History YMMV / Melancholia

* FridgeHorror: A mild one, considering the tone of the movie, but [[spoiler: upon discovering that John has committed suicide due to the impending collision, Claire releases his horse, Abraham, and lies to Leo and Justine that John is riding him to the village. Later, when Justine goes to comfort Leo, he's outside...staring at Abraham, who's grazing on the golf course. Leo says his father told him that if Melancholia and Earth do collide, nothing will protect them. He doesn't bring John up again, even when taking shelter in the magic cave with the rest of his family. The implication is that he knew something bad happened to his usually levelheaded father, and probably also suspected that the end was coming.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[http://www.salon.com/2011/11/10/interview_charlotte_gainsbourg_talks_von_triers_melancholia/ According to Charlotte Gainsbourg]], Claire's life really isn't as perfect as it seems; essentially, she's doing exactly what she accuses Justine of doing, going through the rituals of life for the sake of it without actually being happy.

** At crucial times, the sisters try desperately yet fail to cross the bridge separating them from the rest of the world: [[spoiler:Justine, when Claire attempts to cheer her up the morning after her disastrous wedding, and Claire, when she knows Melancholia will crash into Earth and she wants to be in the village when it happens.]]

** At crucial times, the sisters are unable to cross the bridge separating them from the rest of the world: [[spoiler:Justine, when Claire tries to cheer her up the morning after her disastrous wedding, and Claire, when she knows Melancholia will crash into Earth and she wants to be in the village when it happens.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: Throughout the movie, John repeatedly mentions that his estate has an eighteen-hole golf course. [[spoiler:When Claire and Leo are unable to leave the estate towards the end, Claire carries Leo across the golf course, passing a flag marking the nineteenth hole. The nineteenth hole is a term for a pub or clubhouse where golfers drink after the game.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: Throughout the movie, John repeatedly mentions that his estate has an eighteen-hole golf course. [[spoiler:When Claire and Leo are unable to leave the estate towards the end, Claire carries Leo across the golf course, passing a flag marking the nineteenth hole.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: Throughout the movie, John repeatedly mentions that his estate has an eighteen-hole golf course. [[spoiler:When Claire and Leo are unable to leave the estate towards the end, Claire carries Leo across the golf course, passing a flag marking the nineteenth hole. WordOfGod is that this signifies the characters entering Limbo.]]

* AssPull: Justine claims to have gotten psychic insight from her depression, telling her that there is only life on Earth, and Melancholia is here to destroy it because Earth is evil. So depression gives you psychic powers.

* {{Utsuge}}: In movie form.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Depending on if they find the protagonists annoying, some people may find themselves rooting for the planet to hurry up and hit the earth. Of course, one of the protagonists also finds everything annoying and is rooting for the planet to hurry up and hit the earth.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: Well, it's Lars Von Trier, what did you expect?
** Creator/LarsVonTrier, [[UpToEleven in depression.]]

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Everyone in the movie is a jerk and killed before it ends after living a sad life. There's no point to the plot. Or the characterization. Or the dialogue. Or anything else. We never see anything happy in the movie or anything that implies their world is anything other than apathetic and depressing. So there's no reason for the viewer to NOT toss the DVD into the recycling bin.

** A (formally) depressed director tells a story that features the end of the world, a giant object hitting the earth, and all the main characters have emotional/mental problems... [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion where have I heard that before?]]
*** As if that weren't enough, an instrumental version of Fly Me To The Moon plays at one point during the wedding. Hm....

* RootingForTheEmpire: Depending on if they find the protagonists annoying, some people may find themselves rooting for the planet to hurry up and hit the earth.
** Of course, one of the annoying protagonists also finds everything annoying and is rooting for the planet to hurry up and hit the earth. So...maybe that says something.
** Great news - [[BookEnds that is also the beginning of the movie]]. So if you walked out of the theater or switched off the movie on home video, you had no reason to see it.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The use of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde Prelude throughout the movie sets the tone [[WorldHalfEmpty for the movie.]]

* NightmareFuel: Because the movie makes it clear that [[spoiler: no one survives, Not. One. Person.]]

* {{Utsuge}}: In movie form.

* NightmareFuel: While the movie makes it clear [[spoiler: that no one survives, Not. One. Person.]]

** LarsVonTrier, [[UpToEleven in depression.]]

** A (formally) depressed director tells a story that features the end of the world, a giant object hitting the earth, and all the main characters have emotional/mental problems... [[NeonGenesisEvangelion where have I heard that before?]]

* TrueArtIsAngsty: Well, it's Lars Von Trier, what did you expect?

** A (formally) depressed director tells a story that features the end of the world, a giant object hitting the earth, and all the main characters have emotional/mental problems... [[NeonGenesisEvangelion where have I heard that before?]]