Melancholia (2011) is regarded as one of Lars von Trier’s masterpieces. Weaving together variations on Bruegel’s paintings, the image of Ophelia from Hamlet, and Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, the film unfolds like an intimate yet epic opera. Lars von Trier portrays two contrasting sisters. Claire appears to enjoy a happy, affluent life with her husband and son, while Justine, gripped by deep depression, destroys everything that might make her happy. As the planet ‘Melancholia’ draws perilously close to Earth and the end of the world looms, the two women reveal unexpected sides of themselves. Blonde Kirsten Dunst and brunette Charlotte Gainsbourg, two brilliant actresses, perfectly embody sisters who seem like negatives of one another. (SEO Seunghee)

“Still, if the film isn’t depressing, it’s also thanks to its beauty.”
— Charlotte Gainsbourg, Salon.com, Nov 10, 2011