The prologue to this apocalyptic masterpiece by Lars Von Trier is stunningly filmed, with slo mo shots of chaos and mayhem. These scenes are audaciously set to operatic music, and the eight minute prologue is an ecstatic invitation to witness the final moments of earth. It`s a sad thought all right, the idea of life being obliterated before your very eyes, but he mines such morbid obsessions into some of the most stunning images I`ve ever witnessed.
After the prologue, we are ushered into the first part of the film, titled Justine, after Dunst`s character. This first part is a wacky wedding comedy. It starts out with Justine and her soon-to-be husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgard) in a limousine, on the way to Claire`s palatial abode, where Justine`s wedding is to be held. The limousine has trouble getting parked, however, and moves forward and backwards in an absurd dance, perhaps to convey the idea of futility, something which Justine, a chronically depressed woman, is intimately familiar with. Justine, as has been pointed out by many critics, could be seen as a representation for von Trier, who himself suffers from serious depression and has subsumed elements of his malaise into some of his recent films.
This segment is hilarious at parts, with Justine having to deal with her in-control sister Claire, her drunken dad (John Hurt) and her viciously ill-tempered mother (Charlotte Rampling). Claire also does some kooky things like turning down Michael`s wish to consummate, and then running off to have sex with some young blonde thing, who later propositions her with a relationship.
Then comes the second part, which is titled after Charlotte Gainsbourg`s character, Claire. It`s some time after Justine`s ruined wedding how long after is not exactly known and Justine has sunk into a full blown depression, which is so bad she is literally crippled, not being able to take baths or even more about without her sister`s help. Claire is the more composed, more in-control one of the two, and she brings her sister over to her place to be taken care of, to the displeasure of her husband (Kiefer Sutherland). Her husband is a hobbyist astronomer, and he comes to be aware of the giant planet known as Melancholia. In the first half of the film, we see it as merely a red speck in the dark sky. Here, it has grown ominously and noticeably larger, though Sutherland`s character insists it is no cause to worry: the planet will pass by earth, and everything will be all right.
That does little to allay the fears of the anxiety-ridden Claire, who buys sleeping pills to fulfil her contingency plan: suicide. The growing awareness of the impending apocalypse seems to have the opposite effect on Justine, however, who grows increasingly serene; her fatalism seems almost like a poetic response to inevitable death.
When the final scene comes and I`m not going to spoil it for you- it`s almost as if we can finally heave a sigh of relief.
Only the mad genius like Von Trier could turn the end of the world into a metaphor for his own depression by juxtaposing both, and the result is a profoundly affecting film moving, occasionally funny, and visually delightful. I`m not going to say that everything about the film was explicable on the first viewing, but for days after I couldn`t shake the film off my mind. It is art at its best: exciting, mournful, titillating and provocative.
Summary: A profoundly moving, though at times confusing film.
Rating: 4/5