Melancholia

Melancholia is an independent film starring Kristen Dunst as Justine and Charlotte Gainsbourg as Claire. It tells the story of two sisters whose relationship is stained from Justine’s struggle with depression and inability to take care of herself. Claire and her husband pay for Justine’s extravagant wedding but then are disappointed at Justine’s continued unhappiness. At the wedding Claire and her husband struggle to keep things running smoothly. Justine cannot pretend to be happy. She looses her new husband and her new job promotion to her depression. The sister’s relationship is further stressed when news that the planet Melancholia that is headed towards earth is announced. Claire is overcome with anxiety upon hearing the news; while Justine calmly accepts death.

The reason I choose this movie was because I had heard very good reviews of this film. Some of my friends even claimed that its one of their favorite movies. Watching this film with that in mind, I have to admit that I was very disappointed with Melancholia. Yes, it was beautifully put together and the cinematography was perfect. But my main problem with the film is that the story was boring and overall intellectually dry. There were many interesting themes that the film could have explored but didn’t. It portrayed depression is a moving, interesting way but didn’t really address the issue of depression or ask meaningful questions about depression.

Another thing that seemed unresolved but not in a good way was the strained relationship between Justine and Claire. I think the relationship dynamic between them was very interesting but the filmmakers didn’t fully explore their relationship or make the audience ask questions about what it means to be a good sister. Since my younger sister has some audio processing difficulties, I was very intrigued by this mother-like older sister character. I also identify with Claire’s struggle with anxiety. This film could have been very personal and spoke to my real life relationships. But it didn’t. It didn’t fully explore or resolve the sister’s relationship so I was very disappointed by that aspect of the film as well. 

As Christians how should we approach the issue of depression? How should we treat and deal with it?

How do our relationships with our siblings reflect how we view ourselves? What would kingdom-like sibling relationships look like?