A popular topic in the past few years for filmmakers has been an end-of-the-world scenario. I am thinking of three that I have recently seen--A Serious Man, Take Shelter, and most recently, Melancholia. The latter is still haunting me. There is no question that the cinematography is outstanding as one watches a series of scenes at the beginning showing many figures literally stopped in their tracks as a small planet named Melancholia heads toward a collision with earth. Three characters are featured: one is a young bride suffering from severe clinical depression who cannot will herself to go forward each day, her sister who also suffers from giving care to this young woman, and a scientifically-minded husband who is assuring everyone that the planet will miss the earth and just be a beautiful spectacle in the sky. The ending shot of the planet hurtling toward earth is magnificent.
The theme of the film brings to mind several alternatives that one can have as he or she anticipates the end of life as we know it. The depressed woman becomes oddly serene and almost looks forward to the end of the world; she becomes obsessed with the wonder of it all. The sister becomes increasingly anxious as she wants her young son to have a life beyond the present moment and seeks all possible alternatives to escape death. The husband chooses to die early when he realizes his scientific calculations have been incorrect. An additional fourth character, the son, longs for a magic cave where all will be saved.
It seems that the director of the film has captured the reactions most of us would consider if we knew the world would be ending immediately. The symbolism seems clear that the son's view represents the hope of religion and faith that this life on earth is not all there is. Christians believe in a heaven where all will live eternally. Having no hope seems to be the saddest way to live one's life I have always thought.
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