beyond words.
I don't usually do this, mostly because this is a journal for my writing and I don't think I'm interesting enough to share my own thoughts and impressions, but this - this called for an exception.
Yesterday two of my friends and I attended the Miami Book Fair International. The highlight of that event was meeting Jeffrey Eugenides, who's one of my all-time favorite authors. That, while extraordinary in its own right, is not the cause of this aforementioned breach of protocol.
After trekking across town (on foot) to this small, intimate, and lovely theater that serves coffee and Toblerone instead of the usual movie theater fare of popcorn and soft drinks, my friends and I sat down to watch Lars von Trier's Melancholia.
Now, I was only marginally aware of von Trier's previous films. The only reason why I knew of this film is that my more culturally savvy friend brought it to my attention and suggested we go see it after the Book Fair. In preparation I watched the official trailer (see below), and was struck with a sense of trepidation. While many people get emotional over the twists in romantic comedies or dramas, the only trope that can get me more than a little emotional is "the end of the world." Or, more specifically, scenes that feature a large amount of human beings dying.
Melancholia presented itself as this from the beginning. Nevertheless, I trust my friend's taste (it really is impeccable) and was intrigued by the fact that Kirsten Dunst was starring in the film, as I'd never really seen her outside of the Spiderman vein... so I agreed.
I usually sit in movie theaters and try to analyze and deconstruct the film I'm watching. While I did this with Melancholia, I found that I couldn't past a certain point. All rational thought ended at the film's climax, and I was left enthralled by the film's last few minutes. After the devastating ending scene, I was left sitting in the darkness of the theater with my mouth agape and my hands squeezing my knees. I found myself unable to breathe deeply until we stumbled our way out of the theater and into the street. Even then, I couldn't string together a complete sentence to save my life.
I can't really express how the film made me feel.
It's flawless. This is hyperbole, of course, because there were a lot of elements of this film that didn't make much sense. But that's exactly it. Melancholia isn't a film you can reason out; it's an experience that you can only feel. It struck at the most human part of me, and I found my logic and penchant for analysis and deconstruction falling to the wayside.
So... yeah. I'm going to highly recommend seeing this. I think it will stay with me forever. I'd love to sit here and analyze/discuss my impressions, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you...
Yesterday two of my friends and I attended the Miami Book Fair International. The highlight of that event was meeting Jeffrey Eugenides, who's one of my all-time favorite authors. That, while extraordinary in its own right, is not the cause of this aforementioned breach of protocol.
After trekking across town (on foot) to this small, intimate, and lovely theater that serves coffee and Toblerone instead of the usual movie theater fare of popcorn and soft drinks, my friends and I sat down to watch Lars von Trier's Melancholia.
Now, I was only marginally aware of von Trier's previous films. The only reason why I knew of this film is that my more culturally savvy friend brought it to my attention and suggested we go see it after the Book Fair. In preparation I watched the official trailer (see below), and was struck with a sense of trepidation. While many people get emotional over the twists in romantic comedies or dramas, the only trope that can get me more than a little emotional is "the end of the world." Or, more specifically, scenes that feature a large amount of human beings dying.
Melancholia presented itself as this from the beginning. Nevertheless, I trust my friend's taste (it really is impeccable) and was intrigued by the fact that Kirsten Dunst was starring in the film, as I'd never really seen her outside of the Spiderman vein... so I agreed.
I usually sit in movie theaters and try to analyze and deconstruct the film I'm watching. While I did this with Melancholia, I found that I couldn't past a certain point. All rational thought ended at the film's climax, and I was left enthralled by the film's last few minutes. After the devastating ending scene, I was left sitting in the darkness of the theater with my mouth agape and my hands squeezing my knees. I found myself unable to breathe deeply until we stumbled our way out of the theater and into the street. Even then, I couldn't string together a complete sentence to save my life.
I can't really express how the film made me feel.
It's flawless. This is hyperbole, of course, because there were a lot of elements of this film that didn't make much sense. But that's exactly it. Melancholia isn't a film you can reason out; it's an experience that you can only feel. It struck at the most human part of me, and I found my logic and penchant for analysis and deconstruction falling to the wayside.
So... yeah. I'm going to highly recommend seeing this. I think it will stay with me forever. I'd love to sit here and analyze/discuss my impressions, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you...
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