This movie really penetrated me. As someone who has experience with depression (and this movie deals heavily with Kirsten Dunst's character's struggle with that) I found myself swept away with her performance. At one point she takes a bite of her favorite food and is overcome with sorrow because it "tastes like ash". It would be difficult to come up with a more apt phrase to describe what the world looks, feels and tastes like when you are in the midst of manic episode. (I don't want to give the impression that this movie is about depression... it's not... there is a really good reason she feels this way and it's not revealed until much later in the film... patience is a virtue when it comes to Von Trier's films, apparently).
As I walked out of the theater I felt as if I was being carried along by an ocean current, totally unaware of where I was going and helpless to change course. Sometimes a film so disorients me that it takes some time to shake it off. Right now I feel a bit like my emotional bubble is being eaten away by all the chatter I'm currently surrounded by. At some point I will have to interact with people again, sooner than I'd like probably. The festival environment isn't the kind of place where you can revel in a vulnerable emotional state. And I'm finding it difficult to continue to process exactly what this film did to me. But it was beautiful and sorrowful and I love it when movies make me feel something.
This is what I wanted but didn't get when I saw Tree of Life. Lars Von Trier - 1, Terrence Malick - 0
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