The film begins with an introductory sequence, with a number of stylised images of the main characters as well as images from space. The end of the world is shown in the form of a collision between Earth and a larger planet. Melancholia is thereafter divided into two parts.
In part one, called Justine, the young couple Justine and Michael are getting married at a castle, but the party is far from successful, as Justine's divorced parents, Dexter and Gaby, are openly fighting at the dinner. Justine herself is both alienated from her sister, her new husband, her boss and her parents. She drifts away from the party, and becomes increasingly sad and desperate during the night. At several occasions, she looks at a specific star, which seems to shine brighter than normal. Claire's husband John says it is the star Antares, and later in the film the star disappears. At the end of the party, Michael leaves Justine, implying that their marriage is called off.
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The film begins with an introductory sequence, with a number of stylised images of the main characters as well as images from space. The end of the world is shown in the form of a collision between Earth and a larger planet. Melancholia is thereafter divided into two parts.
In part one, called Justine, the young couple Justine and Michael are getting married at a castle, but the party is far from successful, as Justine's divorced parents, Dexter and Gaby, are openly fighting at the dinner. Justine herself is both alienated from her sister, her new husband, her boss and her parents. She drifts away from the party, and becomes increasingly sad and desperate during the night. At several occasions, she looks at a specific star, which seems to shine brighter than normal. Claire's husband John says it is the star Antares, and later in the film the star disappears. At the end of the party, Michael leaves Justine, implying that their marriage is called off.
In part two, called Claire, Justine has initially become severely depressed. She visits Claire and John, who live in the same castle with their son Leo. To begin with, Justine is unable to do normal everyday things like taking a bath or eat, but becomes more confident over time. It has been revealed that the reason for Antares' disappearance was the rogue planet Melancholia, which had previously been hidden behind the sun, had eclipsed the star. At the same time, Melancholia, a blue telluric planet (or super-earth), has become visible in the sky. John, being very keen on astronomy, is excited about the planet, and looks forward to the so-called "fly-by", as Earth and Melancholia are supposed to pass by each other without collision.
Claire is very fearful about the planet, and believes it is the end of the world. On the night of the fly-by, it seems like John was right, as Melancholia passes by Earth in a near-miss. After the first flyby, background birdsong abruptly ceases, in reference to the falling leaves and dead birds glimpsed behind Justine in the opening frames of the film. At the same time, horses calm down from an earlier state of agitation.
In the following days, however, it turns out that Melancholia is coming back around. As John finds out, he commits suicide by taking pills. His dead body is found by Claire, who decides to keep it a secret. She then talks to her sister, who is extremely cynical about the impending doom. She doesn't believe that life exists elsewhere in the cosmos. While Claire descends into grief and madness, trying futilely to evade the oncoming destruction with Leo in her arms, Justine remains calm and enigmatically silent, seemingly accepting the forthcoming apocalypse. Their interpersonal relationship has become inverted, with Claire now dependent on Justine for emotional and psychological support.
However, later Justine tries to comfort Leo by building a crude shelter out of wooden sticks. The film ends with Justine, Claire and Leo sitting inside the shelter, as Melancholia collides, destroying Earth. Notably, Claire is still grief-stricken and fearful, while Justine and Leo remain calm until the very end.
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