I had the privilege of consuming this beast twice within 36 hours & I think I can honestly say I haven't seen a film that dug it's claws into my heart and wrung raw emotion from my soul like that since maybe The Virgin Suicides (yeah, it's been awhile, I've been jaded). Lars von Trier has a penchant for tragedy, for despair (Medea being a hauntingly perfect allegory of such) but this is so so much deeper than simply a surface display of emotion set-dressed in von Trierian style & cinematography. The fact that the majority of the movie doesn't even center on the imminent omnivorous title is part of it's genius. We start with a girl on her wedding day going through the motions but inside questioning everything & we click, we know her, we see who & what she is & we FEEL her, then over the next two hours as her interpersonal relationships play out we experience the film as two acts, the two sisters, Justine & Claire, but it is not two chapters, it is one relationship, at its core it might even be EVERY relationship. Kirsten got Best Actress @ Cannes for this, but its not enough ... I wish the crew the best of luck this coming awards season (and pack some meat on the blu-ray please!)
Review of Melancholia
