Perhaps what the sisters have in common is that they see life on earth now as particularly hopeless. Justine’s melancholy is internal. Claire’s is from above. The opening sequence lets the audience in on the truth, that the mysterious blue planet that is hurtling towards the earth will indeed be our end, but until the moment it happens, there is always the faint hope that it will, as Claire’s astronomer husband John (Keifer Sutherland) keeps insisting, pass us by. It is a strange movie in that this planet that spells our doom is simply a given, but there is nothing else to hint at science fiction. There is no government agency scrambling to find a way to save the earth. In fact, the entire film takes place on an isolated estate somewhere on some coast – a mansion, stables, and, John’s pride and joy, an 18-hole golf course.

The film opens with a very arty sequence (think Tree of Life) depicting the sisters in strange tableaux around the estate, some is such extreme slow motion as to be nearly still, culminating with a planet crashing into earth. This is none too subtle foreshadowing of the strange and strained tale that is to come. There is a sense from the beginning that nothing quite fits here. When we meet Justine, she and her new husband are in the back of a stretch limo, which cannot navigate a tight turn and despite trying every conceivable approach, it is just stuck. She seems happy and fun, but it becomes clear at the reception that she is in desperate need of emotional aid and despite pleas to both her parents, she gets less than nothing. Claire seems mostly concerned with having the affair run on time, though it is obvious that she is the only person who understands what is happening with Justine and will take care of her. In the Claire chapter, a nearly catatonic Justine returns to stay at the mansion and is nursed back to mental health, just in time to help über-anxious Claire cope with the end of the world.

Melancholia is definitely not a mainstream film. But there is a lot to like about it, including wonderful acting from both lead actresses. So far, Kirsten Dunst has gotten a lot of kudos (Best Actress at Cannes), but I think Charlotte Gainsbourg deserves a few nods, as well. And the supporting cast is excellent. I particularly liked seeing Keifer in a non-Jack Bauer role for a change. Visually this film is stunning! The opening sequence is mesmerizing and who’d have thought a golf course could become such a magical landscape? But at the end of the day, it is a very depressing film. You need to be in the mood for an Art Film, because ultimately Melancholia is all about futility, though neatly wrapped in a gorgeously shot and beautifully acted package.

In a Better World won the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign film and it truly deserved it (though I’ve yet to see the others besides Biutiful, which was amazing, too.) Which brings me to this question: why does the Academy require all films except the foreign ones to screen in a theater in the US before they can qualify to be nominated? I’d love just once to be able to see the foreign nominees before the Oscars. (Dogtooth from Greece, Outside the Law from Algeria and Incendie from Canada are all opening at some point in the near future, so stay tuned.)

The Danish Oscar winner In Better World isn’t an easy movie to watch, and you should be prepared to have a knot in your stomach for about two hours. But I think you’ll be glad you did.

The story is very timely in that its central theme is bullying. 10-year-old Elias is being bullied at school. Elias’ father is a doctor posted in a refugee camp in an unnamed African country and he is dealing with the horrifying wounds inflicted by a Warlord bully; he commutes back and forth from Africa to Denmark. Into their small Danish town comes Christian who has just lost his mother to cancer. He and Elias immediately form a bond when Christian takes on Elias’ bully at school. Christian has been extremely affected by his mom’s death and has a very dark anger inside, which brings him and his new friend into some extremely dangerous situations involving knives and bombs, and there are a couple of scenes on top of a very tall building, which will have you holding your breath. Paralleling the story of the boys is Elias’ parents crumbling marriage, as well as Christian’s angry rage at his father for his mother’s death.

In a Better World is gorgeously shot with a wonderfully subtle script. The emotions are understated and painfully real and all the actors do a wonderful job of bringing this story of fragile relationships to life. But what makes In a Better World a great film is the way that it keeps the tension just under the surface from beginning to end. You have the phrase “This can’t end well” running through your head the whole time. (I won’t tell if it does.) The film deals with some enormous ethical dilemmas as well as questions of real friendship and family in an amazingly insightful and heartfelt way. And as hard as some of it is to watch, I can’t imagine anyone not being affected by this story.

It is subtitled, but even Mainstream Chick who doesn’t usually go for “movies we read” liked it. See it.

To say more than that would not be fair, if you plan to see this movie. And I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates a well written, well shot, well acted drama. There are so many twists and heart wrenching moments in this Oscar nominated film (Best foreign Language film 2007). Mads Mikkelsen who plays Jacob will be familiar to anyone who saw Casino Royale as the villain of that movie. For the Danish, he was voted “sexiest man alive.” He plays Jacob with just enough brooding and a heart on his sleeve, and you want everything to work out for him. But Jacob is thrown into a situation he could not have imagined and has life-changing dilemmas to face. The rest of the cast is also stellar. This script could easily have turned into melodrama, but under the eye of Director Susanne Bier, it is painfully real.

Have I been cryptic enough? I really liked After the Wedding and just writing about it makes me want to cry. Get a bottle of schnapps and rent it. Bring tissues.

After the Wedding was released in 2006. In Danish.

Still need more in the way of cryptic? Watch the trailer: