One of the most striking aspects of the film Melancholia is its surreal opening. It begins with a series of vivid and somewhat confusing slow-motion images. We see dead birds falling behind an extreme close-up of a Kirsten Dunst, we see her donning a wedding dressing while struggling to get out of grey ribbons tethered to her feet, we see a horse collapsing, we see a woman frozen in mid-stride and sinking into the ground as she clings to her child and finally we see the Earth collide with a large planet, Melancholia. This closing image helps us to piece together and understand the sequence we have just seen. It also prepares us for the conclusion of the film.
It is not unusual to present a film in a backwards order. In the case of Melancholia it was edited in this manner for several reasons. First of all, the first half of the film is largely about a chaotic wedding which ultimately ends with the bride, Kirsten Dunst, abandoning the groom. The only hint of the impending interplanetary disaster is the moment when Kirsten notices the bright red Antares star in the sky. The second half deals with Kirsten’s increasing depression and the tragic fate of the Earth. If the film did not open with the world’s destruction it might be confusing to suddenly interject science fiction elements into an otherwise traditional wedding story. Also, since we know the Earth will end from the start, we feel a sense of sadness for the characters. A bride and groom are preparing for a new life together and seem very much in love, but little do they know that their time together will be short. In addition, Kirsten seems to be affected by the proximity of the foreign planet on a crash course with the Earth. The closer it comes, the more depressed she becomes until she is practically catatonic. If we were totally unaware of the impending disaster, we just might dismiss her depression as a symptom or cause of her failed marriage. Lastly, there is some suggestion that Kirsten has premonitory powers – she was able to guess the number of beads in the wedding jar, she bathed in the light of the new planet, stripped naked, almost as if she was a pagan mystic, and she correctly predicted the end of the planet. The opening scene might be viewed as her premonition of events to come.
I think the super slow-motion effect helped to create a dream-like aura for this scene. You’re also seeing the tragedy played out in a painstakingly slow manner, which is sad and beautiful at the same time particularly when wedded to the classical music playing in the background.
In direct contrast to the opening, Melancholia uses Cinéma vérité style camera work and editing for the rest of the film, meaning it was photographed hand-held and there are jump cuts in the sequencing. This film style is used to suggest we are watching a documentary of sorts or perhaps even an elaborate wedding video and in a way adds to the truth of what we are seeing. We are more likely to feel the world might actually end in a couple hours and we are drawn into the plot and feel closer to the characters. On the other hand given the number of people who experienced motion sickness after viewing the film it may detract from the film’s overall aesthetic.
The film is divided by two title cards: “Part 1 Justine” and “Part 2 Claire”. The Justine section deals with the wedding of Justine or Kirsten Dunst. Part 2 is about the end of the planet and focuses more on Justine’s sister, Claire, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. I think the cards help reinforce the idea that not only will the plot focus on a different character but that there will be a reversal of roles. In Part 1 it is Justine who is falling apart and becoming increasingly depressed as she deals with her cold-hearted mother and her realization that she has just married the wrong man. Claire who planned the wedding seems to be the strong resilient character trying to help her emotional sister in her time of need. In Part II Justine becomes increasingly depressed and dependent on Claire, but there is a sudden switch in roles as the threatening planet swings ever closer. Claire is overcome by her own depression as she realizes her worst fears are true and the world is doomed, while Justine calmly accepts the truth and in fact believes it is all for the best as “the Earth is evil”. As well Justine, the pagan mystic, comforts her sister and nephew by instructing them to build a wooden temple to shield them from the terror to come, in the final moments of the Earth.