Melancholia is the best Science Fiction Film Ever
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Blender Dumbass👁 4
I don't think you think of Science Fiction often when thinking about Lars Von Trier. Yet, his 2011 masterpiece Melancholia is one of, if not the best, science fiction film(s) ever.
The sci-fi premise is very simple: A rouge planet from outside of the solar system, flies by the planet Earth. And the main tension of the movie is whether it will collide with Earth or not.
Yet Lars Von Trier spoilers the ending ( the collision with the planet Earth ) in the opening sequence. Which he himself described as a technique he used to force himself to make a better movie. If the audience already knows that everybody will die by the end, how does one still make the movie interesting? This is the question Lars Von Trier wanted to tackle with this movie.
The film is structured in 2 chapters, about 2 different types of depression, or Melancholia, of 2 sisters: Justine, played by Kirsten Dunst and Claire played by Charlotte Gainsbourg.
The first chapter is about Justine who suffers from what seems to be some sort of bi-polar disorder. And just so happened that depression part of it happened exactly on her wedding with Michael played by Alexander Skarsgård. Not to be confused with Stellan Skarsgård ( who is Alexander's father in real life ), who plays Justine's awful boss from work. And yes, Brady Corbet, the director of The Brutalist is playing the dumb nephew of said boss. That is the same Brady Corbet. Also Von Trier didn't forget to include John Hurt ( known for the Chestburster scene from the original Alien , and a good screen adaptation of 1984 ). Here he plays Justine's "stupid dad", that very likes young girls who's name is Betty.
The first half of the movie could be looked at as a kind of sick black comedy from Von Trier. It plants the seeds for the sci-fi stuff. But it only mentions them in a very minimal way. Instead the film is portraying a wedding going very wrong very fast. From the absurd gag of a limousine being too long to fit into the driveway. To everything going absolutely sideways. Making, as a result, Justine's depression harder and harder on every next turn.
Then Lars switches the sides. Suddenly it is Claire's turn to be emotionally devastated. Suddenly the sci-fi elements are at full swing. While in the same time, being closer and closer to apocalypse, Justine seems to be more and more at home. As if the depression made her be able to cope with apocalypse so much better than "normal" people.
The sci-fi is also very tastefully done. On paper it's something like the infamous 2022 disaster by Roland Emmerich called Moonfall. But the execution is so much more thought through. Lars Von Trier does not leave the house setting. There are no scenes of the government deciding what to do. There are no Michael Bay heroes going to Nuke the asteroid. There is this presence in the sky. And it does things on Earth.
At first it simply hides stars. Then it becomes a second moon in the night sky. Glowing bright blue. Then when it gets closer, it sucks some of the air, so the characters have trouble breathing. And in none of those scenes Von Trier forgets about the characters. All of it is about the characters. About their experience with the event. About their different view points. And ultimately about different ways they cope with the reality of it colliding with earth, pretty damn soon.
While in the first half of the film, Von Trier showcases a weird sense of humor, while also showing great understanding of depression ( which he personally suffers from ). In the second half, Von Trier shows mastery of suspense. And a very great understanding of what makes science fiction work on some visceral level.
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