Medéia

. . . though he might have preferred black and white. But that's no criticism. This film evokes The Passion of Joan of Arc, with its stark intimacy; and Vampyr, with its trancelike movement and strange lighting. If ever there were a film that could capture tragic Greek myth, it's this one.

Lars von Trier´s adaptation of the ancient Greek play (HIS tribute to Carl Th. Dreyer, who originally wrote the manuscript but never got around to filming it) is absolutely stunning.

The actors´ performances (above all Kirsten Olesen, incidentally one of Denmark´s top actresses makes you gasp), the wide landscapes and carefully selected sparse dialogue, but especially Lars von Trier´s direction makes this film a shocking look into the disturbed mind of a woman who has been scorned and left. Medea´s revenge is horrible but never unbelievable. She does what every sane person would do, when deprived of all that she loves. The film burns itself into your mind and leaves you with a lasting impression of what human misery can be like.

A veritable piece of art, belonging up there with most of von Trier´s works - and above all up there with ALL of Dreyer´s works!

It is a masterpiece, it is a perfect adaptation of the Greek tragedy Medea from Euripides, a version where the Gods willing and intervations are absent. Medea is the tragic character that after helping Jason in the Voyage of the Argonauts (myth says that she has even sacrificed her own brother for Jason's success), she gets from him only betrayal, as he arranges to marry the King's of Corinth daughter. The king decides to exile Medea, as she is a danger for his daughter happiness, but Medea asks from him just a day… before she goes outside the borders. That day Medea gets her revenge….. That day we see how Jason is demystified, driven by his lust for a young princess becomes a tragic character. Jason is a man driven by women's strength and willing, he reached the levels of heroism because of a woman, he seeks to get more strength with the help of another woman, who guides him with her sexual power. We see the tragic abandoned woman, taking revenge sacrificing her own children in the name of proving that she still has the power to drive his husband emotions. Is it that also true in our societies? How many times children are the mean for adults' revenge?

Medea's story shown through an epic atmosphere. It is a film perfectly directed. Trier used so nicely light and nature in order to transfer to us the whole atmosphere of tragedy. A tragedy that is created by humans and not Gods…. A story that can be met in our civilized neighbourhood, a story that has for sure heard in the news. As about the actors… a fabulous cast makes this film a work of art. I am glad that I 've found it in the store, I am glad I watched it.

Wow, this is an inspired film. It takes the myth of Jason written by Euripedes and a script by Carl Th. Dreyer, boths testimony has been proved by the test of time and makes a fantastic low budget masterpiece epic of it. Some people think that its production values spoils the experience, but I would like to ask them this: would Claude Monets paintings look better if they were polished? We see into the fabric of film here and I think that only heightens the realism or it makes me believe it the more as a film, if the focus was on making it look real several other things would get lost.

How big the debt to Dreyers movies are I cant tell as I haven't seen any of his work yet due to poor availability, but as huge it seems it actually makes me a big fan of Dreyer himself, which von Trier also is and don't try to hide.

Metaphors are a plenty here and somehow it works, experiments with filming, post production and so on is evident and really made this a wonderful testimony to an inspired mind. Respect to Lars! Especially for the water scenes, the wind, the golden fleece ...

Art direction may not be 100% historically correct, but it looks very good, Medea herself must have inspired 'Orbital' for their 'The Box' music video some years later.

The revenge she gets are the most raw and brutal I have seen by the way.

Yes it's a great movie but needs an upmost restoration to be able a better look by us who really loves the seventh art, is quite impossible at least to me measure a picture in these conditions, l don't know whose belongs the copyright of this one, but Lars Von Trier didn't deserves such bad shape allowed to sell, unfortunately will be see Monalisa blurry, by this just 7 out 10!!

Resume:

First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7