Review of Melancholia (2011) by Niki G — 02 Oct 2012

It's hard to believe this is Von Trier's work. If you watch the special features, you will hear him talk about how the interior scenes are done Dogme (natural light and music). They merge seamlessly with the throbbing (seriously, turn up the sound) Tristan und Isolde music and the Melancholia-lit exterior scenes. It's counter-intuitive to describe worlds colliding as naturalistic, yet the special effects in the film only succeed in drawing you in further to the human drama. The result is a film that is both expansive and yet intimate.

And then we get to the magnificent, luminous performance by Dunst. She is more magnetic than just the alabaster skin and trailing wedding gown; her gloom is palpable. It's one of the most authentic deliveries I've ever seen.

This is not allegorical, there is no message. It is just very real people in a world that is on the verge of ending.

I loved this film. I loved this film so much that I watched parts of it again immediately. It's a perfect, moving, thought-provoking opus.