Midsommar (2019), written and directed by Ari Aster (Hereditary), is a folk horror set in Hälsingland, a province in Central Sweden (with a small portion of the film being set in America). Aster is joined by the aid of lead cinematographer, Pawel Pogorzelski, in capturing vivid and visceral scenes of natural beauty and macabre violence.
Midsommar centres around the fractured relationship between Dani and Christian, however an unfortunate family tragedy causes them to remain together. They are invited to Sweden by Swedish exchange student Pelle, and Christian's other flatmates, Mark and Josh, on their quasi-thesis research trip of the Hårga commune in Hälsingland. Their educational trip to this resplendent oasis soon takes a turn for the worst as the commune's sinister motives are unravelled.
There's a sense of disparity and distance between Dani and Christian in the establishing scene. Dani is far more emotionally invested in their relationship, whereas Christian is narcissitic, reluctant, and disinterested. Christian has made himself emotionally unavailable to Dani in the hope of ending their 4 year relationship. Christian has conditioned Dani into blaming herself when he has betrayed her trust and neglected her needs. This is anything but a healthy, well-functioning relationship.
When Dani hears of her parent's and sister's shocking deaths, her painful wailing creates tremors of overwhelming sound in the scene, demanding total focus. The long, low-pitch violin notes mimic Dani's distressing cries of agony. This is a dynamic blend of both diegetic (sound from the world of the film) and non-diegetic sound (sound from our world, like scores or soundtracks), and they complement one another beautifully.
The arrival of the American students at Hårga is a pivotal scene. The natural beauty, melodic music, and angelic white clothing of the insular villagers fabricates the image of a heavenly paradise. The welcoming hospitality and gracious hosts of Hårga deviously lull the Americans into a place of comfort and complacency. The calmness, tranquility, and isolated surroundings of Hårga is a duplicitous veneer, hiding the darker machinations of the Pagan cult.
In the first dining scene, the tables are ordered in the formation of the Othala rune (ᛟ). A rune which is often associated with homeland, family, estate, property, and inheritance. This is especially important as it is the final supper that the two old Hårga man and woman share before their honourable sacrifice. An intentional choice by Aster to elucidate the centuries old traditions of the Hårga people, wherebeit malevolent or benevolent, their actions are to preserve their legacy and honour their ancestors.
Runes act as a indicator of the foreshadowing of future events in Midsommar. During the cliff scene, there are many Elder Futhark runes chiseled into the stone tablet. The Raidho rune (ᚱ) denotes journey, here representing the journey of life and the destination of death. The Tiwaz rune (ᛏ) has many associative meanings, the most fitting denotation being sacrifice, linked to the Norse god of justice, Tyr. In this scene, the two Hårga villagers sacrifice their lives to Ymir and return their bodies back to the earth.
The Perthro rune (ᛈ) ultimately is connected with fate, chance, luck or mystery and hidden things. And finally the Yr rune (ᛦ) is most commonly associated with death; an ominous symbol foreshadowing the fated demise of seven more sacrificial offerings to Ymir.
The tapestries, effigies, stone tablets, runes, religious rituals, attire, music, dances, architecture, daily duties, and ceremonies of the Hårga seem like honest interpretations of the archaic Nordic way of life; giving the film a sense of realism and authenticity. These all encapsulate the time-honoured traditions and earnest values of the Hårga; as well as the many allusions to Norse myth and folklore.
Ymir is mentioned by Father Odd when the Americans first arrive, the ancestor of all Jötnar, the first of the Giants. He was one of the first three primordial beings created during Ginnungagap. In the Poetic Edda, Grímnismál, Song of the Hooded One, one poem reads:
"From Ymir's flesh the world was
created,
And from his sweat the sea,
Mountains from bone,
Trees from hair,
And from his skull the sky,"
Just as the blood of Ymir sprang forth the sea, as his brains became the clouds, and his bones came to be the mountains, the sacrificial offerings of blood and limb of the American students is strongly analogous to Ymir's macabre demise.
The Hårgas have a beloved reverence and respect for Ymir and therefore nature, a sentiment that is lost on the young, impetuous Americans. When Mark unknowingly urinates on a sacred tree, he invokes the wrath of a village Elder who reacts in indignation and grief. Mark lacks sympathy and hides behind his ignorance as a clueless foreigner instead of apologizing sincerely. The theme of nature is one that is concentrated on persistently throughout Midsommar.
Pogorzelski captures some incredibly fixed still shots in the opening scene of the calm, snowy American biome. Pogorzelski also employs grandiose camera movement, such as the 180° arcing crane shot of the car driving down the road to Hälsingland, an entrancing one shot. A fitting, stylistic choice; illustrating the gradual transition from the civilized, modern world to an anachronistic Pagan commune. Pogorzelski maintains a fine balance of stillness and motion.
The perpetual daylight and giddy locals heightens Dani's psychological trauma and anxiety, preventing her to properly mourn. We observe a fracture in Dani's romantic relationship with Christian; as Christian is seduced by Pelle's younger sister, the blossoming Maja, and they grow further from one another. A spiteful rift occurs between Josh and Christian once Christian omits that he will be using the Hårgas for his thesis statement; lazily copying Josh's original concept. Whilst Mark promiscuously searches for sexual partners, blind to his untimely demise. The Americans are discordant and disconnected, they begin to drift apart from one another. On the other hand, the Hårga are harmoniously unified, the strength of their commune depends on the resolve of each individual.
Aster delivers yet another unsettling folk horror with a keen focus on psychologyical trauma, grief, mourning, and loss. Midsommar is entirely bewitching by setting a psychological horror in a winsome environment, with perpetual sunshine, and cheerful cultists. Aster's choice of this unorthodox setting only heightens the fleeting moments of morbid brutality, by making them seem unpredictable and precipitous; providing that crucial shock factor.
Midsommar is rich with motifs, symbols, and themes alluding to myth, foreshadowing the fated events of the film; instilling the plot with complexity and nuance. Aster triumphs in narrating a horror with a tone that is increasingly perturbing and viscerally disturbing. I eagerly await Disappointment Blvd this year.
By Lucas Barker, Minor in Media Studies, and an avid cinephile. 17/4/22
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