Midsommar

2019 • 147 minutes
4.2
106 reviews
83%
Tomatometer
R
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Dani and Christian are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing. From the visionary mind of Ari Aster comes a dread-soaked cinematic fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight.
Rating
R

Ratings and reviews

4.2
106 reviews
Shanley McCray
May 9, 2022
Esta película no será para todos, ni mucho menos. Pero si lo abordas con una mente abierta, prepárate. La escena inicial nos dice que la película se va a centrar principalmente en Dani. Y al establecer su carácter y su mentalidad cuando comienza la narración, golpea como una tonelada de ladrillos. Después de breves créditos, esa introducción es seguida rápidamente por más de 2 horas de grabación lenta: sigues esperando que algo suceda, pero nunca sucede. Y sin embargo, ese es el punto. Ese es el brillo de esta película. 'Midsommar' está salpicada de escasos momentos que inspiran miedo agudo o repulsión, pero son en gran medida la excepción, y se subestiman deliberada y discretamente. Este no es un horror que quiera asustarte con saltos de miedo, e incluso crear suspenso y atmósfera es un poco demasiado pedestre. Esto es arte. Este es un arte que es horror precisamente porque no es inmediatamente aterrador. Es horror precisamente porque no hay suspenso creciente. Es terror porque los sentimientos que transmite, la atmósfera que proyecta, es tan bella y serena como el paisaje que la cámara recorre maravillosamente. Es horror porque es tan alegremente indiferente, y tan indiferentemente alegre, como las caras sonrientes que pueblan la comuna. Se han escrito volúmenes sobre "la banalidad del mal", sobre el fascismo sigiloso que se cuela bajo las narices de la población, seleccionando objetivos fáciles -inconformes, disidentes, "alborotadores"- e infectando las funciones del gobierno y la sociedad hasta que es todo eso. restos. 'Midsommar' es la banalidad del terror, plenamente realizada. No hay duda de lo horrible que es, ¿verdad? ¿Pero no es así como es? ¿No es el horror sólo una perspectiva, un juicio cultural? ¡Mira cuán fructíferamente ha funcionado esta pequeña comunidad durante muchos años! Si su interés en el horror radica únicamente en lo inmediato y visceral (miedo, sangre, violencia), entonces debería darle un pase a 'Midsommar'. Por otro lado, si ve el género de terror con una mente abierta, listo para apreciar enfoques más esotéricos y ver hasta dónde puede llegar, siéntese y sumérjase. Es difícil expresar con palabras cuál es mi reacción. a esta película ha sido. Pero creo que lo mejor que puedo decir es reflexionar sobre cómo cambian las reacciones de Dani ante los acontecimientos, desde su llegada a la comuna hasta el inolvidable cierre. Ahí está tu horror rastrero. Absolutamente increíble.
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Alex Kulungian
December 25, 2021
After watching an exhausting number of formulaic horror movies, Midsommar was a breath of fresh air. In a genre characterized by darkness and nightmarish entities, it is one of the most cinematically beautiful horror films out there, with ornate murals appearing throughout, gorgeous costume designs, idyllic landscapes, and plenty of uncharacteristically horrific flower crowns. It plays out like a fairy tale that doesn’t take itself too seriously thanks to numerous moments of humor that you can’t help laughing at. And yet, it is equally, if not more terrifying than more mainstream movies like Insidious or Sinister in that the beauty of this movie is all a ruse. Hårga is a dreadful place, and under the Swedish midsummer sun, there is nowhere to hide from the grisly reality of the murderous cult inhabiting the land. Ari Aster clearly had a vision when he created this film. The heavy amount of detail is practically on par with The Shining, and every time you rewatch it, you will notice something you hadn’t before. Furthermore, Midsommar has a depth to it that other horror films don’t typically explore. It is frightening in its accuracy with which Aster depicts mental illnesses like anxiety and PTSD. Having experienced trauma not long before seeing the movie (albeit not as horrible as what Dani suffers through), watching Midsommar was an extremely cathartic experience for me. I admit that it definitely helped me channel some of the anger and depression I still felt almost a year after what happened, which I can’t say about very many movies. Dani Ardor was also an extremely relatable character for me. Several times throughout the movie, I watched her struggle with anxiety in a way that hit very close to home. It is a role that has made me fall in love with Florence Pugh, considering that, while brilliant in about every role she takes on, her performance in this movie is clearly her strongest (of course, all of the actors were wonderful in their own rites). I understand that Midsommar is not a movie for everyone, given some graphically violent scenes, deeply disturbing images, and slow pacing. There is no denying it is just as much a masterpiece as it is a monster. However, I don’t think I’ll ever get the image of Dani in her colossal flower dress and spiky, demonic flower crown, stumbling and crying in front of the burning temple out of my head. It is horrible and it is beautiful.
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Melanie Love
October 18, 2020
This movie will not be for everyone, not by a long shot. But if you approach it with an open mind--be prepared. The opening scene tells us that the film is going to focus primarily on Dani. And in establishing her character, and her mindset as the narrative begins, it hits like a ton of bricks. After brief credits, that introduction is then quickly followed by more than 2 hours of slow burn: you keep waiting for Something to happen, but it never does. And yet--that's the point. That's the brilliance of this movie. 'Midsommar' is punctuated by sparse moments that inspire acute fright, or revulsion, but they are very much the exception, and are deliberately, tactfully understated. This is not horror that wants to startle you with jump scares, and even building suspense and atmosphere is a little too pedestrian. This is art. This is art that is horror precisely because it's not immediately, acutely frightening. It's horror precisely because there's no mounting suspense. It's horror because the feelings it conveys, the atmosphere it projects, is as beautiful and serene as the scenery that the camera wondrously surveys. It's horror because it's as joyfully nonchalant, and nonchalantly joyful, as the smiling faces that populate the commune. Volumes have been written about "the banality of evil," about creeping fascism that slips in under a population's noses, picking off easy targets--nonconformists, dissidents, "troublemakers"--and infecting the functions of government and society until it's all that remains. 'Midsommar' is the banality of horror, fully realized. There's no questioning how awful it is, right? But isn't that just the way it is? Isn't horror just a perspective, a cultural judgment? Look at how fruitfully this small community has operated for many years! If your interest in horror lies solely in the immediate and visceral--fright, gore, violence--then you should give 'Midsommar' a pass. On the other hand, if you view the horror genre with an open mind, ready to appreciate more esoteric approaches and see just what stretches it can be taken to--sit down and dive in. It's hard to really put into words what my reaction to this film has been. But I think the best way I can put it is to reflect on how Dani's reactions to events change, from her arrival at the commune to the unforgettable closing shot. There's your creeping horror. Utterly incredible.
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