| NZFF 2011: 'MELANCHOLIA' - Lars von Trier |
| Written by COUP DE MAIN |
| Monday, 27 June 2011 23:10 |
 'MELANCHOLIA' 2011 l 130 mins DIRECTOR: Lars von Trier. CAST: Kirsten Dunst (Justine), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Claire), Alexander Skarsgård (Michael), Brady Corbet (Tim), Cameron Spurr, Charlotte Rampling (Gaby), Jesper Christensen (little father), John Hurt (Dexter), Stellan Skarsgård (Jack), Udo Kier (wedding planner), Kiefer Sutherland (Justine’s husband). "Although Melancholia, by its very title, declares a mournful state of mind, the movie is, in fact, the work of a man whose slow emergence from personal crisis has resulted in a moving masterpiece, marked by an astonishing profundity of vision. The title, by the way, refers to a celestial body as well as a state of mind: in von Trier’s galaxy, Melancholia is a planet that, scientific calculations confirm, is on a catastrophic collision course with Earth. As such, the impending doom fits perfectly with the mindset of Justine (an alabaster Kirsten Dunst), a bride sinking deeper and deeper into her own terrible depression on the day of her sumptuous wedding party. (Her handsome, bewildered groom is played by True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgård.) Even her protective sister, Claire (Antichrist’s Charlotte Gainsbourg), can’t calm Justine’s mounting terror and foreboding. And Claire, of all people, has something bigger to worry about: keeping a telescopic eye on the situation, she and her astronomer husband (Kiefer Sutherland) know that Melancholia is literally coming closer and threatening to destroy everything. Everything. I’m not giving away a plot twist: von Trier provides a breathtaking prelude to the coming temporal and psychological apocalypse, set to the grand romanticism of Wagner’s famous ‘Prelude’ from Tristan und Isolde. The lush music blends so completely with the swooning, dreamscape cinematography of Manuel Alberto Claro that sight and sound truly melt into one… The result is a movie acutely attuned to feelings of despair that nevertheless leaves the viewer in a state of ecstasy. — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly" Watch the trailer for 'Melancholia' below...   The 2011 NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL runs from July 14th to July 31st in AUCKLAND, July 29th to August 14th in WELLINGTON, August 4th to August 21st in DUNEDIN, August 11th to August 28th in CHRISTCHURCH, August 18th to September 4th in PALMERSTON NORTH, August 25th to September 11th in HAMILTON, September 1st to September 18th in NELSON, September 8th to September 24th in TAURANGA, September 15th to September 28th in NEW PLYMOUTH, September 21st to October 9th in HAWKE'S BAY, October 13th to October 19th in GREYMOUTH, October 27th to November 9th in MASTERTON, November 3rd to November 16th in GISBORNE, and from November 10th to November 20th in KERIKERI. Click HERE for the official NZ Film Festival website and to sign up for their mailing list. |
