After enduring “Antichrist” a few years ago and then listening to Lars von Trier shoot off his mouth with an ill-advised “joke” about Nazis this spring at the Cannes Film Festival, I wasn’t exactly rushing into “Melancholia” with hopes raised. Von Trier’s recent films feel like the work of a man who uses the camera as a magnifying glass — the way that a sadistic six-year-old would use that same implement to torture and destroy helpless ants.
As a non-fan, then, it is with utter surprise that I can report that “Melancholia” is the Lars von Trier movie for people who hate Lars von Trier movies.