So after 2009’s joyride of a film, ‘Antichrist’, everyone’s favourite optimist returns with what can only be described as a disaster movie.
There is very little definitive information around about Lars Von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’ at the moment but various sources have been appearing over the past few weeks and are reporting small snippets of information about the psychological drama come end-of-the-world disaster film.
The film, rumoured to have starred Penelope Cruz (but who dropped out early on, maybe she watched some of the director’s films and saw what happened to his female leads?) is now starring ‘Antichrist’ mad woman, Charlotte Gainsbourg reports Allo Cine. What is interesting to note is that this is the first time a leading lady has returned to a Von Trier production… Nicole Kidman, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bjork… Some question whether this is the beginning of a beautiful (or not so, for that matter) collaborative relationship between the two (think Quentin and Uma). Gainsbourg won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival last year for her role as ‘She’, the mother who, after losing her child, slowly starts to spiral out of control before torturing her husband (named ‘He’) in the middle of a forest (named ‘Eden’).
Much like ‘Antichrist’, ‘Melancholia’ is due to be financed by several international companies including France’s Slot Machine, Germany’s Zentropa Intl. Koln, Denmark’s Zentropa Ent. and Sweden’s Memfis Film Intl. and Trollhattan Film reports Variety. And finally, Von Trier’s own production company, Zentropa Ent. have (supposedly) released a teaser image according to Bloody Disgusting which shows the Earth being ganged up on by an even bigger, peculiar planet which is pretty much all that is own about the plot at the moment.
Some are already comparing the film to recent disaster flicks like ‘2012’ but as Empire Magazine have said, they reckon Von Trier will be a hell of a lot scarier.
So what do you think? Lars Von Trier has always been known as making controversial films which keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, he mixes reality with the surreal and usually strikes the balance. But what about ‘Melancholia’? Is now the right time for Von Trier to be messing about with our planet?
