The 3 Rooms of Melancholia

Released Sep 8, 2004

1h 46m

Documentary

List

70%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

This portrait of Chechnya during the recent conflict tells a story of uncertainty and bleak despair via a series of lyrical images, which have more to say than a dozen talking bureaucrats would. The filmmakers take a particular interest in the country's youth. Stops at an isolated military school in St. Petersburg, at Chechnya's fallen capital and at a refugee camp for children in the neighboring Republic of Ingushetia imply the cycle of growth, violence and death that await so many.

Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

Superbly conveys its themes of despair and lost opportunities.

Aug 10, 2005

Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman

New York Daily News

Consistently moving but never quite coalesces into a strongly coherent whole.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 29, 2005

Full Review

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

An achingly beautiful look at the most tragic victims of the longtime war in Chechnya: children.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 28, 2005

Full Review

Brian Gibson

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)

Steeped in the pain and sadness of war-torn children who have seen so many lives come and go around them[,] it forces us, too, to bear witness, if only for a hundred minutes.

May 29, 2006

Full Review

Jeff Vice

Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

Melancholia leans heavily toward propaganda, but the movie is well done, albeit almost overwhelmingly dark.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 24, 2006

Full Review

Sean P. Means

Salt Lake Tribune

Honkasalo moves somberly and way too slowly through these three linked scenarios, and the droning score may induce sleep in the eyes of audience members.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 24, 2006

Full Review

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Audience Member

Depressing and sad. Left me with a feeling of hopelessness, why are we doing this to each other, why don't we ever learn?? Top of a league in melancholy.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

If one doesn't become distressed and sad while watching this then it does never happen. And that's the point. Through the really melancholic storytelling that has almost no commentary takes the watcher really deep into the feelings of the children whose life has been ruined by the war. Wtf is wrong with the people - mostly with (testosteronic) men - when this kind of tragedy has been, is, and will still be repeated countless times in so many places in this world. Do we ever learn or do we care at all? Really impressive and oppressive. Wouldn't like to know world is like that - but it is.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I think this movie is meant to be slow, meant to make one feel uncomfortable and see those things as completely unbearable.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

woah, beautiful, seriously one of the best doco's i've seen...but be careful those who don't like slow things.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Nothing much watchable has come from Finland but this documentary links brilliantly the tree stories together and the themes are never too much exposed to the public.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A largely visual documentary about the Chechnyan conflict from a childrenâs perspective, both beautiful and disturbing without moralizing

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

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Pirjo Honkasalo

Director

Kristiina Pervilä-Andersson

Producer

Pirjo Honkasalo

Writer

Sanna Salmenkallio

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Synopsis

This portrait of Chechnya during the recent conflict tells a story of uncertainty and bleak despair via a series of lyrical images, which have more to say than a dozen talking bureaucrats would. The filmmakers take a particular interest in the country's youth. Stops at an isolated military school in St. Petersburg, at Chechnya's fallen capital and at a refugee camp for children in the neighboring Republic of Ingushetia imply the cycle of growth, violence and death that await so many.

Director: Pirjo Honkasalo
Producer: Kristiina Pervilä-Andersson
Screenwriter: Pirjo Honkasalo
Production Co: Millenium Film Oy, Yleisradio, Arte, Sveriges Television, Lisbet Gabrielsson Film AB, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Russian
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 8, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 7, 2022
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)