'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth. On the night of her wedding, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) is struggling to be happy even though it should be the happiest day of her life. The planet Melancholia is portrayed in the film as a blue gas giant, something like real-life planet Jupiter. Melancholia, previously hiding from view behind the sun, eventually eclipses the red star Antares, a red supergiant star in the Milky Way galaxy that can be seen in the real night sky as part of the constellation Scorpius. As the planet Melancholia bears down on Earth, Justine finds peace in the thought of imminent destruction while her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) spirals into terrible anxiety.

‘To kill every beast there was on the earth’… appropriate for Melancholia.

The lack of hard science didn’t stop me from enjoying the film, and shedding a tear at the film’s depressing yet ‘ecstatic’ ending. The film uses extreme slow motion shots to create a surreal feeling throughout the film – just brilliant. Antares also has attributes fitting of melancholia and the ‘Dance of Death’.

Kiefer Sutherland correctly identifies Melancholia as a blue gas giant hiding the star Antares in the film, a star that appears with a surreal red glare in the sky appropriate of its real-life appearance.

| Due to its brightness and distinctive red color, this star has been the focus of many legends and astrological signs.

Those closest to Justine know that she suffers from severe depression. Like all M-type giants and supergiants, Antares is close to the end of its lifetime. Telescope in hand, he excitedly, and yet anxiously in secret, tracks the approach of planet Melancholia in the days after Justine’s wedding night. Another constellation name appears in the film, in Claire’s innocent young son, Leo – the lion of the night sky. Meanwhile, Melancholia, a blue planet, is hurtling towards the Earth. Kiefer Sutherland, who plays the husband of Justine’s sister Claire, seems to play the part of an amateur astronomer. But who can blame her?

ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? So, how is the film not realistic, in the eyes of scientists? })(); Sign up with your email address to receive blog updates. – Fragment 4 from Pseudo-Eratosthenes Catasterismi 32. Kirsten Dunst, in an amazing performance by this actress, seems born of the same vein as Melancholia, caught in the throes of severe depression in the wake of a rather disastrous wedding night. The planet, aptly named Melancholia, is a representation of the looming yet terrifying nothingness that hovers over the heads of those who deal with depression. | “Trier’s initial inspiration for the film came from a depressive episode he suffered and the insight that depressed people remain calm in stressful situations.” – Wiki. On the surface, the reception is most affected by the interaction between Justine and Claire's estranged parents, who split long ago. Only Justine's sister seems to understand what she is going through, and tries to help her finish out the night, but to no avail. On the day of her wedding, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) is trying to keep her severe depression in check and appear happy in front of all her family and guests. var _gaq = _gaq || [];

Images from Wiki and Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures, Official Website of Melancholia. There are some redeeming factors, however, for the producers of Melancholia in the eyes of scientists. Trans. Shock waves and gas vortexes would wander over the surface. Tweet After extensive research, we understood that a collision of Earth with a huge gas planet would look like a raw egg, falling into a giant drop of honey.” Kudos to these guys for trying to make the impact scientifically realistic, beyond what the average audience knows! Synopsis Just imagine, a mysteriously entrancing blue planet called Melancholia is on a crash course for Earth, while, of course, the scientists say that Earth’s inhabitants will simply experience what’s called a ‘fly-by’ encounter. The extravagant wedding, paid for by Justine's brother-in-law, is shattered as the husband and guests depart and the sisters are left to deal with the impending cataclysm alone.

Melancholia, a rogue gas giant planet that entered the Solar System from behind the Sun, becomes visible in the sky as it approaches ever closer to Earth. The entire day is overseen by controlling Claire, with the lavish reception, paid by Claire's wealthy husband John (Kiefer Sutherland), being held on John and Claire's vast rural and remote estate. John is organizing a viewing party for the night of the best sighting of Melancholia, the party on the estate for him, Claire, their adolescent son Leo (Cameron Spurr), and Justine. Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C. However, bubbling under the surface are the interrelationships between all the major players at the wedding which may have a greater impact on what happens to Justine. The film begins with an introductory eight-minute sequence involving the main characters and images from space and introducing many of the film's visual leitmotifs.
There is also the lavishness of wealth set against the impending (yet beautiful all the while) doom of planet Earth – a juxtaposition that makes the worldly lavishness look that much more trivial and trite. Someday soon (astronomically speaking), it will effectively run out of fuel and collapse… [The resulting] explosion, which could be tomorrow or millions of years from now, will be spectacular as seen from Earth, but we are far enough away that there likely is no danger to our planet. John is excited about the planet and looks forward to the "fly-by" predicted by scientists.