Melancholia: Depression on Film
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SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Marta Figlerowicz, “Comedy of Abandon: Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia” Film Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Summer 2012), pp. 21-2
www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/f...
Stefan Bolea, “Melancholia” (via Philosophy Now) 2012
philosophynow.org/issues/91/M...
Sheila Kunkle, “Fantasizing our End through Film” (via In Media Res) 2013
mediacommons.futureofthebook.o...
Julia Shpinitskaya, “Solaris by A.Tarkovsky: Music-Visual Troping, Paradigmatism, Cognitive Stereoscopy” (via Trans) 2006
www.sibetrans.com/trans/articu...
Nina Power and Rob White, “Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia: A Discussion (via Film Quarterly) www.filmquarterly.org/2012/01/...
Manohla Dargis, “This Is How The End Begins” (via The New York Times) 2011
www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/mov...
M. Tamminga, “Something Rotten in the State of Things: Melancholia” (via A Journal of Film) 2011
ajournaloffilm.blogspot.com/20... - บันเทิง
depression doesn't just slow time down it can speed days up, in fact feeling how fast time goes by can put you on downer.
true.
+Sudstah
Being "put on a downer" is not at all similar to depression.
+SuperHoeCakes I can still relate. I have almost no memory from what I've been doing from October till February. Time was really just rushing by. There were days however, that never seemed to come to an end.
A film example of that is Synecdoche New York where the film spans decades without us noticing
+Sudstah Yes, time can fly's by at a breakneck pace.
The wedding scene was almost painful for me to watch because it reflected how depression feels so well. Everyone is smiling and happy and you're just waiting for it to end but it drags on and on.
I was watching it and willing to stop the movie and delete it from the PC,glad i finished the movie tho...
you know a film has gotten the portrayal right when it becomes painful to watch because it hits too close to home. by that i mean, it's not glorified in the slightest - it shows the reality of depression, which is essentially ugly and shameful for the person going through it. it's that feeling of frustration when you feel bad about yourself in so many ways but you have no idea why - you should be happy, but you just have this overwhelming sense of dread that stops you from functioning like a healthy person - just doing normal things like shaking a stranger's hand, finishing a meal, looking at yourself in the mirror, bathing, picking out clothes. depression isn't glamorous, it's crippling.
In a way it reminded me of Anxiety as well. I’m starting to get angry with myself for letting it control almost everything I do.
I am diagnose clinically major depressive for most my life, the first half of the movie at her wedding on the golf course, I couldn't help but laugh so many times at how she fucks everything up it's so comical.
I feel like I do less and less and participate very little in things because everything drags on for me. I can hardly stand it.
When shes talking about food and she says "it tastes like ashes," that part has stuck with me after all these years.
What did that mean?
@@pessimistkai5569 it could hint at that some people with depression just loose their desire for food and eating.
The general awfulness of the wedding and the ashes comment are the first things I think of
I feel so dumb. I heard “It tastes like Ash’s” and assumed that Ash was a person dear to the protag bc I didn’t think she was really saying ashes
@@JB-wl7jx That's true, and yes Justine lost a great appetite, but for once she was finally getting excited from knowing that she will get a meatloaf which I assume was her favorite food, but as soon as she put that in her mouth, that which she used to love so much now tastes nothing. If you haven't known already, depression can actually make you unable to taste food
Depression is often saddled with the overwhelming feeling of guilt. Where all of the people around you just want you to snap out of it and be happy.
so true! I find myself pretending for the sake of others...which makes me hate myself because I hate lies and phonies so damn much!
Indeed.... everyone is annoyed at your lack of apparent happiness, like you're ungrateful for so many things that should make you permanently cheerful and without a dark cloud in sight '-'
Smile when your heart is breaking.
It's struggling with the guilt of being depressed, that you're also guilty for making other ppl feel bad about your depression, for taking their time, ruining their day etc. For failing to be happy.
So perfectly written
Lot of people forget this film is about two mental illnesses.
Justine represents major depressive disorder (MDD), which is explored extremely well in the first part, which happens to be named Justine. As a result, MDD is dominant in part one. You covered the depression side very well, so I won't go over it more here.
But you completely missed that Claire represents generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is explored prominently and beautifully in part two, to the point that I am sure the planet is just a huge metaphor for the overwhelming worry and horror experienced by people with GAD. Part two also happens to be named 'Claire'.
Once I realized that each part explores a different mental illness, my opinion on this film changed completely, and I can understand part two far better than before. The only issue I have is that this isn't made as obvious, because Justine doesn't vanish in part two, and as a result people still think the movie is still about her when it isn't; she's no longer the main character. At the same time, I think it's good she didn't vanish, because it shows the difference between people with MDD and GAD, where was when Claire is terrified of the planet, Justine finds it very beautiful because she is so depressed she would almost gladly welcome death.
The movie in the end is about depression AND anxiety.
I love you! Thanks for that input!
MrCrazy Alligator - also the beauty of having them together is that most often GAD and MDD come together. After experiencing MDD and having to remove yourself from society because you cannot function, GAD often comes around because of the fear of having to go outside and try and interact with the rest of the world again. The world is a place of pain and uncertainty and GAD can manifest after experiencing MDD. And vice versa - GAD can trigger MDD due to how prolonged stress and anxiety can reduce the size of certain parts of the brain like the hippocampus which is prevalent in people who suffer MDD.
Major Depressive Disorder is something I wouldn't even wish upon my enemies. It is one of the worst illnesses without a medical cure. It's so difficult to explain to someone who's never had it. It's a debilitating disease. Your body feels heavy and sore and you'd rather sleep for 24 hours than eat or exist. The lack of feeling anything is the worst. And what makes you sad is that you feel nothing, not that you feel sad. It destroys your soul and the lives around you suffer as they see you as a shell of who you used to be.
MrCrazy Alligator i also found that, if we take the planet as a metaphor of their mental illness, we can see that in the 1st part; the planet looks like non existance, eventhough it was there the whole time. All the ppl were going through a nice wedding without wanting to acknowledge the apocalypse thats going to happen. Much like depression. Depress ppl tends to deny their depress feelings that they have to a point of non existance, eventhough it is very much there ,that they really do feel depress. We can also see, at how justine sometimes occasionally casually mention abt the stars. Its just like how sometimes depress ppl mention abt their depress feelings, very casual to the point other ppl cannot take their depress feelings seriosly..
While on 2nd part. the planet were 1st mention and introduce and were always there from the beginning of part 2 till the end.. probably describes how ppl with anxiety feels like but i dont know how to describe ppl with anxiety feels in details because i dont have GAD and i can only describe depression from my experience of being depress myself
But.. I mean, the reaction of Claire to all of it didn't feel like anxiety, it feld like a normal concerning of knowing you're gonna die... I don't know how GAD is, but Claire felt like a general reaction, diferenced by Justine.
Wow. That makes me want to watch the movie again because it gave me a whole new perspective on Claire. Now that I think about it, a lot of the first half involves Claire trying to get the reception back on track, and a lot of the second half involves the brother-in-law managing Claire's reactions.
I don't think Justine's presence negates your point, since after all Claire is present in the first half titled "Justine" as well. They play off each other.
Melancholia was painful to watch because it was like holding a mirror. I loved the aesthetics. Von Trier's not my favorite director, but this movie definitely hits home.
I would definitely try to look for a VCD or DVD of this movie
So sorry to read that Kara. I hope, ou are doing better now?
Here is an album inspired by this movie : th-cam.com/video/UJl9It2mVcg/w-d-xo.html
Not to sound callous, but I am so sick and tired of people claiming they are "depressed," nothing but first world problems. Americans have all of their basic needs met and more, yet they still find a reason to be sad.
Get some sunshine, get some exercise, find a hobby, sleep at least 8 hours a day... We are so quick to self diagnose ourselves as being depressed and getting on pills... Depression is a symptom, not a diagnosis... get off your *** and make positive changes in your life!
@@shrim1481 if this was directed to me, sorry to disappoint but I’m not American. And mental health/unhealthiness isn’t something only first world countries’ citizens have. Depression is no joke. I am diagnosed with it and been living with it since I was 18. I am now 40.
Von Trier's initial inspiration for the film came from a depressive episode he suffered and the insight that depressed people have a tendency to remain peaceful during catastrophic events. I think that's more what it is.
For depressed person end of the world is just relief.
I have anxiety and I experienced this when my brother was in a serious accident. I wasn't peaceful but I was strangely calm. A week before I had barely been able to attend class and now I was calling to inform my mom of the accident, handling arrangements for people, handling the situation better than most. It was like my brain had spent so long being terrified and worried for no reason it was almost a relief in a strange way to have something truly awful to pour that energy into.
Never heard this before. Would explain why I'm so calm when everyone else is freaking out.
That makes more sense to me. As a person who's been depressed my whole life I can relate to that. One time I was robbed at gun point, and the thief took me and 3 friends to the shore whilst pointing the gun to our heads. But I've never felt so calm in my life, while my friends were panicking. I'm glad he didn't kill any of my friends, but I wished he'd killed me.
Raman S Brazil (in a city called Aracaju). Yeah, it was quite terrible. The only time I got robbed though.
how ironic is that we live in a world, where sadness is the most authentic and honest feeling. you don't see instagram models share it, when you see it in media, its manufactured for you to feel compassion. it's never real, outside the everyday life. in my opinion this is why depression is on the rise. it's the natural response to everwhelming happiness everyone wants you to feel. when fake smiles are abundant, people seek authenticity in sadness.
I always find some hint of joy in sadness. In a world where everybody want's to be happy, it can be hard to know how much of your happiness is real, and how much of it is just you wanting to beleive that you are happy. When I feel sadness however, I know that that is real, and I find solace in knowing that sadness to be the most genuine, honest emotion I can ever feel. Sadness makes me feel more human than anything else ever could.
I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to borrow this quote. It so well explained.
Russians know this and let their freak flag fly all the time
I wish depression was all about sadness. Outside and away from this shared emotional world is a highly unexplored space. Maybe bcoz those who embark never return. And they are ones who have not lost happiness. Some say they lost basic vitality for life. I don't know.
I'm not afraid to look angry or sad or tired on social media people are just too overdramatic sometimes which makes things inauthentic. I have sort of a stoic sadness I don't exaggerate it to be suicidal or anything. I have some trauma but I cope no warped sense of time just every day is shitty and I have no real interest in life.
I felt the groom was actually keenly aware of Justine’s illness, and was trying to detach from it; pretend it’s not there. He surprises her with a photograph of the apple orchard on the home he’d purchased for them, saying it’ll be a beautiful place for her to sit. There’s a loving sadness here. He knows she’s fallen apart, maybe irreversibly. It’s almost like he’s showing her a picture of a hospice where she’ll be cared for until her inevitable passing. He loves her, and thinks she is hopeless. I’m not aware of von Trier’s intent here; that’s just my interpretation. This movie struck a deep chord in me.
Interesting take. Watching the film I wondered why they got together in the first place...
@Unsung Songs yes some think the initial sequence is representing Justine having a vision of what is to come... I’m addition to the multiple times it’s mentioned she can predict things.
A depressed person wants everything to end, he wants to go to sleep one night and never wake up again, and by far the most strong reason that people with depression and suicidal tendencies don't actually commit suicide is that they would hurt other people by doing so, which is solved with the apocalyptic scenario, we are basically seeing Justine finally at peace. Realising slowly that all her responsibilities are being washed away.
I attempted to watch Melancholia as a former depressive and it was so unbearably accurate, I stopped 30 or so minutes in, because of all the memories of how I felt when I had depression. It's definitely a film I would recommend to anyone who knows someone with depression and wants to help, because asking the depressed person directly about their depression usually is a bad idea.
you did the right thing. i was flawed/floored for years after watching
I had to take a break too. I don't know why it felt so bad.
Have you recovered and if so, how?
Same some scenes hit so hard I had to pause and gather my self
One of my favourite parts of the film is how it represented the fatigue that depression gives you. She eventually got so fatigued that she couldn't bathe herself, dress herself, or sometimes even stand up.
Depression really is a proper shitty feeling. Those who haven't suffered from it simply don't understand. Instead, it's a word that's tossed around lightly and put under an oversimplified definition. I'm naturally melancholic myself, I've tangoed with depression before. But it's a continuous battle to stave off, it never really does truly go away. Especially since happiness feels so artificial, fake and forced in today's society. Sadness has its own beauty in my opinion. it feels authentic and sincere. Great video. :)
In an important way, reading a lot of Marx, Lenin, and Mao has helped me. Realizing that you're a human being in an inhumane society helps.
I also often have the notion that sadness feels more authentic and deep. But one of my therapists once gave me this explanation: The mind expects to experience what it already knows, and if you have been sad for a long time, your mind gets used to that and expects more sadness. Therefore, when you experience happiness, your mind is confronted with something new and unusual and thus it does not feel as real as the sadness. Maybe one could say the mind is sceptic of this feeling. So the more your mind gets used to happiness, the realer it will feel.
I am not sure whether you can relate to that explanation, but it has given me a lot of hope that I can learn to better appreciate happiness.
Anna Maria Holy shit. Sorry if my next statement sounds weird but, I'm thinking of screencaping your comment and placing it somewhere for me to see. I always seem to doubt my feelings of happiness whenever I experience them. I thought it was odd so, I thought about it alot and just assumed it was because I'm just bitter and unable to feel happy due to trust issues. But, your comment made me look at it from another angle. Thanks.
iPaused
I am glad I could help you :)
JHS270694 I was gonna give a thumbs up until you called sadness beautiful
Justine was reacting with calm because when you're depressed it constantly feels like the world is ending and all you want is for it to actually end. I disagree that in the second half, the planet is warping the character's dispositions. They don't switch places. No, it's strengthening them and exposes them for what they are even more. The rouge planet brings Justine relief, that it all is finally going to end. Won't you be calm and content if you knew your greatest wish is going to be fulfilled? On the other hand her rational and sane sister was reacting like any other person in normal mental health - at first with unrest and then with panic and terror, with fear for her and, like any mother, her son's life. In films we normally see this reaction to apocalyptic disasters, of mentally sound people - always wanting to follow their instinct of self-preservation, to save humanity, to prevent the catastrophe. A depressed person has absolutely nothing to fight for on this world, from which they are already detached. Seeing it perish is their nirvana, so Justine's reaction felt very logical to me. I think Lars von Trier contrasted perfectly those two mental states with the help of two great actresses Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg. That's how I felt about this film. It helped me a great deal with my depression and it felt so real.
Anyway I hope you'll cover more of Lars von Trier's work, maybe Nymph()maniac or Dogvile. Definitely one of my favorite directors.
Justine is also calme and standing in the middle, a bit like a buddha at the end when her sister goes screaming, she just let herself go
spot on
+Scrotie McBoogerball I don't think it's quite right to say that it's her 'greatest wish' being fulfilled. Typically when you're depressed, you want nothing more than to not be depressed. The sense of calm has to do with reality coming into alignment with her own depressive state. Claire translates the incredible pain of depression for the healthy person, while for Justine the pain is the norm and she can't really escape that reality.
it may also be than nobody wanted to see it, but depression should be the normal state of our times, when the planet come closer her sister experience some of the sae symptom as justin in the beginning, she's just way more sensible
and the planet's like you can't hide it anymore, that's reality, we'll all be crush by it
Henry Thomas I can't see how you are disagreeing with me. Yes, when you are depressed, you want "it" to end, but you are not quite aware that "it" is actually a depression. You feel disconnected from the world, you can't understand on your own what is wrong with you. So everything around you, the world, feels wrong. Yes, the greater metaphor is that the giant rouge Melancholia is apocalyptically disrupting your personal world and the world of your loved ones. But the problem is you don't actually care. Here we see, what felt for me like an instinctual nihilism, caused by the depression juxtaposed with the instinctual self-preservation.
My point was that Evan was trying to fit the "out of proportion" idea of his thesis with the rogue planet's distortion of the characters of the two sisters(even switching them) in the second half of the film. Where as for me in the second half we saw the logical progression of the essence of their dispositions. How does the world end for every one? With death. What is the greatest threat to a deeply depressed person and sometimes their desire? Suicide. The unstoppable ever encroaching on a collision course Melancholia will end the world of Justine, fulfilling her desire and will devastate the world of Clair. They both know it's inevitable so we all see the natural reactions to this inevitability.
"Science and medicine has simply fell short in understanding it." Ain't that the damned truth...
We want it to have all the answers, but it's our shortcomings as well as our accomplishments.
Maybe it's because we assume that, because it's grossly uncomfortable, depression is a pathology rather than an entirely reasonable reaction to the world.
exactly that is also my humble idea Bob!! I've been depressed all my life...but my circumstances easily explain why I have always felt so miserable...I think as long as we see it as a sickness and come along with medication instead of having a look at the reasons behind it, we will never overcome it
They're too busy making penis pills
i will dedicate my small , probably useless time to do smthing abt it
That scene where she lies naked on the grass by the lake, looking up at Melancholia as it’s spreading its light over her, she looks so calm, content, at peace with her mind and herself. It was so beautiful, beyond words can ever describe.
As someone with depression, I've never seen a movie that captures what it's like with such visceral accuracy. That's why Melancholia is so important to me. Always love seeing people explore the meanings in it,
It's awful. They stole Richard Wagner's music.
This was the best film of the Depression Trilogy. The final scene especially was absolutely chilling and left me in tears.
Depression Trilogy??
Yes. Lars von Trier's 3 subsequent films that are unofficially titled "The Depression Trilogy". Antichrist, Melancholia & Nymphomaniac.
Wow. I'll have to check out the other two.
Jay Shrestha Sure do. :)
awesome
I never thought I was depressed, just thought I was a pessimist, until he listed the time slowing, and the proportion changes. I experience those often, with increased "sadness"
Great video, though
Alaino r Depression isn't sadness, it's the absence of emotions.
chemical93girl, hmm, well then the absence of emotion is quite a negative thing to "feel"
Alaino r yup... that's the point...
Me too
* *spoiler alert to anyone that hasn't seen the movie yet* *
Idk if you purposely left this out to keep spoilers out of your video, but an aspect that I found interesting is the hinted moment that Justine is psychic (she happens to know the number of jellybeans in the jar and seems to connect with the planet on another level than everyone else). She is depressed because she knows before anyone that the planets will collide. Her depression is due to her knowing things other people don't and her process of coming to terms with it. Some people are depressed because they see how things are going wrong while others don't have that foresight, so you stand alone and everyone thinks you're the one with the problem. She grieves due to that, and to others she's just depressed and disconnected, but she doesn't want to alarm her loved ones by telling them so she copes and suffers on her own. Her depression is almost grief at knowing all the people she loves are about to die, and that all those joyous moments are bitter-sweet and seem completely tasteless because they will never complete their cycle.
I liked how the characters' roles switched. The strong care-giving sister becomes frantic. The solid, logic-minded brother-in-law becomes erratic and unstable. The love of her life disappears completely. Yet the main character goes from severe depression to being the one with the strength, courage and wisdom to face what's happening. It made me realize depression isn't necessarily the monster. It has its own truths to share, like you said.
Bravo. This brought some introspect and a route for more healing for me. thanks
That's exactly how i felt after watching the movie. At first Melancholia fueled my existential crisis and anxiety, but at the end I found myself at peace. A severe rollercoaster of emotion, yet a truly cathartic experience.
@@maxcovfefe thr brother in law was a piece of shit throughout, first he reminds her constantly that he is the one paying for the wedding, then he finds out that the planets are going to collide and takes his wife's medicine and kills himself, leaving her and his son to die in fire rather than peacefully while sleeping
The Matadore This is all symbolic of waking up...I know, I woke up in 2012....I knew this “apocalypse” Covid events would happen (it’s all planned and political). They are following the playbook (bible) and the world as we know it will end (the world is law/banking system of how the world runs on evil, adversary’s world). Apocalypse means revealing (awakening) and satan means adversary. When you awaken to what the bible words actually means, you can follow along with the events/script. It’s amazing. If you don’t know if you’re awake or not....you’re not. You definitely know when it happens
Thanks very much for this analysis;
I've also read that this film is, of course, not only about depression, but a scientific study that von Trier found showing that people with depression often handle crises better than people who don't, on the premise that a depressed person is already processing a negative situation/feelings and thus, has more experience.
+Amanda Sutton are you referring to 'depressive realism'? fascinating stuff.
+Justin Thibert Exactly!!
+Amanda Sutton "Sadder but Wiser" is the title of an academic journal article, which claims that depressives have a clearer view of things.
That explains why I feel so calm when everyone is panicking around me.
I genuinely think a largely negative view of the world is perfectly rational, and often happiness is just as 'warped' as depression, but in a way that doesn't bother us.
A great post on IMDb message board: "All our lives consist of building a 'magic cave' to keep out the pointlessness of existence - we structure meaning from whatever we stumble across along the way, or we strive to find meaning for building our cave, and we sit inside it until the end comes."
+ma nemoj That`s life, but that`s what makes it beautiful. At least I find life and the meaninglessness very interesting.
wow...
Yea we don't even fit properly in the ecosystem. I say we call Thanos to see what he has to say about it
Love
I whole heartedly believe that life has great meaning.
As current covid events unfold, bringing out a calmness in me while others go crazy, I can't help but think of Justine.
I think I know what you mean. Others are scrambling trying to cope with fear, anxiety and isolation and for me it's like, welcome to my world.
Wendy Koopa I awoke in 2012 and I knew this was coming, just like Justine. It’s all planned and unfolding as per the playbook (bible), which the owners of “the world” are following. If you awaken, you’ll see this. It’s the end times (end of the Law/banking world as we know it). Apocalypse means the revealing (awakening)
Same. I struggled (am am struggling again) with depression and anxiety, and in February/March when it was all kicking off, I’d watch everyone panicking and wonder what they were panicking about as they were worrying about things that hadn’t happened yet, and I realised that that’s what it must be like watching me have an anxiety attack. It’s like the panic out in the world matched how I felt inside and I felt more a peace.
@@michcookies That's deep (and my comment is not even sarcastic, I liked your last sentence)
@@pixiewings21_9 honestly, I actually am more calm in times like these with lockdowns *because* of my anxiety.
It’s like I’ve prepared my whole life for the moment where I didn’t have to face school or people who make me anxious in general. It feels like timeout
This insight about time and depression is so very accurate for me, today I realized that I couldn't for the life of me figure out if I was 22 or 23 years old. Life is so much the same everyday that a year is no different than the other.
It is kind of strange, in that if you work at it, you can figure out ways to bring one's sense of time back into alignment. Having some "lost years" would on the face of it seem wasted time or mistakes can actually be a learning experience that quite a few don't partake. With some work, I found out how to differentiate days by doing or learning some small thing differently and write it down. It helps to differentiate years by having some vacation time well spent in some travel each year; nothing fancy required, a road trip with friends and family. Well, no trip for 2020 in the works, haha, but it will be memorable all its own, and the time spent helping neighbors, friends, and family has been fulfilling so far.
Amazing work ! This video is dear to me because it addresses the issues related to my own life - I myself differ from depersonalisation.
Suffer*
+Echoes Thanks for commenting, Echoes.
+Echoes Would you be open to describing your experience of depersonalization and how it differs from depression? I've self-diagnosed myself with DP after having read "Feeling Unreal".
+Jonathan Toniolo Im not Echoes but i've been diagnosed with DP. For me it feels/felt like i'm in a movie almost, or like there is a piece of glass in between me and my surroundings [and no i dont wear glasses].
I think the most relatable thing is the feeling when you haven't slept in a very long time, you see the things around you but you're not completely conscious about it.
+David0125 I've suffered from DP since I was 15. That's exactly what it feels like. You should try meditation, it really helped with it :)
Don't apologize for being late.
This kind of quality I don't mind seeing one of every month let alone every week that you seemed to push out so far.
exactly. it's worth the wait
Joshua Pazos Oh so his name's Evan :O Didn't know that.
i agree
Watched this last year and the thing that struck me most about the story is how it flips from Justine being unable to cope with life to being the character who's best equipped to cope with the end of the world.
@spankeyfish. I know you comment is like 6 years old, but anyway.
Justine is the best equipped to cope with the end of the world because of her suffering with depression, she’s felt so much pain and agony that she would rather the end of the world to happen than to continue the pain she feels.
it's always strange to see people without depression worrying about the end of the world - an apocalypse - because for me that'd be the best thing ever. We all die together - you don't have to worry about how your loved ones would feel when you die and vice versa, because you'd all die at the same time. It's a beautiful concept.
bunny get help pls
That's only comforting to people who have neither goals nor ambitions.
Finn Jeffrey true😐
'Jesus Christ is LORD'
yeah you could always believe in the tooth fairy
Exactly, I don’t seek death but I wish for it
i have bipolar disorder, specifically bipolar ii, meaning that i vacillate between deep depression and heightened anxiety. from my own unique perspective, i noticed that Justine seems to be the personification of depression, while her sister, especially in the second half, seems to be the personification of anxiety. did you notice this?
i loved your interpretation of this film... i adore the film itself and i commend any efforts to bring mental illness to the forefront of the public mind.
Be appropriately anxious is not an anxiety disorder, though, just like be appropriately sad after a death is not depression. The end of the world was occurring, there was nothing she was unnecessarily anxious about. I think she was just a foil to her depressed sister, so that we could see the difference in reactions.
bipolar 2 doesnt exist, you probably have ptsd and thats it
@@chornachornachorna oh, just ptsd? All's well, then
Jesus, that final shot is just depressing.
Unlike most examples of people just accepting what's happening, you can just see one of them still squirm. Trying to be in a position where this just won't be as painful as possible but it doesn't matter.
+Edward Gil (ObaREX) ya i would've ran into the force, or stood there face to face with the colliding planet..I bet though she honestly probably didn't even want to sit there but was doing it for the fam.
seen from the way trier intended it, the last shot is far away from being depressing, since it finally brings the end of the world as the depressed awaits it. for her, it is some kind of grim triumph.
@@Lycidas3232 It has nothing to do with a triumph. It brought her relief.
The imagery of the Ophelia scene is spot on to the image I often get in my head when I'm crashing into my lows, except for me I feel as though I'm laying dead-eyed on a cold, gray north Pacific beach with waves just pushing me back and forth. It's weirdly specific, I don't know why I feel it like that. Also, does anyone else feel as though they are sunk halfway through the floor when they are walking during a depressive episode?
I do! The image of Claire sinking down in the ground hits me hard every time.
Yeah, I have that feeling of being sunk through the floor sometimes, when depression attacks. It's funny, I never payed attention to it until the other day, when I figured it out clearly. It's like your legs don't have the strenght anymore to move/support you, because the will to walk or to stand is not really there. I'm not depressed in this very moment, but I know it will come back sooner or later. I guess when you accept this, that it has its cycles, it gets easier to live with.
I get what you're saying. When I get depressive episodes, it feels my body just shuts down. I don't want to move, or speak, or do anything except stare blankly at my ceiling in my bed, feeling as if I'm spiraling downwards. It's a horrible, numb feeling.
It really does, accepting that it comes in cycles also made me realize I can act constructively while I'm not in a depressive episode and especially when I know one is approaching to lighten it and make it easier to handle once it arrives. The best part is I've realized that this long-term has made my depressive episodes lighter and lighter over the years and it just keeps getting better
CampingforCool41
I do. My legs don't move I can't walk out of house it feels like I need hide from world yet I can't stay in house cause it feels claustrophobic. Just jumping out of skin. I love to exercise non stop and find sports my only addiction, yet when I have episodes I can't move in days. As well I just feel constant breath of death. Everything seems meaningless
I haven't seen a horror film that scared me as much as Claire's character finding out the planet is getting bigger. That was so anxiety inducing, thank you Von Trier for not using that moment to destroy my psyche rather than that, you went poetic on the ending scene.
It's awful. They stole Richard Wagner's music.
Dude!
I had goosebumps when you said
"science and medicine have come up short in their apprehension of mental illness so maybe we ought to look to art for
insides and solidarity about what it's like living a life out of proportion"
AWESOME
her exits are exactly my daydreams.while events happen i imagine myself leaving, dying, fuck my life type shit.
all my memories are disorganized. im constantly trying to get a grip on the time warp too.
That bath scene is the most accurate depiction of severe depression ever put on film.
Brilliant analysis of the worst kind of sadness that can’t be explained-except possibly through art.
This movie engulfs you into the experience of the character by making you depressed with how boring it is and realizing how disappointing life can be.
I like to see Justine's indifference to the end of the world as an explanation to why people get depressed.
We don't really know her backstory, but as I see it, she was feeling depressed before the wedding and before she met Michael. I think she was more or less "persuaded" (by social constructs and subtle hints) into trying to marry him, because other people + love "should help against depression". During the night though she notices how little she cares, how little the fact that she's married matters to her deep within and she realizes her inability to love others, which is a insanely scary concept (believe me..). After this incident she becomes even more depressed, she's tried the ultimate "love path", she played the best card she had in regards to learning how to love, and it failed.
But after some months she starts to accept her state. She will constantly be in this daft, indifferent and blurry mental state, so she might as well live with it. Fast forward to the time when the world is starting to end and Claire starts to freak out completely. Then Justine is the one who's taking care of things, trying to enlighten the mood and most of all, keeps Leo calm. She notices that no matter if the world is coming to an end or if she's at, what should be, the happiest day of her life, she'll feel the same: nothing. Her weakness becomes her strength because she's not changed, everything around her has.
Great analysis as always!
i think she doesn't care whether the world ends or not. She even seems to feel a sense of smugness and relief about it... sort of 'i told u so'
+iamimago great addition though! Very deep.
Tbh, in depression, people can never feel happy, no matter how much anyone around them try to make them.
iamimago
Abhranil Gangopadhayya I don't agree with that at all. Sometimes that's true, but plenty of people with depression can and do feel happy, and it's more like their Base line emotion is depression. all the peaks and troughs can still exist, just moved down
I don't know if she tried to enlighten the mood much. When Claire was trying to come up with a peaceful way to wait for the end, Justine callously stomped all over her idea. Her sister is trying to cope with her and everyone's certain death and she was a straight up merciless asshole to her. She had more mercy for her nephew, but definitely not anyone else.
I always find some hint of joy in sadness. In a world where everybody want's to be happy, it can be hard to know how much of your happiness is real, and how much of it is just you wanting to beleive that you are happy. When I feel sadness however, I know that that is real, and I find solace in knowing that sadness to be the most genuine, honest emotion I can ever feel. Sadness makes me feel more human than anything else ever could.
fuck this is mind blowing. perhaps the best channel on youtube.
thnk you, thank you!
I would recommend you to check out "the dictionary of obscure sorrows" similar feeling to what this channel offers, a kinda of nostalgia to something never lived before
God Bless you for recommending this channel, its it nothing short of spectacular....
Holly fucking shit dude, I just struck gold by pure luck. Thank you!
Love this movie, excellent analysis.
DDOT PODCAST!!!
Ryan Hayes Hey there fella.
***** I appreciate you watching/listening man.
I fell in love with this movie the first time I watched it.. profoundly beautiful and sad.
And yes it was about the two sisters.
My take on the second part was that Claire had more to lose with the destruction of the world. Justin was ready. It's like she had been preparing for that final moment her entire life. And she had been sad and empty for so long that at those final moments she felt calm and collected enough to look after her sister and nephew. She found her purpose in the end.
And the most obvious thing not mentioned in this video is Claire's husband, the most sane and reasonable and practical person as portrayed , was the first one to give up and kill himself. That irony struck me the most. In the end of everything, the 'weak' ones emerged as the strongest and faced the final moment like a hero.
It's awful
The part when she tried to eat, then just says "its horrible" breaking down even more stuck with me. The first time I tried watching this I ended it with that scene and couldn't continue, surreal to me how familiar it was to see something you always feel in your whole body. I already finished the whole movie now and its a work that a depressive could comprehend in its depth.
What struck me the most, Justine was the insane one when everyone else were sane and she was the sane one when everyone else were insane.
I think depression gives you an excessive awareness of reality.
A feeling of panic in a life threatening situation is normal, so no
For me this movie is masterpiece, is has one of the most beautiful and powerful final scenes in movie history, and all the actors are amazing, especially Kirsten Dunst.
I'm scared to watch this movie now because of its accuracy. I've come to realize that I've been in bed for 10 years. Sitting while things fall apart hoping to be pulled out grasping at everything, even things I know won't work out. My family has matured; news of engagements, children, moving, celebrations and I have never had such news. I feel like a bystander but I'm terrified of failure and success so I stand still. General anxiety and general depression has robbed me of my youth, I need to get out of bed but I can't.
hi! are you better now?
I hope you find peace in your life. I really do 🫂
I don't think anybody will read this but, when I had depression I didn't even know that I actually got in this state. I just started searching for some signs on Google and thought to myself that I was just sad as somebody like me could never be weak enough to be depressed. Time flies by and I once again look on up Google for other signs and I find out about social anxiety and loneliness, spending the entire day learning more about the world of psychology. I then slowly started to realize that something was wrong with me, I was clearly not myself, at least not anymore. Three years went by and I'm now eighteen years old, I have depression, social anxiety and been lonely for those entire three years. Everyday day is just waking up looking for the sun to go down and close my eyes, just to wake up the next day along with my pain, preparing to go to work a job that I don't like, for which I'm paid badly, spending 8 hours in a warehouse, unaware of my surroundings, dying in my thoughts that are either day dreams about a happier life or anxiety that stops me from going for that happy life.
You are very, very young, we feel depressed because we believe we are separate from the whole world, we don't understand why we are here and dream that the pain of separation will end when we die but it will continue until we realize the Oneness and feel the connectedness. It may take another millennia or perhaps a little longer since we also believe in time. Medication does not help,
I send you a big hug. ❤️
Hope You are ok 💜
I suffered from major depression for over 5 years. The slowing down; not being able to move is the worst feeling I had experienced. I would get dressed after a shower in the morning and just fall into my desk chair. I had things to accomplish and it took every ounce of strength I had just to do at least one of them. I couldn't even finish sweeping the leaves outside... I could barely get started.
But I did heal. I'm no longer depressed, and I value my life so much more than I did in my self destructive past.
I recommend a detailed analysis of tristan and isolde. Such a magnificent work with a wealth of meaning and intention in all its nuances.
+sammu el Wagner the Great.
There is a certain honest beauty in despair. Depression a kind of truth layered in gray. As death draws closer, one may feel relief/calm where most "healthy" people may be alarmed or even panicked. Justine ends up being the strong one, like others were strong for her during her sadness, she becomes the capable one with the ability to process and manage the oncoming doom. I don't often cry, but this film invoked my tears because it was so sincerely, nakedly moving. It helped me come to terms with my own depression at the time, and that was worth more than the ticket price.
I discovered this picture while holidaying in Sweden at Tjolöholm mansion (where the film was shot), often referred to as a castle though it's more of a Gilded Age mansion like the Vanderbilt Biltmore estate. The film strongly resonated with me, especially as someone who has battled depression and anxiety throughout life. It offered valuable introspection, leading me to consider a therapeutic approach, now convinced of my melancholic nature.
Honestly, this movie is underrated - the cinematography, the subject matter, the representations .. .. artistic and poignant .. for people who suffer with mental health issues, this movie is very relatable .. and quite honestly, the ending is realistic.. I'm glad there wasn't a silver lining or exmachina
For me, Justine's actions were very familiar with Bipolar I/II but mostly I, after years of a manic high, slipping into a deep depression and nothing or no one shaking it, constant disappointment from others or to them, and then a sort of acceptance of everything ..
Brilliant film
This video was just beautifully made and really got me to understand Melancholia deeper. To be honest, I just finished the movie half an hour ago.
I kind of wished you would have featured the 19th golf hole in the second part of the movie, because the property only has 18, as mentioned in the first part.
Claire actually asks Justine in one scene how many holes there are. I really wondered why she did that. Was that to check is Justine's consciousness was alright? It seemed just similar to when Justine told her the exact number of the beans in the bottle.
::hugs:: yay!
+Saskia H. I didn't notice that and I've watched it 3 times, I'll have to check it out :P
+Saskia H. I noticed in the opening sequence Claire is running with her kid through hole 19. I was wondering about that as well
+Saskia H. I never noticed that before either. You are very sharp!
+Celine c yea right! it's in the opening sequence too but if you watch it for the first time, you only later on discover that there are only 18. this sequence also is quite golf hole centered, and not centered on Claire.
This is the most disturbing movie I've ever watched. I have depression, and the depiction of it is so realistic it's disheartening to watch it.
this film still haunts me 9 years later
I just discovered your channel and now I'm on a binge of your videos. This is crazy good, you're moving up my list of favorite youtubers.
6:31 _"I for one am happy to see a film so ernest about sadness. As it stands, science and medicine have come up short in their apprehension of mental illness. So, maybe we ought to look to art for insights and solidarity about what it's like living a life out of proportion"_
Yes, me too; I thought this was a great film, especially since it confronted the ultimate fear of depression, which is to be completely destroyed by it. I think science has approached mental illness with the scientific method, social attitudes towards mental illness and commercial exploitation of mental illness. Currently, one can't empirically prove that a patient feels the way they claim and for the reasons that they claim, therefore it is a relationship of trust between the patient and therapist. Society fears mental illness and the corrupt, the culprits, often seek to dismiss it as irrational dysfunction and not the rational response to trauma. Business, the pharmaceuticals, see it as a commercial opportunity and are invested in _not_ finding the root cause, or curing mental illness.
I have often experienced and been confronted by anger towards depression; people are annoyed by those claiming to suffer from depression. They say, with self-righteousness, that there have been events that could have broken them, but didn't, so these people just need to stop moping about and do something about it. This, to me, is the fear, expressed as anger by John and Claire, of helplessness in the face of Justine's depression; they can only offer practical solutions, but cannot face the root cause of Justine's depression.
Delighted to see a new video from you :) Worth the wait
+Melanie Murphy also, this video is so beautiful. I cried!
Here is an album inspired by this movie : th-cam.com/video/UJl9It2mVcg/w-d-xo.html
This movie and this depth review of the meaning of this movie has hit me so hard. All I can say was it was perfect in every way. Made me sad but, it made me happy knowing someone out there understands. The fact that it was displayed through art and you disassembling it for others who try to put it into words but can’t, beautiful. Yes art is the one thing that can help and touch all who suffer.
Terrific interpretation. You're absolutely right about the theme of disproportion. I never thought of that. What's amazing is how in the finale everything seems to find equilibrium. You don't leave the theater theater feeling disoriented but like you've rediscovered your balance. In that way, the film is ameliorating. One of the best ever made about depression.
Absolutely beautiful film and excellent study. My understanding of the two halves is that in the first depression is shown as detachment with the "functioning" world and as a result feels like an interminable chaos inside, while the second half expresses how the experience of that internal chaos can allow a kind of peace when the outside world starts behaving chaotically.
This movie was unbelieveably impactful to me. I was 15 when I stumbled across it and never told a soul how messed up I was after seeing it.
I actually loved this movie, ending got me crying and the whole movie was just touching but this video made me even appreciate it more!
This was so beautifully made, as someone who suffers from depression the film really hits home and I love that you reviewed this in such a way
There is another angle to the movie that Evan sort of touched upon, but that has always struck me as relevant from the movie. The planet is obviously a stand-in for any terrible situation being seen through the eyes of depression, but there is something particularly interesting about it. The planet is an unavoidable force, whose presence cannot be ignored, and that is slowly moving, progressing and getting larger every moment, while everyone tries to maintain a semblance of a normal life under it. I might be wrong about this, but I tend to see this as a metaphor for living of living with a slowly moving and lethal disease, more specifically cancer. In fact, Lars Von Trier is a hypochondriac who frequently believes he has (and is terrified by) cancer, which is why I don't see this as such a far-fetched interpretation. What made me think about this was the scene where they're using the wire contraption and talking about if the planet "gets smaller, it means it's going away", just to suddenly notice that it is much bigger.
What do you guys think? Am I tripping balls here?
Haven’t seen the movie but I’d say it can be a metaphor for living under the shadow of inevitability of death in general, not necessarily accentuated by a terminal disease. I envy normal people that buried their existential dread back in their teen years only to unravel it in their fifties. I also can’t relate to “depressed people embrace sweet death” statement in video and comments. I’m miserable but I love life, probably more than any normal person does because staring into creeping abyss makes you appreciate it, every moment. Maybe I haven’t hit “fuck it” suicidal stage when living is THAT unbearable.
To anybody who wonders what is the song that starts around 5:00 til the end it's called : "Till we meet again (The phone call Library memory)" from Dexter Britain
Fantastic work. I'll never, ever shake the final scene of this film. So many films look away from unhappiness. The finale stares long and hard into extreme grief and doom in a way that's just unbelievably cathartic. Masterpiece.
what you did with in this video is that you have just created another version for the film, with beautiful editing and good commentating voice along with soundtracks that each piece of sound was presented in the right time, you just nailed the cinema touch.. in fact it's high level of creativity
I got so excited when I sas you made a video about Melancholia. I love that movie and I love your videos.
Slavok Zizek did a phenomenal analysis of this movie in his book "Event!"
This is hands down the best TH-cam video I have ever seen. Thank you Nerdwriter!
I love your incite on art so much; your interpretations are always so articulate and refreshing.
This movie really touched me. Really left a mark on me. I was thinking about it for days.....it was unlike any movie I've personally ever seen. How the director handled Justines melancholy and reactions of Kristen Dunst. It was honest. I loved how Justine was the calmest one when the shit was hitting the fan. Lars Von Trier is a genius I would love to be in one of his movies.
I really wish you would make longer videos
I came here from Wisecrack, and they were right to recommend this channel. In the one video you have clearly explained what I loved so much about this film, but could not express. Thank you for this, and I'll be watching!
Cant believe i stumbled upon your channel just today! Such a find! I must say your content is very stimulating. Your videos create a deep conversation in the viewers mind.
That last shot where they're about to die and the sister is losing her shit gets me every time.
This movie is very polarizing - as are many of Lars Von Trier's films. And some people like the first part but don't care for the second, while others prefer the second and find the first part boring and maybe even pretentious. I happen to like both. The second part is the revelation in a whodunnit film. It's the reveal in a magic trick. It's the payoff after hard work. It's the reward. While the first part is almost a story in itself. It shows you how the characters handle each other and how they react to their faults. I actually watched this movie while I was in the middle of a bout of depression and it was very surreal
Thank you Nerdwriter, for so many things I am unable to articulate.
For everything.
You give me hope that my inner art enthusiast yet lives and breathes, and that one day I shall find myself in a position to break free of the modalities that bind me and walk through the doorway to art and philosophy, that calls to me so
...on my own terms.
Truly, thank you for your insightful analysis of art pieces which are difficult to stay with , if only and probably because of the raw truth that they embody.
Your work resonates so deeply with me. Continue on your journey as a true pathfinder of our age.
I look to you for what I hope to one day become,on my own terms...
My own personal experience with depression gave me the feeling that time doesn't pass at all. Every day feels like sunday and the beginning of a new week never comes.
I had a bad panic attack with this film. I could never really place it. This explains it.
Me too. Watched it in the cinema when it came out. I couldn't stand up after it ended. I cried and had back pain for a week after it.
i had a bad panic attack at the end of Nymphomaniac haha
@@asselabilseitova6138 its just a movie, pussy
@@rudolfschenker6196 ew
I watched this film on magic mushrooms, fuck me what a bad idea that turned out to be.
too funny
+Raul Romea
yeh, up until that day id not experienced what commonly referred to as a bad trip. Don't know if you've seen the film or not but the basic extreme cuts from real world dogmatic crappolla to dream sequences and nightmare bouts of depression from Dunst on LSD or for what to all intentions the same fundamental effects in summary despite its length and pace due to my state of mind, time drops away and your locked into what ever activities your engaged in at the start of your trip. The film just wouldn't end, only later to discover that, of course the DVD player just repeats disc once it's ended, "durgh"
anyway so it went on, the film is now permanently imprinted on my brain, fortunately so is Dunst in the buff.
+stu. house
lol, so you were tripping out and just ended up watching the depressing movie over and over. that sounds like a terrible time man
Where can I get a magic mushroom?
+GreatKeny
where do you live, I'm in southern England and know 100's of areas, but as for USA or else where in Europe I wouldn't have a scooby.
Thank you, you hit the nail on the head with my depression that I never understood. One being that time is fucking grueling and I feel lost as my identity has been shattered and unknowingly blamed the depression on the other reasons. It made me tear up hearing the words but am grateful for hearing them.
The most creative people on earth is depressive people . The mind creates full of beautiful and scary chaos in mind . I'm so happy this is subject of depression is not shy away from everyday people . This is extremely touching n beautiful
It's amazing to me when I hear something that has been on the tip of my tongue for my entire life put in such simple terms. "Science and medicine have come up short in their understanding of depression, so perhaps we should turn to art." (Possible paraphrasing) That was a beautiful line. This video actually made me cry and I haven't even seen this movie, nor have I cried in a long time. Incredible job. And maybe that line wasn't even intended by you to be some sort of game changer, but it hit me like a ton of goddamn bricks.
As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, this movie was overwhelming to watch. I have never seen such an accurate depiction of depression on film! Hollywood tends to romanticize depression even if it is done with the best of intent. Depression is NOT something you want. It isn’t feeling a bit down during a couple of days while listening to death cab for cutie and it’s not a cool image. it’s a constant feeling of hopelessness, sadness and loss of self.
It's awful. They stole Richard Wagner's music.
This is a beautiful critique of a movie I can't bear myself--because it's so cerebral and cuts to the heart of the experience of mental illness. What a beautiful channel you have!
This is an excellent analysis, the best I’ve seen of this masterpiece. Melancholia is the perfect visual representation of depression. It’s unique, intelligent, devastating, depressing, beautiful, and well worth the watch.
You should do an episode on "The Diving bell and the butterfly", one of my favourite films and very deserving of a video essay
Absolutely, it's so good
Fantastic! Now do Mr. Nobody! Please!!
this is one of my favorite films, and i really enjoyed hearing your perspective.
Thank you so much for this insightful review of one of my favorite films. As a person suffering from bipolar disorder, I feel a closeness to what the characters go through, and it makes me feel like I'm not alone.
Great video! Watched the film a while ago and definitely need to rewatch it. I just remember that it left me feeling really sad and uneasy.
It is a downer for sure, you have to brace yourself to watch it ^^ I was so thankful for the guys being played by Eric from True Blood and Jack Bauer, that made at least for a few cheerful moments and giggles.
It is a downer for sure, you have to brace yourself to watch it ^^ I was so thankful for the guys being played by Eric from True Blood and Jack Bauer, that made at least for a few cheerful moments and giggles.
Inevitability, anxiety, sense of doom, these are all forces that lead to the films slow, sad, inescapable conclusion. There's no need to understand anything, just be present
When I first saw this movie I was amazed about how beautiful and comprehensive is in therms of melancholia and depression, it captures your soul totally and let you feel the sadness as a big black space that you can not escape from.
Thanks for leading me to this movie. It was beautiful. I really love your channel. To those who are currently suffering from clinical depression or any mental illness, we'll get though this somewhat, somehow, someday.
Oh, you should do video about Ghibli
+Dmytro Slyusar Also, one on the music of Ghibli. A Joe Hisaishi analysis and appreciation video would mean so much to me. :)
Beautiful essay. I love this film, too.
Increíble trabajo, defines perfectamente las películas desde un punto de vista inesperado. La única queja que tengo es que la mayoría de tus videos no tienen subs en español... pero al menos algunos sí y eso se agradece.
That was a beautiful take. I'm so happy I stumbled upon this video after my latest rewatch of Melancholia. Thank you!