1.
"How lonely she is..." I couldn't rid myself from this thought when I see Justine in the wedding: exhaulsted, helpless, disappointed...
No one has actually been there for her. Definitely not her husband, a normal guy who tries to be considerate but the only words in the wedding speech are "you are a gorgeous woman" and "I'm the luckiest guy in the world" . How cheesy: to any woman he can use those exact same words. I doubt if he actually for a moment sees her.
Surely not her mom either. When Justine comes to her, in pain, shivering in the chair like a vulnerable baby, she doesn't even look back at her daughter. All she has done is pushing Justine away, making a clear and indifferent boundary between Justine's suffering and herself, and letting Justine to "get the hell out of here", even though her face twitches quickly.
Also not her dad. How ridiculous! In his daughter's wedding, he just keeps flirting with Betty and Betty! Even after Justine begs him to stay because she needs to talk to him, he leaves still. When Justine comes to find him in the room , there is only an absurd note left by in which he addresses Justine as "Betty".
Her asshole boss? Of course not. The poor lad who has been chasing her all night long for God's sake just to get an advertisement slogan and is convinced that they have had good sex without even noticing how hopeless Justine was during the intercourse? No, no, no. Well then, what about Justine's sister, Clare? Does she actually care about Justine?
Maybe not fully, though she has tried. But the moment Clare demands Justine to "be happy", it is very suspicious that partially why Clare 'cares' for Justine is to gain her own sense of control against her anxiety disoder to be able to feel at ease. How could happiness be demanded when someone is deeply not happy? How could anyone say "I love you" when she demands happiness from the person who she claims to love?
After all, the wedding is said for her, but it has never been about her. When she walks out of the church towards the golf court, and sits on the grass with elbows on her knees and eyes looking up at the stars, I thought :
"How lonely she is..."
2.
Clare is another interesting character.
On the wedding, she seems to be calm most of the time and good at making plans. Though she gets anxious and impatient when her plan has not been carried out because of Justine, it's natural human reactions. Comparing with all the characters, she is the most patient and supportive one.
However, it gradually turns out that her obsession on making plans and getting anxious are two sides of the same coin. By making plans and seeing things developping in certainty, she gets to protect her sense of security. But when what will happen is not at all clear, or when there is nothing to be done to avoid the outcome, Clare loses herself completely unwanted.
That's why when the question whether planet Melancholia will end up hitting the Earth or not is still in dispute, she suddenly becomes all upset and buys sleeping pills. Yet when John, her husband, promises her that nothing bad will come out, she is suddenly all relieved like a innocent and careless fool. She also drives to run away like a mindless fly when she knows what Melancholia can destroy is not merely her grange but the whole planet. And weirdly when she finds John's body lying on the ground facing down in the stable, she gains a little bit calmness: for her husband's suicide make it clear that Melancholia will for sure destroy the Earth; it is certain.
3.
"Be happy." says Clare on the wedding to Justine.
"Don't be afraid." says Justine to Clare who is weeping for the forthcoming Apocalypse.
4.
Justine is stuck in the past, and because of this, nothing in the future is worth expecting for her.
Clare is restless about the ever changing future, and with the attempt of overcoming so, she makes plans to create certainty that she can firmly get hold of.
That is probably the reason why those two sisters can never really there for each other, because one's being at ease is another's being in pain. When Justine can even "walk", Clare does not understand until she herself has to walk with her son in her arms from the bridge all the way back to the grange. Clare also fails to see the cruelty of her saying "be happy" to Justine until Clare hears "don't be afraid".
5.
What is it that Justine wants? I think the answer is simple: some true support, some genuine understanding, some assuring love. Sadly she has not been given any of those at all. However and suprisingly, she gives what she longs for to her nephew, even though she claims no life is not evil.
When the little boy is standing on the balcony, facing the approaching Melancholy, not knowing what to do, Justine comes to him. She pats his back gently. And when the boy shows his vulnerable upset to her, she does not push him away coldly ; instead, she embraces him tightly in her arms and promises him everything will be alright because she can make "the magic cave". What the boy gets from this hug is a comforting assurance, and what she gets--one could guess from her almost-crying face--is a sense of relief. It is as if what she is hugging is not her newphew, but the little wronged girl in her heart: she finally embraces herself.
How ironic! The moment she is able to let go her own melancholia is the moment Melancholia is about to destroy everyone on the Earth indifferently.
6.
"How lonely everyone is..." After finishing the film, I realized everyone in this film is lonely.
Being disconnected from one another, this may actually be the pervasive Melancholia that brings apocalypse to the Earth... If only people can be treated more gently as the little boy has been.
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