Melancholia

The bride in Danish director Lars von Trier's new film suffers from her knowledge about the earth's imminent collapse.

Directed by Lars von Trier

(R)

***

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Melancholia is a snapshot of the world’s final days as envisioned by a director of “boundless imaginative power,” said Ann Hornaday in The Washington Post. Danish director Lars von Trier, who suffers from depression, has created an alter ego in a bride whose skepticism about a happy future turns her crowded wedding reception into an extended “nihilistic drama.” Her view is vindicated in the movie’s second half, as she and her family cope with knowledge that the audience has always had: That a planet named Melancholia will soon collide with Earth. From the concept to the performances to the visuals, Melancholia has all the “ingredients of a masterpiece,” said Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle. But it’s “grindingly slow”—and burdened by “long, long stretches of directorial indulgence.” Kirsten Dunst, meanwhile, proves “breathtaking” as the troubled bride, said Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. It’s “extraordinary to see the life literally being extinguished in her eyes, even when the face is still doing its best to smile.” As for Von Trier, this isn’t just his “most beautiful” film. Strangely, it’s also his most hopeful.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us