"Melancholia" Redux: They don't understand our love

SPOILER ALERT! I'M ABOUT TO GET DEEP INTO WHAT THIS FILM IS AND WHAT I THINK IT MEANS!

Last night finally gave me the opportunity to come back around to "Melancholia" after reviewing it two months back. Yes, I was amongst those who saw it via laptop, so it was a diluted experience to say the least, but still one I embraced. However, it's nothing compared to viewing the film in its theatrical glory. A friend of mine who saw the film said he expected it to be a blend of "The Tree of Life", "Armageddon", and Lars von Trier's own "Antichrist", which is a pretty accurate depiction of it to another person. But in discussing it with the group I saw it with after the fact, I think they kind of missed the point of it.

Not any fault of them, as none of them are film majors and none of them really know what to think of films such as this. Even my fellow film majors had trouble grasping it, and when I told them it was a love story, they all just managed to laugh and joke about it. True, there's some fun to be found in poking fun at that fact, but I was 100% dead serious. The mistake I made a few months back was diagnosing it as a love triangle between two girls and a planet. Claire, in many ways, plays the honest minded foil of the main romance of "Melancholia".

For Your Anticipation: I Don't Believe in Marriage

"Melancholia" really is quite something, which unfortunately has been belittled by the iTunes treatment it's gotten. True, I don't expect this to be an Oscar contender in any capacity, but the film is not one you want to see on the small screen. Like any other brilliant drama, it is meant for the theatrical setting. I don't know a great film that is better left to home viewing. Sure, you could wait for DVD for most of these limited release films, but they just don't deserve it. "Melancholia" can be a bit long winded at times, but every ounce of its majesty is meant to be appreciated in full.

Films to See in 2011: November

I'm really down to the wire on this one, but I've been behind on a lot of things. I've been struggling to fit all of the things I want to do, or else need to do, into a schedule that's tight enough for me not to be staring at the ceiling in cynicism. I must admit that this month is hardly as exciting as I would have hoped for it to be. In the first week, all we get is the Brett Ratner comedic venture "Tower Heist" and "A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas", neither of which I feel any temptation to see. I can't say that the following week is much of an improvement either, only providing "Jack and Jill" (Yes, it's an actual film, and not just an abysmal trailer.), and "Immortals", which I am so dismally surprised to see that people are actually looking forward to it.

Not to say there isn't some good with the bad. "Melancholia" comes into limited release on the 11th, so I'd recommend you check that out if you can. There's also "J. Edgar", which opens wide that weekend, and it will likely get favorable Academy attention. I still maintain myself as unmoved, but I'll see it nonetheless. And also worthy of note is "Into the Abyss", Werner Herzog's upcoming documentary which was a sizable hit at Telluride this year. It almost made my list of most anticipated, but just missed out.The following week brings two films I'm not likely to support in any way, but one which I'm likely to see anyway, sadly.

I don't have the same enthusiasm for "Happy Feet Two" that I did for its predecessor, which was overrated at best. This one is simply to make bank, and looks as typical as you could've possibly hoped for. Then there's "Breaking Dawn: Part 1", which I'll only see out of desperation for something to make fun of. "The Descendants" is also going limited that weekend, but I still don't have much interest in that one. Then the following weekend brings Martin Scorsese's "Hugo", animated film "Arthur Christmas", typical British drama "My Week with Marilyn", and the odd bastard of my Telluride by the Sea viewings, "A Dangerous Method". There are three other films coming that weekend, but you'll have to follow after the jump to find them out.

Film Review: "Melancholia" (***1/2)

How can you possibly not feel bad for poor Lars? The man's been beaten down like a hideous dog for his brutal and uncompromising honesty, now to the point where he's had enough. It's such a tragedy in and of itself that his least controversial and most recently acclaimed film, "Melancholia", come when media disillusionment has kicked him out of Cannes, and now off the visible stage. Lars von Trier has taken himself out of the publicity game, doing no more interviews from here on out, and it's a damn shame. Yet despite the unfortunate recent events, the film does take on something of a stronger form. In it, Lars takes out his vengeance on the entire planet.

The film is broken up into three segments, starting off with a near-hallucinatory prologue introducing the main characters of Justine and Claire as Lars the Destroyer conjures up a series of bleak and extravagant imagery, with Wagner bellowing triumphantly in the background. The film could end after that 8 minute opening and still receive glorious accolades, but it serves as a reminder of where we're headed, and how inevitable it is. Cue Lars' trademark scribbled title card, and we're off to the races, at which point Lars puts a hold on his wilder visual stylings, as he's got a delicate story to tell.

Cannes Coverage 2011: Palme Goes to "Tree of Life"

Sorry that I'm so behind the beat lately. As much as I enjoy indulging in films I haven't seen, I've had some very real problems to deal with lately, and it's going to be a struggle to get back into the swing of things. In any case, I did not miss the announcement of the Cannes Film Festival winners, which were somewhat expected, but ultimately surprising. Most unexpected of all was the announcement of The Tree of Life winning the Palme. I am still genuinely excited to see the film, but I also realize that there were plenty more deserving films that premiered at the festival. Winning the Palme is never a necessary boost in Oscar eligibility. The last time a Palme winner was nominated for Best Picture was The Pianist in 2002.

In news of other awards, Best Actor went to Jean Dujardin for The Artist, which may play well into the rest of the year. I suspect that The Weinstein Company will aggressively campaign for the film, as they always do. Kirsten Dunst won Best Actress for Melancholia, which isn't entirely surprising since the female leads of Lars von Trier's films have done well for themselves numerously in the past. Best Director went happily to Nicholas Winding Refn for the action film Drive, though don't expect too much Oscar love for the film. It seems a bit out of bounds for the Academy. The rest of the winners can be seen after the jump, along with the five films that premiered at Cannes which I'm most looking forward to seeing.

"How Do I Get Out of This Sentence?"

Lars von Trier has always been known for his controversial shenanigans, most of which I find really entertaining, so seeing as his latest film, Melancholia, hasn't yet roused people very much, I felt a little bit let down. And then this little tidbit from a press interview showed up, and Lars von Trier is now being called a Nazi. What he says isn't really new to my ears, because I know that Hitler did some really terrible things, but he's a man you can potentially understand. Lars was just discussing a bit of embarrassing family history, and Cannes responded rather wildly by banning him, effective immediately. The man has been debuting films at the festival for years, so did they really expect him to not make such a big fuss? Considering the humorous context of the statement, this really seems like overkill. I'm not saying that Lars is to be commended for his statement, but it sounds like more of a bizarre and stupid attempt at a joke than a declaration of hate. Lars von Trier's career will go on from this, which sets him apart from Mel Gibson in particular.

Cannes Coverage 2011: "Melancholia"

It's Lars Von Trier time again, and it's always a pleasure to sit down for a film of his. That is assuming that you can handle the drama, and quite often most people can't. I know the first time I sat down for the entirety of Antichrist was certainly a traumatic experience, mostly because it was such a personal work from such a dynamic director. I knew that when reviews started rolling around for Melancholia there would be some sort of negative reaction. They don't matter when it comes right down to it. The critical reaction isn't a factor in my own satisfaction.

Guy Lodge (In Contention), ***1/2: "If this seems like so much kitsch — particularly with the spine-tingling roar of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde filling the auditorium as we watch — that may not be accident: the contrast between this sequence and von Trier’s considerably grayer-hued ending suggests how we like to romanticize even our worst-case scenarios. In this remarkable film, at once intimate and operatic in scope, the apocalypse turns out to be rather a private function."

Cannes playing host to Von Trier, Malick, Marshall

The unveiling of this year's Cannes Film Festival line up wasn't exactly filled with shocks and surprises so much as pleasantries and intrigues. Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is obviously making an appearance, as if we needed any further confirmation on that one. As predicted, but not confirmed, Lars Von Trier's latest film, Melancholia, will also be making an appearance in the competition. Pedro Almadovar's The Skin That I Inhabit is also to have it's premiere, along with several other wild cards. Restless is playing Un Certain Regard, as noted yesterday, amongst several other films we're sure to hear first words about this time next month. The only real surprise of sorts is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides playing at the festival. I guess there's always one blockbuster in this heap.

OPENING FILM
"Midnight in Paris," Woody Allen

COMPETITION
"Drive," Nicolas Winding Refn
"Footnote," Josef Cedar
"Hanezu no Tsuki," Naomi Kawase
"Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai," Takashi Miike

Theatrical Trailer: Melancholia

Lars Von Trier has made some severally messed up masterpieces in the past, and each has achieved some sort of classic status amongst the more detailed critical community. However, despite everything we've been able to pick up from his films, he's maintained that each of them had a happy ending. That is until Melancholia, which he says is his first film that doesn't have a happy ending. If you're looking for an experience far more terrifying than the typical horror film, look no further than Von Trier. He looks to be delivering another terrific piece of filmmaking, and I look forward to being kept up for days thinking about this film.