In 2011, on the eve of the “end of the world”, Lars von Till, with a strong cast, presented the grand post-apocalyptic “Melancholia”, which caused a lot of controversy in the film industry, but also a lot of affirmation, and then to the Cannes Film Festival, because of “pro-Nazi” comments were expelled from the festival. Lars Von Till’s 2011 was rich enough to be memorable, despite the fact that he was expelled from the festival for his “pro-Nazi” remarks. Of course, despite the trouble he got himself into with his rhetoric, the film industry was right about the film, and overall, Melancholia received a lot of recognition in Europe. Personally, I also appreciate this film, interpretation of Till’s film has always been troublesome, but also always simple, because the most director personal things, but also often the most can let me and other viewers to their own interpretation, not to mention this film from psychological to external, from personal to social, from post-apocalyptic events to daily life, covering a variety of levels, can be a good platform for unbridled wandering bullshit.
Overall, the film is the stage of Justin and Claire two sisters, Till’s design is very clever, the first half to Justin as the center, the second half to Claire as the center, and the performance of the two presented very different differences, and even better is the two stories and the end of the world before and near the separation, the fragility and fragmentation of society can be fully demonstrated. In the first story, Justin showed “extraordinary”, she is a depressed patient, in the approach of the wedding, showing unusual irritability and restlessness, so much so that their bosses, relatives to the groom offended all over. Claire and the wedding party are “normal”. Shouldn’t the wedding night be full of excitement, singing and dancing? Claire’s concern for her sister; Claire’s husband’s image of a successful man; Justin’s boss’s worldly businessman performance; Justin’s father’s cynicism; Justin’s mother’s pessimistic attitude toward marriage, all this is not the “normal” human condition? Till this point is very powerful, in a wedding banquet to the entire society of the main class of characters typical of all included, only Justin seems to be out of place, and all this for the later reversal of the plot to lay the groundwork.
Is Justin really “unconventional”? Is she alone? In fact, not, with her “extraordinary” is nature, those turbulent animals, and the progressive mysterious planet, to put it bluntly, the world has been extraordinary, you people still pretend to be normal what to do? In the event of a catastrophe, often the modern human perception is weakest, but the mole cricket such creatures have an earlier sense. The depression of Justin, but is exempt from the perception of the world’s fame and so-called happiness, more natural, more normal with the world’s living creatures to sense the coming crisis. The previous paragraph of the performance of the “normal” Clare couple in the second paragraph of the story towards the collapse, Clare as a woman, more directly than her husband to show their own anxiety, the planet of doom will come, the world is already a variety of opinions, unrest, but people tend to smile, to hide the panic inside. Those non-higher creatures, often the first to perceive the danger, and orderly escape, and for the coming disaster, they appear helpless in the bland, will not have more struggle and pursuit. But the Clares are different, perceive the least, and know the most (in fact, modern information society, let us think we know a lot), fear gradually engulfed the mind, powerless crying and trembling. Whereas Justin, who is closer to the universal beings of the world, is calmly facing death, she is psychologically ill, but transcends the fearful reaction of a modern society that has been tormented by the great illness of the end. There is another important role in the film, is Claire’s husband, which is a model model of modern society, they have a successful career, rich life, the world is often run by this class of people and manipulation, and usually they are full of confidence that they control the situation. So the change in Claire’s husband is the process of the collapse of this pillar of society, he pays for the wedding, he tries to keep the wedding out of control, he comforts his wife’s fears on the one hand, and prepares for the possible disaster of life reserves on the other. However, in the end, when everything has become a foregone conclusion and he is most needed to hold on, he chooses to escape by death. We cannot call him cowardly, but we can see how fragile this orderly society is.
As one of the drafters of Dogma95, Lars von Till has developed a good skill of using simple equipment and techniques to create excellent narrative and personalized shots. So, even though he started to change, this style remained the same, which in turn made his shots more diverse. In “Melancholia”, from the first part of the uneasy shots, to the second part of the cold style of the picture, are excellent to set the film’s atmosphere and theme. Especially in the doomsday future of the ten minutes, magical natural phenomena, Justin calm to the end of the peace, Claire desperate to the end of the hysteria, all this makes the story is full of strong sense of immersion, let people immerse themselves in a sense of fear. The last scene, the sisters and Claire’s son, in a few sticks to build a “cave”, waiting for the arrival of the end, which seems invisible “cave” makes people feel to the mind wrapped in a strong shell is the best self-protection. The last moment, Lars von Till offers a very beautiful shot of doom, the approaching red planet is no longer the theme of doom, but the background, three figures, full of martyrdom-like sacred feeling, the beauty of the fleeting, this is fate, need only a different state of mind to face.
The excellence of “Melancholia” also lies in the collective play of the actors, Kirsten Dunst’s performance was recognized in Cannes, Lars von Till’s films have always had to make the heroine take off her clothes, and this time was no exception. However, Kirsten Dunst’s section of full nudity by the river is full of peaceful and serene beauty and sacredness, and Kirsten Dunst does a good job of portraying the subtleties of her characters’ expressions throughout the film. With “Antichrist”, Charlotte Gainsbourg has taken the Cannes Film Festival, the performance of this film, she showed more three-dimensional, from the beginning of the affectionate sister, to the restless mother and wife, to the end, she is already a desperate member of the human race, she cried in the dust and rain scene is very explosive, a woman’s reluctance to life, the despair of not being able to protect her son. Played by this sensitive actress is very moving and heartbreaking. As Kiefer Sutherland save the United States has saved the hand, so he appeared in the film, I also vaguely hope that the “little strong” to save the planet. However, this time, he is a representative of the upper middle class, his success relies on the modern social order, when a planet arrives, the society is broken, he will have nowhere to put his place. Sutherland plays the role very typically, and his personal charm is outstanding, a parent who tries hard to maintain order, a “loser” and “deserter” who is still respected.
2011 has passed, and when we think about the post-apocalyptic sentiment brought by “Melancholia”, it is inevitable that people will also be melancholic for a moment. However, we still treat the 2012 apocalyptic prophecy more as a joke, a talking point, a kind of flirtation and a business opportunity. Lars von Till seems to have “speculated” on this subject matter, but it is only a suitable vehicle for his personalized, polarized, introspective and critical directorial talent.
