“My paintings are smarter than me” (Edvard Munch)

It would be fair if Lars von Trier said that about his films. They provoke, shock, amaze, repel and attract, make you think and experience more intensively than sometimes extravagantly imprudent provocations of the director. Such provocation followed Melancholia‘s premiere in Cannes, after which the director was banned from Cannes forever. Nevertheless the film that justly brought the Best Actress Award for Kirsten Dunst stands together with greatest Lars von Trier’s films – Breaking the Waves, Dogville, Dancer in the Dark. These films open such layers of human spirit that require unconventional attitudes and evaluation. In each of them, the main character confronts his/her existence so strongly that all common conventions become meaningless. Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves) chooses contemporary Golgotha, Björk‘s character (Dancer in the Dark) opts for a symbolic scaffold. Nicole Kidman walks in drawn city quarters (Dogville). Charlote Gainsbourg and Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia hide from coming catastrophe in a symbolic shelter. And still, there is a stunning sensation that this is happening here, now and with us.

Like the master of silent cinema Car Theodor Dreyer (The Passion of Jean d‘Arc), Lars von Trier is interested in revealing the tragedy of suffering, experiencing, sensing, being. “I have always been attracted to suffering, especially that of women” (Carl Theodor Dreyer). Perhaps the fragility of a woman is that sensitive mirror capable of reflecting an enormous effort to conquer the invincible, able to give unique expressions of uncountable emotions, which immerse you into a parallel universe, the universe of ecstasy, or, if you wish, of Melancholy.

While waiting for the premiere of Melancholia in the fully packed Grand Théâtre Lumière in Cannes, I got a message from my colleague: “Forget all the problems you brought with you to this screening. Don’t think of anything. Melancholia. Just Melancholia“. I wish the same for Scanorama viewers, because this film demands you to immerse into its depths and stay there.

Sincerely yours,

Grazina Arlickaitė