Government is a four ring circus, each ring defined by a word beginning with P: Power, Protection, Pride and Profit. Sad as this might sound we would never want to add Purity as the fifth P. It’s the Pure I’m most afraid of. Almost as much as the Sure. Beware the “V word” too. Virtue attends every inquisition, every bloody purge. Yes, we should advocate truthfulness, empathy, courage, honesty and other “virtues” but these are not ends in themselves. How could they be?
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It doesn’t matter what critics say. It’s what the visionary filmmaker does that counts. And we don’t have many. If words help the vision cut deeper, mean more, assist in following the thread, what we say, in support or denial, may have value. But the real value is in what the filmmaker, caught up in the slipstream of “the way things seem to be,” discovers. In this spirit I presume…

Here’s what the promoters of Lars von Trier’s latest film, MELANCHOLIA. say:

“In this beautiful movie about the end of the world, Justine and Michael are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire, and brother-in-law John. Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth.” Read more »