Ranking Every Lars Von Trier Film Worst To Best

1. Melancholia (2011)

Kirsten Dunst Melancholia
Magnolia Pictures

The second part of von Trier's Depression Trilogy (following Antichrist and concluding with Nymphomaniac), Melancholia stands as the director's most personal and fully-realised masterpiece. As with Antichrist before it, Melancholia tackles big themes, mainly depression and faith, and was thought-up by von Trier after his recent depressive episodes landed him in therapy.

The film is spearheaded by Kirsten Dunst in her finest performance, and follows two radically different sisters as they come to terms with the end of the world. A planet, the titular "Melancholia," is heading for earth, destined to destroy everything.

Complete with startling visual effects, excellent performances and surreal imagery, the film watches like a tragic fairytale, confronting the inevitability of death and the pain of letting go with affecting results. Out of all of Lars von Trier's films, Melancholia is the perhaps the most stunning and unforgettable, and certainly features the director's most personal passages.

Every director has their masterpiece, and Melancholia is his without question.

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