136 min - Drama | Sci-Fi - 11 November 2011 (USA)
Director: Lars von Trier
Writer: Lars von Trier
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland
Melancholia is a 2011 science fiction drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier, starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland. The narrative revolves around two sisters in dispute while the life of the planet is threatened as a large foreign body approaches, portending a deadly collision. Trier's main idea for the film was to dramatise how a depressive person reacts more calmly than others in a situation of high stress. The film was a Danish majority production through Zentropa, with international co-producers in Sweden, France, Germany and Italy. Filming took place in Sweden. The film makes references to romantic art and prominently features Richard Wagner's overture from Tristan und Isolde.
The film premiered in May 2011 at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, where its press conference gained notoriety when the director made jokes about Hitler and Nazis, which eventually made the festival declare him "persona non grata". Dunst received the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actress Award for her performance.
Plot
The film begins with an intro sequence, with a number of stylised images of the main characters as well as images from space. The end of the world is shown in the form of a collision between Earth and a larger planet. Melancholia is thereafter divided into two parts.
In part one, called Justine, the young couple Justine and Michael are getting married at a castle, but the party is far from successful, as Justine's divorced parents, Dexter and Gaby, are openly fighting at the dinner. Justine herself is both alienated from her sister, her new husband, her boss and her parents. She drifts away from the party, and becomes increasingly sad and desperate during the night. At several occasions, she looks at a specific star, which seems to shine brighter than normal. Claire's husband John says it is the star Antares, and later in the film the star disappears. At the end of the party, Michael leaves Justine, implying that their marriage is called off.
In part two, called Claire, Justine has become severely depressed. She visits Claire and John, who live in the same castle with their son Leo. To begin with, Justine is unable to do normal everyday things like taking a bath or eat, but becomes more confident over time. It has been revealed that the reason for Antares' disappearance was the rogue planet Melancholia, which had previously been hidden behind the sun, had eclipsed the star. At the same time, Melancholia, a blue telluric planet, has become visible in the sky. John, being very keen on astronomy, is excited about the planet, and looks forward to the so-called "fly-by", as Earth and Melancholia are supposed to pass by each other.
Claire is very fearful about the planet, and believes it is the end of the world. On the night of the fly-by, it seems like John was right, as Melancholia passes by Earth in a near-miss. In the following days, however, it turns out that Melancholia is coming back around. As John finds out, he commits suicide by taking pills. His dead body is found by Claire, who decides to keep it a secret. She then talks to her sister, who is extremely cynical about the impending doom. However, later Justine tries to comfort Leo by building a crude shelter out of wooden sticks. The film ends with Justine, Claire and Leo sitting inside the shelter, as Melancholia collides, destroying Earth.
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