Inspiration
Von Trier's initial inspiration for the film came from a depressive episode he suffered. The film is a Danish production by Zentropa, with international co-producers in Denmark, Sweden, France, and Germany.[10][11]
Filming took place in Sweden. Melancholia prominently features music from the prelude to Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (1857–1859). It is the second entry in von Trier's unofficially titled "Depression Trilogy", preceded by Antichrist and followed by Nymphomaniac.[12]
Development
The idea for the film originated during a therapy session Lars von Trier attended during treatments for his depression. A therapist had told von Trier that depressive people tend to act more calmly than others under heavy pressure, because they already expect bad things to happen. Von Trier then developed the story not primarily as a disaster film, and without any ambition to portray astrophysics realistically, but as a way to examine the human psyche during a disaster.[13][14]
"In a James Bond movie we expect the hero to survive. It can get exciting nonetheless. And some things may be thrilling precisely because we know what's going to happen, but not how they will happen. In Melancholia it's interesting to see how the characters we follow react as the planet approaches Earth."
--von Trier on his decision to reveal the ending in the beginning of the film[15]
The idea of a planetary collision was inspired by websites with theories about such events. Von Trier decided from the outset that it would be clear from the beginning that the world would actually end in the film, so audiences would not be distracted by the suspense of not knowing. The concept of the two sisters as main characters developed via an exchange of letters between von Trier and the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz. Cruz wrote that she would like to work with von Trier, and spoke enthusiastically about the play The Maids by Jean Genet. As von Trier subsequently tried to write a role for the actress, the two maids from the play evolved into the sisters Justine and Claire in Melancholia. Much of the personality of the character Justine was based on von Trier himself.[15] The name was inspired by the Marquis de Sade novel Justine (1791).[16]
Melancholia was produced by Denmark's Zentropa, with co-production support from its subsidiary in Germany, Sweden's Memfis Film, France's Slot Machine, and Liberator Productions.[17] The production received 7.9 million Danish kroner from the Danish Film Institute, 600,000 euro from Eurimages,and 3 million Swedish kronor from the Swedish Film Institute.[18][19] Additional funding was provided by Film i Väst, DR, Arte France, CNC, Canal+, BIM Italy, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sveriges Television, and Nordisk Film & TV-Fond.[17] The total budget was 52.5 million Danish kroner.[2]
Cruz was initially expected to play the lead role, but dropped out when the filming schedule of another project was changed. Von Trier then offered the role to Kirsten Dunst, who accepted it. Dunst had been suggested for the role by the American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson in a discussion about the film between him and von Trier.[15][16]
Filming
Tjolöholm Castle in Halland, Sweden, where exterior scenes were filmed, viewed from above.Principal photography began 22 July and ended 8 September 2010. Interior scenes were shot at Film i Väst's studios in Trollhättan, Sweden. It was the fourth time von Trier made a film in Trollhättan.[20] Exteriors included the area surrounding the Tjolöholm Castle, in Halland, Sweden.[21] The film was recorded digitally with Arri Alexa and Phantom cameras.[22] Von Trier employed his usual directing style with no rehearsals; instead the actors improvised and received instructions between the takes.[20] The camera was initially operated by von Trier, and then left to cinematographer Manuel Alberto Claro who repeated von Trier's movements. Claro said about the method: "[von Trier] wants to experience the situations the first time. He finds an energy in the scenes, presence, and makes up with the photographic aesthetics."[2] Von Trier explained that the visual style he aimed at in Melancholia was "a clash between what is romantic and grand and stylized and then some form of reality", which he hoped to achieve through the hand-held camerawork.[15] He feared, however, that it would tilt too much toward the romantic, because of the setting at the upscale wedding, and the castle, which he called "super kitschy".[15][21]
Post-production
The prelude to Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde supplies the main musical theme of the film, and von Trier's use of an overture-like opening sequence before the first act is a technique closely associated with Wagner. This choice was inspired by a 30-page section of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, where Proust concludes that Wagner's prelude is the greatest work of art of all time. Melancholia uses music more than any film by von Trier since The Element of Crime from 1984. In some scenes, the film was edited in the same pace as the music. Von Trier said: "It's kind of like a music video that way. It's supposed to be vulgar."[13] Von Trier also pointed out parallels between both the film's usage of Wagner and the film's editing to the music and the aesthetics of Nazi Germany.[13]
Visual effects were provided by companies in Poland, Germany, and Sweden under visual effects supervisor Peter Hjorth. Poland's Platige Image, which previously had worked with von Trier on Antichrist, created most of the effects seen in the film's opening sequence; the earliest instructions were provided by von Trier in the summer 2010, after which a team of 19 visual effects artists worked on the project for three months.[23]
