What was the 'deal' Justine made with John? Why did this wedding feel so forced upon Justine? Why was Justine SO depressed and why didn't anyone think to call in a Doctor? How did Justine know the number of beans in the lottery?
Such a beautiful film that I'm sure I'll be thinking about for weeks.
The deal was that she be (and look) happy for all the effort and cost put into her wedding celebrations. That was John's way of being kind, I guess.
I never got the feeling that the wedding was forced on her.
When Justine and her husband arrive late for the party, Claire shows her the itinerary, reminding her that she had wanted all these items/events on the list and had now arrived too late to be able to do them all.
I think Justine was keen to try marriage and make something happy out of it. Inevitably failing, ofcourse.
The film also gave the impression that all treatment had failed, everyone had given up on her, and that Claire was left trying to help her sister at home.
Clinical depression is baffling. It is not just a mental, but a physical state.
The brightest, most lively people hit by clinical depression can become like this. Which is why psychiatry is seen as the only answer, to chemically set her brain right.
Dunno about the beans. That was a pretty savant thing to do - straight out of "Rainman.
Saw it 2 days back and I'm still mulling over it.
Some of her actions look more like bipolar, and not clinical depression. Especially what she did to that guy out in the golf course.
shareThanks for the reply. I see what you're saying about the wedding and it makes total sense. Michael was seen as a 'very' simple man (his 'speech' being the biggest giveaway for me) so it being more about this depressed girl wanting to try marriage out makes a lot of sense. Then immediately raping a complete stranger to ruin the sanctity of that marriage I would say is pretty damned depressed. I'm gonna need to watch it again soon. Aren't those the best movies? The ones that keep you up at night? :) Seriously think this is my favorite Lars Von Triers film.
shareNo planet. Two characters. Depression is unaffected by the happiest things in life. Disaster is irrelevant or embraced.
Anxiety pierces the best surroundings, like Claire's.
Lars is using this film to describe both from personal experience.
At Cannes, try to understand he was raised as a Jewish by a man he thought was his father. Mom told him his biologic dad was German while on her deathbed.
Pain makes him creative but also a bit crazy (excentric). Ease up if learns from offense?
Exceptional reply. I wish he didn't get the backlash he got at Cannes. His movies, especially in this Trilogy, are so deeply personal. And if you've seen his work you know he's putting a very big chunk of his vulnerable self into these pieces.
He may not always say the right things, but this also is what happens when dealing with depression. It attacks on all fronts and most often, the manifestations in behaviour are not socially acceptable.
The majority seek to control to make societal intercourse polite and politic, and to not put forth the interest or effort to understand WHY someone says what they do, how they do. It's just WHAT they say isn't deemed "appropriate" or "socially acceptable" and just like mental health issues, the way it's dealt with is to deny it, ostracize, separate, remove, banish,...
This movie gets that across quite clearly as well.
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Sic vis pacem para bellum.