I tweeted this earlier - and if you're not following Twitch on Twitter, you should - but it bears repeating.
First thing Saturday morning I was fortunate enough to be present at a screening of the first promo for Lars Von Trier's upcoming science fiction apocalypse film Melancholia. In short, it is gorgeous - instantly recognizable as Von Trier's work and very likely the most commercial iteration of his talent that we have seen yet. This in no way implies that he has dumbed things down, just that the wild transgressions of Antichrist are not present here - where they would be entirely inappropriate - and that the imagery is so beautiful that this is a film that you could clearly cut one hell of a trailer for.
I'm not going to go too much into specifics but the promo makes it very clear that Kirsten Dunst's character will be the focal point here with the likes of John Hurt, Alexander Skarsgard and Charlotte Gainsbourg filling secondary roles. The premise is simply enough - a planet hidden behind the sun emerges on a collision course with the Earth - and a family must come to terms with the inevitability of what is to come. Though firmly grounded in reality there are a lot of special effects in this and they are integrated seamlessly, shots of static electricity arcing off skin and dead birds falling from the sky in super slow motion being particularly effective.
Cannes seems certain for this one and I can't wait.
First thing Saturday morning I was fortunate enough to be present at a screening of the first promo for Lars Von Trier's upcoming science fiction apocalypse film Melancholia. In short, it is gorgeous - instantly recognizable as Von Trier's work and very likely the most commercial iteration of his talent that we have seen yet. This in no way implies that he has dumbed things down, just that the wild transgressions of Antichrist are not present here - where they would be entirely inappropriate - and that the imagery is so beautiful that this is a film that you could clearly cut one hell of a trailer for.
I'm not going to go too much into specifics but the promo makes it very clear that Kirsten Dunst's character will be the focal point here with the likes of John Hurt, Alexander Skarsgard and Charlotte Gainsbourg filling secondary roles. The premise is simply enough - a planet hidden behind the sun emerges on a collision course with the Earth - and a family must come to terms with the inevitability of what is to come. Though firmly grounded in reality there are a lot of special effects in this and they are integrated seamlessly, shots of static electricity arcing off skin and dead birds falling from the sky in super slow motion being particularly effective.
Cannes seems certain for this one and I can't wait.
More from Melancholia
- Reviews: Blu-ray Review: MELANCHOLIA
- News: MELANCHOLIA Blu-ray To Collide With Store Shelves March 13th
- Reviews: MELANCHOLIA Review
- News: MADMAN MELANCHOLIA MOTION POSTER is awesome
- News: Hey Toronto! Wait for the End of the World with Lars von Trier
- Reviews: FANTASTIC FEST 2011: MELANCHOLIA Review
- Reviews: TIFF 2011: MELANCHOLIA Review
- Reviews: TIFF 2011: MELANCHOLIA Review
- News: US Trailer For Lars Von Trier's MELANCHOLIA
- News: UK Trailer For Lars Von Trier's MELANCHOLIA
- News: Lars Von Trier On Nicolas Winding Refn: "Fuck him."
- News: Lars Von Trier Barred From Cannes Following Hitler Comments
- News: Watch Lars Von Trier Declare Himself A Nazi.
- Reviews: Cannes 2011: MELANCHOLIA Review
- News: Cannes 2011: Official Poster Art And Synopsis For Lars Von Trier's MELANCHOLIA
- News: Lars Von Trier Teases The End Of The World In First MELANCHOLIA Trailer
- News: EFM 2011: Magnolia Buys North American Rights To Lars Von Trier's MELANCHOLIA
- News: Von Trier To Play The Apocalypse In Reverse With MELANCHOLIA
is it online?
such a tease
Damn! I thought there was gonna at least be a picture.
Two things concern me. One- Kirsten Dunst. I guess we'll have to trust von Trier.
Two- a planet just "appearing" behind the sun doesn't sound too scientifically sound to me. I hope this film isn't filled with bad science, like 2012 or something.
I don't think Trier will be dwelling much in to the scientific aspects of the story, as it doesn't need it.
I pray this is a better film than Antichrist. I know many on this site are fans of his last film........I'm definitely not one. How do you go from Dogville & Manderlay to this?!
They're not releasing anything yet. I wouldn't expect any materials to be released until the runup to Cannes ...
want to see this.
My love affair with Von Trier's work has seriously been damaged by using the actor who has helped many Americans see torture as legitimate, justifiable, and effective.
Even though he claims not to believe it himself, Sutherland still reaped the rewards of being the star in a highly successful but seriously bigoted right wing fantasy which helped create the current right wing extremism(which has become mainstream)in America.
And Von Trier cast him.
I understand all the arguments against my belief that Sutherland is partly culpable in right wing America's now firm acceptance of torture as a form of intelligence gathering, though many of those arguments are based on believing that many '24' fans & torture advocates not gullible, are as reasonable-minded and naturally skeptical as reasonable people are, forgetting the fact that when it comes to such issues, they only need very little justification for supporting with the most monstrous of actions, if framed in the neo-fascist language that many 'Real Americans' use, and which was honed in the scripts of '24'.
Despite people saying it's phooey, '24' has been cited all over the right wing pro-torture blogosphere, hate radio, print media and cable news as an example of where torture is applicable, and how & why it is effective.
As Fox's Mike Wallace said"I'm with Jack Bauer".
Sutherland was aware this was an issue early on, and that the show was becoming a clear advocate of torture - yet he chose to stay on and reap the benefits. And that's fine - I totally understand a firm commitment to a character, whilst not agreeing with that character's politics or ethics.
But in so doing, he became and remains a highly visible part of a massive concerted effort to dehumanize Muslims and clean up the image of torture, among many other right wing themes relating to the inherent good of America, and the inherent evil of the entire Rest Of The World.
This matters to me, and it does also for many other Von Trier fans. I know I for one will not be able to see Sutherland as anything other than the fantasy Real American patriot - so the film Melancholia is already ruined for me.
I understand that many will believe that 24's influence is not that great, therefore my argument is full of sh*t. But that misses the main point, amongst many others, entirely.