Le Ciné

Medea

Lars von Trier’s Medea (Danish, 1988) based on the Greek myth, is one of those films that are so emotionally moving and visually stunning that it’s hard to forget about it. I saw it probably when Dancer in the Dark came out a few years ago, and since then, it’s been kind hanging out in the far reaches of my memory. It’s about the older wife being exiled to be replaced by the new younger model. It’s emotionally gripping, as you can follow Medea’s pain and anger even though she inevitably commits unspeakable acts.

A couple of things on the runways made me think of this film, the shiny black dress, the turbans and resurgence of headgear, the muted color palettes. Revisiting Medea, I am reminded why I loved it so much. Visually I particularly loved the connection with nature, it’s purity. It’s such an intense movie… I’m glad to have seen it again. Originally made for Danish television, von Trier used a process of shooting the film on 3/4″ video transferring it to 35mm then back to 1″ video, so the experimental quality of the film is truly unique.
For more of my screen shots, click here.

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