tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801886505610086313.post79988112653441645..comments2024-03-25T22:27:53.324-07:00Comments on Boycotting Trends.: Film Review: Melancholia (von Trier, 2011)Alex Ramonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563545792136227647noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801886505610086313.post-30680344814372615022012-01-03T05:29:07.498-07:002012-01-03T05:29:07.498-07:00Thanks for the comment, Jason. Glad you "enjo...Thanks for the comment, Jason. Glad you "enjoyed" MELANCHOLIA. ;-) I think you’re exactly right about von Trier’s style and the way it "trains" us as viewers. And yes, the intensity of performance that he gets from his actors is always exceptional.Alex Ramonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563545792136227647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801886505610086313.post-60339790867922239562011-11-25T00:24:15.904-07:002011-11-25T00:24:15.904-07:00Thanks for your review, Alex, as always. I saw th...Thanks for your review, Alex, as always. I saw this film in New York City last night, and I definitely found it to be involving, especially the second "chapter." The whole end-of-the-world theme feels both tired and timely at the moment. Although the topic didn't border on profundity for me, the tone or mood sometimes did. I felt affected by the incipient periods of calm and panic that alternate so strategically throughout the second half of the movie. And the final moment seemed like a believably apocalyptic scenario; that could be what things look like when they end, or if they do.<br /><br />One thing that finally clicked into place for me about Lars von Trier's films (out of the five of them that I've seen): his abruptly elliptical jumpcut/editing style creates moment-to-moment inconsistencies that work for me mainly because that particular style is itself consistent across his oeuvre. His distinctive and aggressively improvisational tactics have trained me to accept as a viewer what wouldn't really be sensible in anybody else's movies.<br /><br />I also love how the actors so clearly trust him with what must surely be presented to them as very amorphous material. I think that's part of what makes Kirsten Dunst's and Charlotte Gainsbourg's performances so intense and authentic at several points. They're given a certain liberty to plunge into extreme emotional (and physical) states that they probably wouldn't be permitted to inhabit otherwise. That's exactly what won Björk an Oscar nomination, which also probably wouldn't be otherwise permitted!Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03004111643204359175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801886505610086313.post-75272891930116758812011-10-19T05:31:20.055-07:002011-10-19T05:31:20.055-07:00I have now seen Melancholia, and while I didn'...I have now seen Melancholia, and while I didn't love it, it had its moments, particularly the first hour, the remaining hour for me lacked drama or tension. I found it distracting that C Gainsbourg and K Dunst were talking in American and British accents, yet were sisters, and also they don't look like sisters either.<br /><br />I'd give Melancholia a 6 or 7 out of 10. Maybe I just didn't get the point. As you say, possibly it can be read autobiographically, about Lars Von Trier projecting his own depression and dysfunctional relationships onto the screen, other than that, who knows.<br /><br />The opening 10 min of the film, so promising, metaphorical, beautiful, and ambiguous, a pity there wasn’t more of that!Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09395044055566348346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801886505610086313.post-40566698670507457722011-09-29T02:06:59.905-07:002011-09-29T02:06:59.905-07:00Thanks for the comment, Mike. Yes, I definitely ha...Thanks for the comment, Mike. Yes, I definitely have a "love/hate" relationship with von Trier as well, but it's hard to deny the guy's vision and talent. Will be interested to read your take on MELANCHOLIA.Alex Ramonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563545792136227647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801886505610086313.post-49809916821358501112011-09-28T09:16:44.141-07:002011-09-28T09:16:44.141-07:00My relationship with von Trier has often been love...My relationship with von Trier has often been love hate (mostly swinging more towards hate) but you have to admire the man's singular vision for better or worse. Still I think I'm looking forward to this film for whatever strange reason.The Taxi Driverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04352371911592068643noreply@blogger.com