opening was her dreaming about what is about to happen. that would explain why she told her mother she was terrified. I don't know just spitballing

oh and as for your interest in "Antichrist", my advice would be to make sure you're not eating anything with meat whiles watching the movie. it's not insanely graphic, but what "She" does to herself at the end of movie, and what "She" does to her husband after that should mess you up for a while. great imagery and sound though