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@minim wrote:
@wordsworth60 wrote:
@minim wrote:
why do people say.. i hate to tell you this? If they hated saying it they wouldn’t say it.
8)
It’s a way of saying “I don’t think you’re going to like what I’m about to tell you, but please don’t get upset with me, I’m only saying it because if I didn’t the sky would fall in, honest”
:roll: Thank you for pointing out the obvious.
haha Mims. If you ever get a taxi, make sure wordsworth isn’t the driver. :wink:
Haven’t seen any films lately. Would like to see The Woman in Black – I suspect it will be a disapointment compared to the stage show, though.
@panda12 wrote:
Haven’t seen any films lately. Would like to see The Woman in Black – I suspect it will be a disapointment compared to the stage show, though.
I saw it Panda and I wasn’t impressed… having said that my son in law thought it was amazing… maybe I just dont scare as easily as him :D
@mrs_teapot wrote:
@panda12 wrote:
Haven’t seen any films lately. Would like to see The Woman in Black – I suspect it will be a disapointment compared to the stage show, though.
I saw it Panda and I wasn’t impressed… having said that my son in law thought it was amazing… maybe I just dont scare as easily as him :D
Ah, well next time you’re in London, check out the stage show if you haven’t already. It’s so good, I saw it twice!
@minim wrote:
why do people say.. i hate to tell you this? If they hated saying it they wouldn’t say it.
8)
another one is im not being funny but
yes you are
and why the but?@panda12 wrote:
Haven’t seen any films lately. Would like to see The Woman in Black – I suspect it will be a disapointment compared to the stage show, though.
Never even heard of the stage show when i seen this in the cinema, its the only film to scare me in the cinema EVER.
I loved it.
Cant wait to see The Dark Knight Rises.
It is a measure of not only the stupefying arrogance, but ultimate sterility of the Oscars process that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences chose to shelve and/or shaft not only the two best films of last year, but two of the greatest films of all time. I bestow the full title on these arcane mandarins for surely if one of the central aims of cinema is to aspire to true Art and the application thereof, then it makes the decision to completely exclude Lars Von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA and throw a few token noms at Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE all the more baffling. Earlier this year, the Academy (like almost all of the mainstream award-fests this time around) were spit polishing their own decorative knobs (sorry) in fawning supplication to Michel Hazanavicius’ wonderfully entertaining, but ultimately whimsical THE ARTIST – A fine and fun filled sentimental stroll that deserves full praise, but certainly not at the expense of the stunning and penetrative here and now of these two masterpieces.
So.. What of these two films that I sat and watched , mesmerised, within days of each other last October?
Being Irish, I shall start with the last one.. first.
To be honest, the jury has always been out with me and Lars Von Trier. If one manages to see beyond the impish enfant terrible gig, a self styled role perfectly illustrated with his headline grabbing Hitler stir at Cannes, then the artist lurking can be even more elusive. For instance I still don’t know whether I like his last opus ANTICHRIST, and for a number of reasons, chief among them being how anyone could like such a particularly nasty piece of work is debatable and also due to the fact that despite numerous attempts, I haven’t finished watching it yet. Why? Well, because it is a rather nasty piece of work. If seeing a grieving couple holed up in a wood cabin bashing ten layers of shyte out of each other in some demented, sexual purgatory with all manner of natural and supernatural craziness going on outside is your thing, then fire away. Let’s just say it’s a tough watch.
Naturally, I approached MELANCHOLIA with a great deal of trepidation. I walked away.. actually, hold on, I don’t think I’ve fully walked away from this film.. and I don’t think I will..anyway, I was in a state of euphoric bliss. A kind of Anti –ANTICHRIST effect.
The film begins with a lush, sensuous overture.. the overture to Wagner’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE in fact, a musical experience of monumental power and beauty that constantly recurs throughout the whole work.. painted upon this is a glorious montage of images directly and indirectly linked to the movie you are about to see. From classic Ophelia motifs and Dali-esque dreamscaping to cosmic catastrophe.. This stunning sequence introduces us to the two sisters who are the film’s central characters and have both chapters named after them and,ominously, the rogue planet Melancholia in all it’s terrifying beauty, on it’s way to change us all.
Part one gives us “Justine” (a never better Kirsten Dunst) and brand new hub Michael (Alexander Skarsgard) on the evening of their wedding reception at the posh castle homestead of sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her moneybags husband John (Kiefer Sutherland). After the gloss and surreality of the overture, Von Trier scans more familar territory with intermittent handheld curiosity as he fleshes out the flaws, fissures and deep insecurities boiling underneath this supposedly joyous occasion. It becomes increasingly evident that Justine is not right.. not right at all. A fearful , but sensitive Claire notices this sooner than anyone else and tries to help . Justine, exhibiting characteristics both insular and selfish takes no heed. Throw in the dysfunctional distance exhibited by the girls’ oddball parents (John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling) and the recipe for inevitable disaster is well and truly simmering. As Justine becomes more and more disconnected from the festivities, her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic. It soon becomes obvious that she is struggling with a deeply depressive condition. The guests (including her slimy advertising boss Stellan Skarsgard) begin to become a source of irritation, or as in the case of her new husband, simply fade into the background under the weight of her depression. John (who unlike the decent, caring, Michael is one of VonTrier’s usual self righteously rational and ultimately useless males) grumps and narks to Claire about the insanity of her family. Things become awkward on a variety of levels as the night goes on.. whilst brief references to certain astronomical phenomena herald the arrival in the skies of the eponymous planet in part two.
Some time elapses between both acts .. and part two “Claire” presents us with a severely depressed Justine returning to the mansion to stay with Claire, John and their young son Leo. Completely void of function and utterly dependant on her sister for simple tasks such as bathing, Justine is almost unrecognisable to the newly wed we saw in the limousine at the start of the film. Dunst’s gradual metamorphosis from smiling beauty to peculiar oddity in the first act and downward to catatonic zombie here is a masterclass in the understated subtlety of modern acting. A brilliance that brought her the Best Actress award at Cannes (yet again, shame on you Hollywood).
We learn that Melancholia, a massive planet hidden by the sun since God knows when is on a course to come close, very close (some believe too close) to the Earth’s orbit with Claire concerned, Justine oblivious and John’s amateur astronomer’s hat piqued at the prospect. As Justine gets marginally better physically, her condition brings about a curious calm in her regarding everything around her. A form of depressed defeatism packaged with complete indifference to everything, including the apocalyptic waves being made by many as Melancholia gets nearer. Chief among the doom mongers is Claire.. who becomes increasingly nervous to the point of panic when researching the possibilities of planetary collision. It is this juxta position – The acceptance of all things bad in the depressed mind pitched against the frantic fighting against the dying light of it’s fearful and frightened supposedly reasoned counterpart that one feels most attracted Von Trier here. Apparently this comes from an episode in the director’s own life, when he learned that depressed people have the extraordinary ability to remain calm when all hell breaks loose around them. As Justine embarks on a strangely physical, somewhat pagan and erotic relationship with the planet and it’s eerie blue-white light, Claire is engulfed with terror and nervous anxiety with the prospect of it’s destructive power and how it will end her and her family.. and every other living thing.. consuming all.These polar reactions come to a magnificent climax as the film hurtles towards every bit as stunning an end as its beginning. What Von Trier has done here cannot be praised highly enough. Like all great works of Art, he has blended the deeply personal and subjective with what is universal and expansive.. and to remarkable effect. The difficult intimacies of the wedding sequence flow seamlessly into the cosmic shake up and mortal panic caused by the terrifying and beautiful planet. Dunst is superb.. as is Gainsbourg (playing what some could fairly say the more difficult role). The persistent Wagner theme is sublime. The visuals are luminary and Von Trier manages to inject the whole affair with a bonus ingredient usually missing from the treatment of such heavy subjects.. that being humour. It’s fair to say that in doing this he rises above the bleak stereotyping of fellow Scandanavian helmsters both past and present. This infusion of humour, sometimes subtle, sometimes downright sarcastic tempers MELANCHOLIA as a movie. Humanises it, and never carries it anywhere beyond where it should be.
Empire magazine, in it’s glowing five star review of the film, joked that it should be viewed together with THE TREE OF LIFE in some kind of bipolar double bill. A great coincidence considering I watched both very close together before I even knew of the magazine’s thoughts. More on Malick’s masterpiece to come from me soon I hope..
But for now, all I can say is that I cannot recommend MELANCHOLIA highly enough. It is truly essential viewing, and if Von Trier were to do nothing for the rest of his days, his place in cinema’s elite pantheon is now assured. It is a testament to the man’s cunning and craft, that in painting his treatment of human imperfection.. he has gifted us with a perfect work of Art.
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D>
MELANCHOLIA is currently available on DVD / Blu Ray and On Demand TV
Got to agree more or less Sgt, Melancholia was an absolutely stunning piece of cinematic genius, as for the tree of life, watchable but not so stunning, so for me
Tree of Life =D> =D>
Melancholia =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> (an extra one for being amazing )As for The Artist
Brilliant film, silent in black and white but a truly amazing watch. Simple story line outstandingly told and bought to you so colourfully,with great actors and a wonderful musical score that enhances it beautifully, you can almost forget its black and white and silent.
Don’t be put off by this fact, its a real must see. And not 1… but a 5 Oscar winner
Loved it
=D> =D> =D> =D>Devil (2010)
This film is about 5 people stuck in an elevator together, one of them is actually the devil, as the lights go out and re light one by one the people are killed, and the people left in the elevator are left not knowing what is happening or indeed who, if any of them is doing this, until there is only 1 left, the devil himself.
It’s not majorly horror / scary, but i found it a film that held my interest the whole way through, a kind of murder mystery with a horror twist.
=D> =D> =D>
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