Ari Aster's MIDSOMMAR (2019)

that was the closest to a supernatural moment, imo!

like.. is she speaking Swedish because she's becoming the May Queen? who knows!

To me it sorta pointed towards her wanting to be the May Queen, and also that actual magic was affecting events in the film.

The old guy clapping to fuck with tripping Christian cracked me up

(a bit of online research reveals that they were not in fact speaking Swedish in the dance contest, but nonsense... that's a bit less fun)

speaking in tongues, maybe?

you know, the version where you're speaking in the pre-babel universal language that all humans understand

Glossolalia

maybe it's an oblique ABBA dancing queen joke?

casting-wise are there any easter eggs like bergman actors or such?

This was great - the sound/music was brilliant.

loved this

tired and bad at thinking but:

emil.y and fgti and la lechera otm throughout

saw this with a friend and one of the first things she noted was just how uncannily well-rendered the badness of the bad boyfriend was. not a Bad Human That Deserves To Die, but just always so disappointing

agree that the most upsetting thing was the murder suicide, AND that chalking it up specifically to 'bipolar' was pretty gross and unnecessary. also that the elaborate and lurid nature of the killing was, on one hand, an unrealistic and needlessly macabre and, on the other, in keeping with the baseline psychedelia of the whole movie

don't think it's been noted but dani's apartment had a big ol poster of a big ol bear smooching/snugging a little blonde girl. touches like that and the drawings in the barn etc were v good imo

Dani and bad boyfriend are performed as the same blank person; not sure if it’s written that way or it was actors’ choice.

Reading the script is highlighting some really interesting points that I missed while watching it. In particular, so far, Pelle really perks up and gets enthusiastic about Dani joining them when he learns that Dani is a Cancer and her birthday is July 7.

Also it completely clears up the fact that they do the festival every year, but the human sacrifices only come every 90 years.

yes, gbx! I remember noticing the framing of many shots before they left for Sweden involved people sitting under large paintings or pictures, want to see it again so I see who was under what image!

And Dani apologizing for making her boyfriend remember her birthday was way more cringe-inducing than the cliff diving seniors.

Dani’s panic onset was palpable — her facial expressions are obvious standout but the way they changed from bad to worse were very hard to watch and memorable for me. The head smashing, eh nbd (i mean yeah it was gross but it did not have the same effect on me as watching her lose it) that’s part of why her smile at the end is so poignant imo.

Dani and bad boyfriend are performed as the same blank person; not sure if it’s written that way or it was actors’ choice.

― Philip Nunez, Saturday, July 27, 2019 8:30 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

i’ve heard this reiterated through the thread and i’m not sure what movie you saw

There’s definitely some mirroring in how they set both characters up (and also how they end up!) but the actors in particular have a really blank affect that none of the other cast have.

the actors in particular have a really blank affect that none of the other cast have

Still haven't seen the movie but I'll be shocked if this is true - I've seen Pugh in 4 other things to date and the word "blank" would not describe her performance in any of them.

whenever Christian was on screen I had to suppress my "Chris Pratt present, exit theater now" impulse

Maybe blank isn’t the right word for it but it’s very pod person or uncanny valleyish—I don’t know how you would write such a thing into the script so I’m wondering if the actors came up with it themselves.

I did think Chris Pratt would be the human version of this character!

at this point chris pratt isn't the human version of anyone

scariest part of this movie was when dani was peer-pressured into taking mushrooms

you're easily scared

or haven't taken mushrooms

I cackled loudly enough that people in the theater looked at me when The Fool whined, "It won't even be the same trip!!"

I thought it was insanely rude and insensitive but in a movie where “just drink this, it’s fine” became a refrain it kind of took a backseat

just wanna say uhhh i was joking but also wanna say that it would not be a very fun time to be guilted into taking a bunch of shrooms in the weeks following the murder-suicide of your entire family

as evidenced by her experience! Lmao jeez

Found the first 45 minutes or so effectively creepy--thought the rest alternated between lengthy dead patches and camp lunacy. Completely baffled by the last shot, and if there was some connection to the parents/sister, that went right by me too. But well done, Frankie Valli.

There's no literal connection between the cult and Dani's family tragedy, but the whole film is about her dealing with her trauma.

xp that's p much exactly how I felt about Hereditary, not so much Midsommar. Yeah I found the last shot a bit baffling too.

(x-post) I thought some more about that last night and eventually made the connection. So is it that she's smiling at the irony of her way being essentially the same as their way? Or that they need to add all this ritual and pageantry to arrive at the same point? Or...I still come up short. I guess there's some latitude there.

I thought she was smiling because she'd found a family

also because she finally realized her boyfriend sucked and he was... well, you know

I had quite a simple interpretation in cinema, that it was the first time she'd felt some kind of peace since the murder/suicide. I guess the whole experience was a cleansing for her, stripping away the detritus (notably Christian). I'd have to watch it again to expound that reading with much confidence though.

xpost - more or less the same

i thought she was smiling because after a long period of despair she felt momentarily happy
why she was happy isn't really for us to know, but it's clear she felt a stab of happiness and that brings relief for her and us

momentary relief, since the actual situation is quite dire

I'm looking forward to rewatching this at home.

i am looking forward to watching director's cut at home!

xp agreed that it's probably good not to read too much into it! it's her first real smile in the film

It’s the first time she’s been able to (1) have some sort of control over her life, (2) let’s not pretend vengeance doesn’t feel good, (3) we’re shown over and over the way she suppresses her emotions every time they come up—every time her trauma’s triggered, she has to run away to be alone and force it back down. The women of the village gave Dany her first ever opportunity to sit in her grief and confront it head on, with support—although it’s ultimately rerouted into violence. There’s major catharsis for her in all this.

There’s major catharsis for her in all this.

Mirroring the audience's journey perhaps?

I thought she smiled because she was free to accept/be accepted into the group, into communal emotion.

It reminded me of "Irreversible" told in reverse, beginning with a terrible violence and ending with a bucolic little bonfire in a field

From the beginning of the film, decisions have been presented as an overwhelming burden for her and now she is completely relieved of that -- they've even removed the burden of deciding when and how to breathe.

/There’s major catharsis for her in all this./

Mirroring the audience's journey perhaps?

But maybe that experience is just informed by how much of a tension release the last moments of Hereditary is, compared to Midsommar.

This was completely predictable from jump and yet a lot of fun to watch. Often hilarious. "The Golden Bough" + A24 aesthetic make for odd bedfellows but I dug it. Also, Florence Pugh is a force of nature. One of the great young actors out there, imho.

I think the predictability was part of the point. The plot is telegraphed throughout, even from the opening scene, so hard the fun is being a few steps in front of the characters in a 'oh no don't go down in the basement' sort of way. Read a good article the other day about the use of yellow in this film to connote death and danger

Catching this on DVD soon. After reading this Esquire article, will be freeze framing periodically. Haven't seen anyone mention it itt, so maybe some'll check the movie again.

I noticed a couple things like that but they’re subtle enough they’re overwhelmed in a first viewing by all the goings-on!

I noticed faces etc. here and there - given the hallucinogenic influence on the film that's not surprising. But I would guess that it, like Hereditary, rewards multiple viewings. Still a month for DVD here I think?