Melancholia.

Last night I FINALLY got to see the Lars Von Trier film, Melancholia.  And what a trip it was. 

If you've seen any of his previous movies, i.e. Dancer in the Dark, and Antichrist, you know his imagery is top notch- and this movie follows suit. 

Now, I will not venture to say that this movie is even in my top ten favorite movies- maybe not even top 20, but I would strongly recommend that you watch it.  It beings up so many emotions- whether it be dislike, confusion, horror, sadness, the eventuality of death... 

One of the first things I noticed were the references to 'Ophelia' by Malais.  It is one of my favorite paintings of all time, and I so enjoyed seeing his interpretations.  Then, the actual painting is shown at one point, so I was able to have my 'aha!' moment.

Have you ever heard the back story to the Ophelia painting?  Malais had the girl (very young, we're talking under 18), lay in an icy bathtub for days/weeks so as to reach the face/coloring he was looking for.  Very interesting man indeed.  You should look up the back story, it's interesting and way more saucy than I have the time to get into right now :). 

Here is the painting in question:

I don't want to ruin anything for you, so I won't go into too much detail.  But I will say, even after a night of analyzing the themes, I still walk away feeling like their are a couple ideas that feel completely disjointed and unrealistic (even for Lars); I'm talking inter-relationships.  If you know me personally, please god see this movie so we can talk about it!!  I actually watched in 'On Demand' at Jimmys parents, but you can totally watch it on itunes.  I wonder why it didn't end up being in more theaters?  Strange.

The end of the movie is pretty awe inspiring and haunting.  I will say this- I will never, ever forget this movie, warts and all.  These scenes are burned into my memory forever.

All the actors did a superb job.  Charlotte Gainsborg, being one of my favorite actresses, never disappoints.  And, I was so excited to see Kirsten Dunst on the screen again, especially in such a dreamy, dramatic role.  I LOVED her in Virgin Suicides, Crazy/Beautiful, etc. 

In the end, I recommend this movie whole-heartedly; but be ready to banter with your viewing partner, yell at the screen, laugh unexpectedly, be angry and maybe even cry. 
Oh yeah, and in Lars style, you will never forget what you see.

ally.