The always unpredictable Danish provocateur Lars von Trier follows up the Gothic horror of "Antichrist" with the apocalyptic psychodrama of "Melancholia". In the first chapter, "Justine," Charlotte Gainsbourg, the grieving mother from his previous film, returns as Claire, the calm sister of Kirsten Dunst's tense newlywed, who unravels during her wedding reception at the fairy-tale-like estate of Claire and her husband, John (Kiefer Sutherland). Clad in a white silk gown, Justine is the picture of bridal perfection, but she keeps finding excuses to flee her devoted spouse ("True Blood"'s Alexander Skarsgård), her imperious employer (Alexander's father, Stellan), and her fractious parents (Charlotte Rampling and John Hurt). Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is hurtling towards Earth. In the second chapter, "Claire," everyone, except for Justine and her sister's family, has left. John assures his wife that Melancholia will merely "fly by," except that it appears to be getting closer, looming over the horizon like a bad omen. As Claire sinks into a funk, Justine starts to emerge from hers, but what does anything matter if the world is about to end? The allusions to René Magritte and Alain Resnais lend "Melancholia" a visual grandeur missing from von Trier's recent films, but the fear and dread evoke Ingmar Bergman like never before, particularly "Persona". If it isn't the masterpiece some have claimed, the director's strange creation will surely get under your skin, and the usually sunny Dunst, winner of the best actress award at Cannes, goes deeper and darker than ever before. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"