20 Disaster Movies You Must See Before You Die
6. Melancholia
It goes without saying that a disaster film written and directed by Lars von Trier would be like no other, and truly, Melancholia is one of the most singular, unforgettable entries the genre has ever seen.
Kirsten Dunst gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Justine, a depressed woman who gets married just as the world learns that a rogue planet is on its way to collide with Earth and wipe out the human race.
There's nothing in the way of hope or catharsis in von Trier's film, which considers instead how humanity would react to news of impending, inescapable extinction.
With a general lack of effects-driven set-pieces - though there's much beautiful imagery throughout - von Trier instead centers his film around human trauma in all of its ultimate insignificance.
There may not be much hope here, but this is a lot of insight into the way people work, and it was clearly a therapeutic project for its filmmaker, as part of his "Depression Trilogy" of films (also including Antichrist and Nymphomaniac).