cubanmiamiboy Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 And then, just when I thought that "Antichrist" was Trier at his most weirdness, here comes "Melancholia". I saw this tonight, and my head still aches... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6OsQg1wehk ...so watching this as antidote. It NEVER fails..! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLfviMasZ7U&feature=related Link to comment
dirac Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 "Melancholia" is getting good reviews even from critics who normally deride von Trier. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I'll certainly be seeing it if there's an opportunity. (Link to our discussion of von Trier's "Antichrist" here.) Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 The film went on and on and on...forever-(2H, 10 m)-, 90% of the dialogues almost as in slow movement, in whispering mode. Kirsten Dunst has never convinced me as an actrees. Link to comment
Pamela Moberg Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Christian, take a pill and try to sleep! The only advice I can offer - von Trier has gone from weird to the most weird of them all. It seems to be weirdness for the sake of weirdness and then they expect people to pay already heavily taxed money to see that kind of rubbish. No, I have given up on von Trier a long time ago. But I wonder how on earth does he get people to finance his weird output... It is not inexpensive to make a full length movie. Off topic really, but "my" movie will premiere 6 Dec. here and in Europe. Well, I might be cut out entirely, who knows. It might be called, in English. "Simon and the oaks" and it is a story about Jews and nazis during WWII- well, I will attend the first screening and it is rather exciting... Link to comment
Drew Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Could not bring myself to watch Breaking the Waves consequently --too painful--so I just watched bits and pieces when it was on some cable station. I never even wanted to see a Von Trier movie since Breaking the Waves...until Melancholia. Watched it (On Demand rather than in the theater)--LOVED it. And thought Dunst and indeed the whole cast was stunning. As for wierdness...I would say that on the subject of depression many details in the movie were examples of spot-on realism, though of course the movie as a whole is something rather more than that. Dirac: I once read that hard-core Wagnerites were inclined to sneer at those who were all too fond of Lohengrin and not, by implication, say, Götterdämmerung. Perhaps the visually gorgeous and occasionally quite jokey Melancholia will be Von Trier's Lohengrin. (Of course the Wagner allusion is not incidental.) But...yes...absolutely loved it. Link to comment
Birdsall Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Drew, I think hard-core Wagnerites like myself love Lohengrin even if Tristan und Isolde, the Ring, and Parsifal are my favorites! There is much to love in Lohengrin. Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 The way I see this film is as another likely to be forgotten shot. There was a time -(back when I was younger in college)-when I would get into endless discussions praising all this stuff and trying to be part of the "film ntelligentsia"-(even secretely hating it, as I'm sure is still the case with this type of films, or modern dance, or visual arts for the matters, as the last Art Basel I went confirmed). Anyway...I grew up and right now I really don't have the energy, nor the desire or the audience to pretend any longer. It was a long, boring-(and probably ultra expensive)-shot. But to each, his/her own... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KER_IcHQYcA So anyway...let's get back to Mamie..!! Link to comment
dirac Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Could not bring myself to watch Breaking the Waves consequently --too painful--so I just watched bits and pieces when it was on some cable station. I never even wanted to see a Von Trier movie since Breaking the Waves...until Melancholia. Watched it (On Demand rather than in the theater)--LOVED it. And thought Dunst and indeed the whole cast was stunning. As for wierdness...I would say that on the subject of depression many details in the movie were examples of spot-on realism, though of course the movie as a whole is something rather more than that. Dirac: I once read that hard-core Wagnerites were inclined to sneer at those who were all too fond of Lohengrin and not, by implication, say, Götterdämmerung. Perhaps the visually gorgeous and occasionally quite jokey Melancholia will be Von Trier's Lohengrin. (Of course the Wagner allusion is not incidental.) But...yes...absolutely loved it. I'm planning to see it. Like cubanmiamiboy I'm a Dunst skeptic but it sounds as if working for von Trier might be good for her. Link to comment
dirac Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Could not bring myself to watch Breaking the Waves consequently --too painful--so I just watched bits and pieces when it was on some cable station. I never even wanted to see a Von Trier movie since Breaking the Waves...until Melancholia. Watched it (On Demand rather than in the theater)--LOVED it. And thought Dunst and indeed the whole cast was stunning. As for wierdness...I would say that on the subject of depression many details in the movie were examples of spot-on realism, though of course the movie as a whole is something rather more than that. Dirac: I once read that hard-core Wagnerites were inclined to sneer at those who were all too fond of Lohengrin and not, by implication, say, Götterdämmerung. Perhaps the visually gorgeous and occasionally quite jokey Melancholia will be Von Trier's Lohengrin. (Of course the Wagner allusion is not incidental.) But...yes...absolutely loved it. Drew, I also saw it via cable, which is too bad as I think it’s a movie that really should be seen on the big screen. In some ways it’s more accessible than, say, Dogville or Antichrist – it’s beautiful to look at, relatively short by von Trier standards, and his female leads are unhappy but not as abused as usual. The opening digital montage is stunning, almost worth the price of admission, and the entire film is full of gorgeous images (as can be seen from the clips Cristian posted). Von Trier often offers up the sublime with the loopy, intentionally or not, and that’s true of Melancholia. From a scientific aspect the whole thing is nuts, but if you can accept that there’s a lot to see here. Dunst is excellent, especially when you consider she’s not really given a character to play so much as a state of mind. Gainsbourg is back for a rematch with von Trier, a tribute to her stamina if nothing else, but she’s much less effective here than in Antichrist and even in von Trier’s world there’s no way that she and Dunst match up as sisters – I never believed these two were from the same family. Bergman, whose Persona kept popping into my head as I watched, would have handled that aspect better. (I also wondered why a woman with that much money couldn’t figure out something better to do with her hair.) I’m not a Kiefer Sutherland fan but I agree, he was very good here. Link to comment
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