Midsommar

Ari Aster is the master of horror. Not only does he know how to make a bright spring day feel haunted and creepy, he's an expert at bending space and time for his transitions. It will be a while before something catches me off guard like this movie did.

A unique, disturbing and quite beautiful horror film with trippy visuals, grotesque violence and graphic moments that once you see them, YOU CAN'T UNSEE THEM. Ari Aster continues to shock and amaze with a detailed exploration of pagan rituals, mysterious communites and heartbreak inside a dying relationship; through the running time, this film bringing cathartic moments of psychological (and at times physical) pain, delusion and insanity. At its very core, Midsommar is a perfect nightmare experience that gets even better once you unheart the demented horrors hidden in plain sight.

This movie has impeccable acting, especially for it being one of Florance Pughs first roles in a film.

Saw this movie on acid in San Diego when it came out. 100% do not recommend that. Bad nightmares for a few weeks. 10/10 movie though. Cool backstory with the real midsummer.

Midsommar, is a film about liberation, leaving us with a convulsion of aggressive thoughts, but willing to an internally violent and externally silent conciliation. Dani's smile, in the last scene, can be a declaration that everything will be fine and that there may still be a chance to look ahead, to the future and hope. And even that hope can be quite aggressive. She didn't have anything else, at least there in the sect, she was taken in! Remembering that the end is open and each one has its interpretation.

Midsommar is a complicated beast. Those going for something as linear as Hereditary will be immediately disappointed by Midsommars somewhat convoluted plot elements and meandering pace. I sat in the cinema as the credits rolled by, deep in thought about what I just watched, and if it was any good. Nothing really sat well with me, and the film didn't really connect upon immediate completion, but I gave it time to digest.
Ari Asters two movies are very much at odds with each other. Hereditary slaps you with it's excellent presentation, pace, sense of dread and quality of acting on display. Then, upon further inspection, it's woven plot elements and symbolism shine through on subsequent viewing.
Midsommar is very much the opposite. The film almost dawdles in it's presentation and doesn't fully attack you with it's acting chops or narrative (although Florence is simply stunning in her portrayal of Dani). Midsommar more presents it's parts in a very matter-of-fact fashion, and then leaves it up to you to connect the dots of both the plot and what's on display. While there is far too much to unpack in this small comment section, I'd just like to detail some of my favourite themes on display in Midsommar, and why it went from a 6/10 during my cinema viewing, to a solid 8 - 8.5/10 upon reflection.

--- LONG DISCUSSION OF SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT ---

One of Midsommars central parallels is the individualism/selfishness of Western life and it's stark comparison to the commune we are introduced to. Examples of this are: During the intro, Dani is going through the trauma of a suicidal family member and her boyfriend, Christian, is encouraged by his friends to abandon her in her time of need telling her to see her therapist as it's not his problem. Christian echos these sentiments directly to Dani about her sister, telling her to leave her alone as she is just doing this for attention. Upon arriving at the commune in Sweden, Mark is unwilling to wait for Dani to be ready to take shrooms. Josh, knowing of Dani's recent trauma involving death, subjects her to the suicide of the elders for his own thesis and research. Christian uses the situation to further his own academic efforts, much to the annoyance of Josh. Everyone is acting in their own self interest regardless of the emotional toll this takes on their friendships. This is a stark contrast to how we see the commune deal with distress, emotion and personal issues. When Dani sees Christian cheating on her, the female members of the commune bawl, weep, scream and cry along with Dani, literally experiencing her burden with her to lessen the load. As described by Pelle, the commune "hold" you during your distress, helping you cope and living through those emotions with you. This is further cemented by the scene earlier in the movie, shortly after Dani's sister commits suicide. We see Dani hunched over Christian's lap overcome with emotion, screaming out the pain of the loss of her sister. Christian is anything but present however, his eyes vacant as if he weren't there with her at all. This is possibly my favourite theme of the movie, as it really paints how alone we are in modern society regardless of how many people we surround ourselves with. How many people are actually there for us in our time of need? Sure, they might be physically present, but are they actually there, sharing our pain? It's truly terrifying to think about.

My other favourite theme is who is and isn't a bad person. I've seen many people online say they think Christian is a horrible boyfriend for how he treats Dani. While I can understand their position, I struggle to see how Christian is the bad guy for his actions. Christian finds himself in a dying relationship which he is mentally checked out from but decides to stay to help her through the grief of losing her parents and sister. Christian even goes as far as to bring her on vacation with him to help her through her trauma, even though he wants to split up with her. Would the audience have prefered Christian leave Dani right after she lost her family? That would have been MUCH worse. Do these actions warrant what happens to Christian? I don't think so at all. Christian is so misunderstood in this movie, I can't wait to see it again to draw more conclusions on his character. Is Josh a bad person for wanting to fully envelope himself in a foreign culture? Although we know it is largely for academic gain, Josh does seem to love learning about the culture of these people, wanting to see how they operate and know every intricacy of their faith. Does this warrant his murder for trying to document their sacred texts? Should an outsider be murdered for enjoying and absorbing someone elses culture and customs, or should they be thanked for their interest and passion? (Sidenote, I see Josh's character as a direct reflection of the usual racial stereotypes we see in movies of this ilk. Usually we see the white academic researching the savage native/minority tribe, but Josh is the exactly flip of this, which is a nice touch). Were Connie and Simon wrong for coming into another culture and expressing disgust at their customs? Should they have been so outwardly disgusted and vocal about their disapproval while being welcomed in by the commune? Sure it didn't warrant their ultimate fate, but this small subplot asks an interesting question about outsiders attempting to shape and alter other cultures and customs as it doesn't sit with their ideals.

Other small details:
While it's directly conveyed to the viewer that the red haired girl is attempting to cast a love incantation on Christian via pubes in his pie and runes under his bed, very little attention is given to the fact that Christians drink is a slight shade darker than everyone elses. From the tapestry we see at the start of the festival, we know exactly what the red haired girl has slipped into his drink :face_vomiting: Fantastic subtle horror/grossness.

Pelle talks about how his parents died in a fire and the commune helped him through the trauma of that loss. After the ending, it's pretty clear the fire wasn't an accident, and they evidently died for some kind of ritual.

Artwork above Dani's bed at the beginning shows a girl with crown kissing a bear. While direct foreshadowing to latter events, it also asks the question if this was all fate. Dani's sister's final message reads "I see black now" (potentially a reference to The Black One) before killing herself and her parents. Were Dani's parents 72 and this was the end of their cycle? Was Dani's sister already a distant member of the commune?

Runes are scattered all throughout the film to foreshadow certain character arcs or add more meaning. My favourite hidden rune is the doors to the temple, which when open, make the rune for "Opening" or "Portal". Amazing attention to detail.

Yeah, this movie is much MUCH better on reflection and I absolutely cannot wait to see it again. I really hope Ari's 3 hour 40 minute directors cut is released so there is more to dissect. While not as immediately impressive has Hereditary, Midsommar definitely has the layers and complexity to be a slowburn horror classic.

EDIT: I am now 4 days out from my first viewing and I've not stopped thinking about this movie. I've become a frequent visitor of the films subreddit and have even purchased/listened to the films dread-inducing yet somehow joyous soundtrack a number of times throughout the days. I've been reading up on runes and their meanings, reading up set analysis for hidden meanings and any other small details others can find. A movie hasn't vibed with me like this for a long long time so to reflect this, I think it's only right I bump my score from an 8/10 to a 9/10. When I can get my hands on the digital download/Blu-Ray, I'm sure this might even go higher.

I feel that I have lost years off of my life from watching this film.

I watched this film. I found it, unlike anything I have seen before. I don't have much else to say other than that this film is quite the ride. For some, this film is a boring art piece that looks nice but lacks any real substance. For others, like myself, I found this film to be an eery, thrilling, insightful, and most importantly, surreal film to watch. The ending is where the film gets a lot of discussions since it can either be interpreted as a bad or good ending. For myself, I think that the protagonist herself thinks it's a happy ending, since she finds a new community that will embrace her. However, from an observer's perspective, she's now integrated herself in an isolated rural cult that has separated her from the outside world, practices horrific customs that can be described as insane, and has ultimately given up with trying to comprehend the absurdity of her predicament, but instead embraces it. I remember watching a video that showed the final page of the script for this movie, with the final lines being: "She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful."
- I found this to be chilling since this woman whose life had fallen apart at the beginning of the film seemingly finds happiness by the end, which should theoretically be a fairy tale ending. But, she surrenders herself to a joy "known only by the insane," losing herself to something that is both "horrible" and "beautiful." This, and her eery smile at the final frame of the film, truly shows that this film's ending is not a happy one. It's simply the protagonist giving up and accepting the insanity around her, which can be "beautiful." since it is a type of "joy," but it's also insane because the cult murders outsiders and disregards societal norms. It can be considered a subversion of the fairy tale genre, which might have some being puzzled, but for myself, I found it quite inventive and enjoyable.