Claire: “What's going
on Justine?”
Justine: “I'm
trudging through this gray woolly yarn, it’s clinging to my legs, it's really
heavy to drag along.”
Melancholia,
the second film in director Lars Von Trier’s ‘Trilogy of Depression’ (which
also includes 2009’s Antichrist and 2013’s Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 &
Vol. 2), delves deeply into the human psyche and the resulting film is
gorgeous, beguiling, and enigmatic. While it certainly isn’t quite as abrasive
as its predecessor Antichrist, which also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, it
certainly pulls no punches when it comes to its presentation of the human
condition. What this film lacks in the blunt shock and awe that Von Trier has
been infamous for it makes up for in pure, raw, unadulterated, and often
awkward, emotion. Personally I hadn’t watched this film since seeing it in
theaters three years ago but as I sat back to re-view it for this edition of I’d
Love To Turn You On I found myself remembering the slow, epic roller coaster
I was about to re-live.
In true Von
Trier fashion we are thrown immediately into the action in a magnificent yet
puzzling slow motion sequence that alludes to the events to come. After a large
cryptic planet crashes into the earth the events truly begin. The film is
broken up into two parts: part one if focused upon Justine, played by Kirsten
Dunst, and part two is centers around Justine’s sister Claire, Charlotte
Gainsbourg. The two parts are very different at first glance and yet upon
further examination they seem to be connected by the thread of dealing with
depression (as should seem obvious as it is part of Von Trier’s ‘Trilogy of
Depression’). In the first part of the film Justine is getting married to
Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) and the two attend a grand party thrown by Claire
and her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland). While all seems fine at first,
Justine’s smile slowly fades as she tires of the whole charade. She then begins
a destructive downward spiral into a depressed state as she sheds layer after
layer of false airs. I won’t go too far into the details for fear of spoiling
the entire first part. However the second part of the film focuses upon
Claire’s descent into depression brought on by both her sister’s emotional
state and an immense fear of the approaching planet Melancholia, which is
slated to pass right by the earth. Both sisters fell into a melancholic
depression but in very different ways providing the film with two distinctive
yet connected parts that culminate in a magnificent climax.
“The Red Star’s
missing from Scorpio and Taurus is no longer there.”
Thus ends
the quick synopsis of an incredibly subtle film and for me the key to this
film, as with many great films, lies in the subtleties. First and foremost,
even more so than many other films that strive to achieve the same goal, Melancholia
creates an alternate universe that still feels eerily familiar. At its core
this film is science fiction, since
it centers on a strange scientific event (the passing of a mysterious planet),
yet it convincingly feels like the present. What is more important in this film
is that the approaching planet is an impetus for the events to follow. The key
to success for this aspect of Melancholia is that time, both in the
sense of date and duration, has little or no importance as the events are
merely strung together. Melancholia is in essence a science fiction film
masked as a serious drama, or a serious drama with the backdrop of a strange
alternate science fiction world.
Along this
vein of subtlety, the most important aspect of a film so focused upon the inner
workings of human depression is of course the actors’ portrayal of their
characters. While Charlotte Gainsbourg (who is always stunning) and the
supporting cast were truly amazing, the real stand out of the film is Kirsten
Dunst. Von Trier is known to do anything and everything to get the performance
that he needs from his leads; he drug Justine through the depths and Dunst
flawlessly rose to the occasion. Justine flew through the gamut of emotions and
Dunst brought life to the character and made it seem effortless. Moving through
so many emotional states in such a short period of a time in a film could very
easily end up forced and ineffective but through the direction of Von Trier,
Dunst succeeded brilliantly in her portrayal. With Gainsbourg and Dunst
impeccably depicting their respective characters’ distinctive mental
fragilities this simple film comes alive.
If you have
read any of my other attempts to ‘turn you on’ to film, you might have noticed
that I have a particular affinity for aesthetics and I love a good
cinematographer and Manuel Alberto Claro most certainly stepped up on this
film. The visual aesthetic of the film is simply stunning! In addition to this,
the use of special effects is also subtle, understated and perfectly integrated
in a way that added to the world created rather than distracting from the
story. Overall this is a beautiful yet somewhat understated film. In addition
to this the soundtracks relies heavily upon excerpts from Wagner’s Tristan
und Isolde to heighten the drama and grandiose nature of the story at hand.
So to
quickly sum up why you should take a 12-dollar chance on this DVD for your
movie night, that is if you aren’t already drawn to the works of Lars Von
Trier, this is a really beautiful and subtle journey into melancholic
depression. But if you aren’t really into the whole serious drama thing, don’t
forget that there is the odd sci-fi aspect to the film… there IS a planet
headed for earth… WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN!?!? So, this film has it all: tension,
drama, intrigue, and a touch of action. Take a chance and enjoy this experience
artfully crafted for you by Lars Von Trier.
- Edward
Hill
In this century, few
directors have provoked, shocked, and captivated audiences like Lars von Trier.
People who have watched Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, or Nymphomaniac:
Vol. 1 & 2 are very unlikely to forget these films whether they loved
or hated them. For a filmmaker who has specialized in crafting highly memorable
and, in some cases, indelible on-screen moments, Lars von Trier himself can’t
forget The Perfect Human, Jørgen Leth’s 1967 short film. The Five
Obstructions, the documentary that tracks von Trier’s disciplined efforts
to push Leth to re-examine and re-create The Perfect Human again and
again with new limitations, serves as a revealing and intimate look at
filmmaking, a portrait of an artist struggling against depression, and an
unorthodox lesson in the redemptive power of a friend’s love.
The Five Obstructions opens with von Trier and Leth sitting down to
watch The Perfect Human before they decide on restrictions for making a
new version of the film. As they begin to debrief the film and create
challenges for the next iteration, von Trier unleashes an almost wicked glee as
he conjures up seemingly absurd rules for the new film. By the end of the brief
meeting the two men agree that Leth’s next rendering of The Perfect Human
must contain edits no longer than twelve frames, take place in Cuba (a country
Leth had never visited before), answer the questions posed in the first
version, and use no sets. Leth, who was in his mid-sixties during filming,
staggers out of the initial meeting appearing stunned and befuddled at the
amount of work ahead of him. Von Trier, who was in his mid-forties as this all
transpired, counters Leth’s weary patience with a reassuringly firm confidence
in the process of this project. Despite von Trier’s self-described “satanic”
behavior in developing the successive courses of complications, the younger
director consistently demonstrates affection and respect for the man he calls
his “hero.” Upon returning from Cuba, Leth comes across as both rejuvenated and
proud of his solutions to von Trier’s invented problems. Both men watch The
Perfect Human: Cuba together and express how impressed they are with the
result, but feelings of contentment pass quickly as von Trier begins the work
of generating a new set of hurdles for Leth to clear for the next edition of The
Perfect Human. Yes, this process occurs four more times and each time, von
Trier’s motivation for engaging Leth in this endeavor becomes more apparent.
The dynamic between von Trier and Leth pushes deeply into a special brand of
pedantry. Once the pupil, von Trier reverses the student/teacher dynamic as he
nudges, admonishes, and goads his mentor. As the film progresses, von Trier and
Leth allow the audience sit in on a master class in which a former student
challenges his teacher to unlearn the considerable skills he has gained over a
lifetime in order to explore the still untapped potential within him.
A sense of love and a
spirit of experiential learning flow through all stages of The Five
Obstructions. I saw this film on the recommendation of a good friend who
stated, “You should watch this. It reminds me of your relationship with your
dad.” At first I was a little confused by the comparison, but it didn’t take
long for me to see connections. My father was a teacher and I grew up with him
telling me stories about an influential teacher from his youth. My father never
forgot the time this teacher, Gladys Metcalf, explained to him, “You’re an ‘A’
student doing ‘B’ work and that’s why you’re making a ‘C’ in this class.”
Society has developed many norms for guiding the young through their
development, but there are few templates for mentoring our mentors. Lars von
Trier reminds me of Gladys Metcalf in this film and reaffirms the value of
asking more from people who we trust are able to accomplish more. The Five
Obstructions rewards those who are familiar with von Trier’s feature films
as well as those who know nothing of his work by sharing a compelling story
about someone who won’t allow his friend and mentor to give up and fade away.
