If you’re deeply suspicious of the “joy” and “togetherness” espoused by Christmas-marketeers, skip It’s a Wonderful Life and watch Melancholia instead. In Lars Von Triers’ hopeless, fascinating meditation on mental illness and the end of the world, a mysterious planet is hurtling toward Earth. Everyone knows the world is going to end, but they keep doing things anyway, squabbling, talking, living their lives—just like you’re doing right now, in spite of your impending, inevitable death. The approaching End of Days frames family drama and messy emotions as meaningless noise, but while Melancholia’s characters can seemingly avoid thinking about the black planet approaching to annihilate human life, you won’t be able to. Instead you’ll be asking “Wonderful life? Not-Wonderful life? What difference does any of it make?”
Streaming: Hulu