Melancholia

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Melancholia

R

2011

2h 15m

Drama

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

Tomatometer

209 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

As a planet hurtles toward a collision course with Earth, two sisters (Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg) cope with the approaching doomsday in different ways.

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Critics Consensus

Melancholia's dramatic tricks are more obvious than they should be, but this is otherwise a showcase for Kirsten Dunst's acting and for Lars von Trier's profound, visceral vision of depression and destruction.

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Sara Reihani

Bitch Media

A strangely apt visual representation of depression.

Jan 9, 2021

Full Review

Amy Taubin

Film Comment Magazine

Von Trier creates a blackly comic delirium that is terrifying and completely exhilarating.

Aug 27, 2019

Full Review

Lisa Rosman

IndieWire

In Melancholia, von Trier has created a mission statement of a masterpiece, one that reminds us that nihilism itself can serve as a legitimate form of creation, a means as well as The End.

Nov 7, 2016

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Truly a masterpiece, thanks to its performances and direction, as von Trier delivers a powerful metaphor for depression that is all too relatable.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 9, 2025

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

"Melancholia" can't help but cause disconnect. Science-fiction mixed with a very random society wedding just don't mix.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 20, 2025

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June Butler

Film Ireland Magazine

Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg lead a stellar cast, and the special effects are jaw-dropping.

Jan 17, 2025

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Francis S

It really, really wants to be profound. It really isn't. Melancholia is an unimaginative and mean spirited play where nothing happens. The film's main plot revolves around the end of the world, and yet, the writer has nothing of value to convey or tell us about it. You would think such a big plot could bring out the best in a writer and in his characters but no. At the end we are left with some pretty shots of the beautiful Kirsten Dunst under the Moon that lack any deeper meaning or symbolism, and that's about it. When a writer has nothing good to say, he writes something like Melancholia.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/17/25

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Ivy C.

After too much time trying to figure out why is movie exists, I have concluded that it exists to try to make viewers think it is profound. I now realize that the most profound thing about this movie is it utter lack of profundity. Was it meant to be a joke or a “trick”? The cast, the disaster that never was? I feel as though a joke was pulled on me and I feel as if I was completely taken.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/27/25

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Iamwhoi M

Depressing extinction event movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/19/25

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Laurian D

This could have been so much better if not for the shaky camera that gets tiring pretty quickly, the unnecessary overlong intro and the slow pacing that's irritating, especially in its first act. The second act is much better and disturbing, in a good way. Worth a watch but the way it's constructed will surely keep you from revisiting it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/26/25

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Jeffrey P

You know how you know it’s good? It doesn’t need a blaring soundtrack of previously recorded songs to keep you awake and attentive... and you can’t stop thinking about it as being a good movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/20/25

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alan g

One of the most depressing movies ever. If you are not severely depressed by the end of this trash you have no feelings.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/18/25

Full Review

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Lars von Trier

Director

Kirsten Dunst

Justine

Charlotte Gainsbourg

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Alexander Skarsgård

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Synopsis

As a planet hurtles toward a collision course with Earth, two sisters (Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg) cope with the approaching doomsday in different ways.

Director: Lars von Trier
Producer: Meta Louise Foldager, Louise Vesth
Screenwriter: Lars von Trier
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Slot Machine, Zentropa Entertainment, Zentropa Entertainment France, Liberator Productions, Memfis Film AB, Film i Väst, arte France Cinéma, DR
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language|Some Graphic Nudity)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 11, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 13, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.0M
Runtime: 2h 15m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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