The end of the world—and the collapse of the spirit—has scarcely been depicted as beautifully and wrenchingly as in Melancholia.  

The title refers both to a destructive planet “that has been hiding behind the sun” and the crippling depression of new bride Justine (a revelatory Kirsten Dunst, winner of the Best Actress award at Cannes that year), whose mental illness is so severe that she drives away her groom during their disastrous wedding reception.   

Lars von Trier juxtaposes the magnificent and the mundane in this acclaimed apocalyptic drama, by beginning with an overture of stunning, tableau-like images, the story abruptly switches to the wedding day of Justine and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård). Justine, withdrawn and distracted, does not make a blushing bride, and the evening is fraught with familial and existential anxiety. Looming (literally) over all of the action is Melancholia, a rogue planet that is due to make a close call with the earth over the next few days.  

Strange and deeply powerful, von Trier’s film intelligently deconstructs the nightmarish vision of existential crisis. Melancholia is a deeply upsetting story of depression that is set within the backdrop of an apocalyptic crisis, in a film that is especially unusual for a film that is centrally about despair is it is about visual splendor, that complement von Trier’s realist style. As Milos Stehlik stated, “Melancholia is perfect. The film acutely captures the sense of anticipation, but also the powerlessness that comes from dealing with such calamitous events — how vulnerable and defenseless we are in protecting those we care for — how useless we are against forces larger than ourselves.”  

Film selection and text written by Charles Coleman, FACETS Film Program Director.