Cannes: A cosmic collision brings the end to all life in "Melancholia", a grand cinematic vision from Danish maverick director Lars Von Trier that had the Cannes film festival buzzing with excitement on Wednesday.
The movie, starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg as troubled sisters facing imminent death, brings stunning images on Earth and beyond and sets the tragedy to the swirling music of Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde".
Von Trier stunned Cannes two years ago with his sexually explicit and brutally violent "Antichrist", and the shock tactics returned on Wednesday when he told a press conference that he sympathised "a little bit" with Adolf Hitler.
Melancholia is one of 20 films in the main competition at the world's biggest cinema showcase, and judging by loud applause and the lively chatter of critics and journalists after a press screening, he is in the running for the top prize.
Asked whether Melancholia had a chance of scooping the coveted Palme d'Or for best picture, which Von Trier won in 2000 with "Dancer In the Dark", Von Trier said: "Oh yes I do, oh yes I do ... oh yes, oh yes."
In a press conference where some of the director's comments had reporters scratching their heads in bewilderment, he was also asked whether he liked his film.
"I saw it in bits and saw the stills from it, I kind of rejected it a little bit so I'm not really sure. Maybe it's crap. Of course I hope not, but there is quite a big possibility that this might be really not worth seeing."
Dunst plays Justine, a bride who cannot shake off crippling depression even at her own wedding -- a theme partly inspired by Von Trier's own battle with the condition.
"To me it's not so much a film about the end of the world. It's a film about a state of mind," he said. "I've been through some melancholic stages of my life so it's obvious to do this."
Comments
0 comment