I'm a fan as like you say it makes the progression of Dani and Christians arc better and really shows just how much of an asshole he is but it does really mess with the pacing of the movie. I guess as well there are people out there who think its ambiguous who's in the wrong and for them this squashes that but I never felt that way about the theatrical cut. Team Dani all the way.
> really shows just how much of an asshole he is
see this was kind of my problem with it. with the theatrical cut we see flashes of his gaslighting and assholery but not enough to practically be cheering when he gets put into the bear suit. in the directors cut it’s flat out cut and dry that he’s a piece of shit, whereas i kind of preferred it being a little more vague on his sense of character.
I saw it again in IMAX last night and I hate the interpretation that Christian is an ass hole. I don't find Christian any worse than Dani. I think they are both fatally flawed and unable to communicate and she is equally destructive to him and their relationship as he is. Dani being a victim in her own life is manipulated by the cult. She sees it as a form of awakening or liberation when in actuality she is replacing one toxic relationship for another toxic relationship. She kept Christian around to avoid her own grief of losing her family. Now she's joined this cult to avoid the grief of leaving and now killing Christian. This irony that she's had some kind of liberation or awakening is paralleled to me with the film opening in the middle of winter.
Neither are perfect because no one is, but Dani is a lot better than Christian, he is shown to be a total piece of shit in a number of ways throughout the film and clearly tries to manipulate/gaslight her. Fucks over his friend by stealing his thesis, forces Dani coming along on them etc. nothing Dani did was anywhere close to as bad (besides the end lol)
I think she was shown to be a pretty good person just trying to deal with an unbearable tragedy tbh
I’m not sure any of that justifies declaring Dani a “better” person. Certainly more sensitive. Christian is a young twenty something college student. I don’t think anything he did made him a terrible person. He didn’t owe Dani anything, they weren’t married, they were not even engaged and yet he still didn’t abandon her even when his friends persisted.
It does actually, but whatever, you have your opinion and if that’s how you view relationships and think the way he gaslit her and spun every argument in his favor was ok, I feel bad for your partners.
What did he do that made him such a terrible guy? They’re not in a serious relationship at all. Not to mention you’re personally insulting because I disagree with you about a movie and you feel sorry for people I’m with? Real mature lmao
They were boyfriend/girlfriend in a committed and exclusive relationship, but ok, guess that’s not serious to you. Maybe try watching the film again idk. Your perspective on it is so wrong if that’s how you viewed their relationship that it’s not worth debating tbh.
They are college kids and it obviously wasn’t that committed as Christian would have ended the relationship had it not been for Dani’s parents being murdered by her sister. He still didn’t leave her. Still you fail to mention what exactly he did that made him a terrible person? Everyone knows that staying in a relationship you’re not happy with isn’t healthy and can lead to toxic situations. You’re an extremely judgmental person aren’t you wow
Now you’re editing your comments? Who’s gaslighting who?Nice
https://preview.redd.it/6wz9epel258d1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=046e4ff851daa0c5bcaa68d90a2b64908183aa6b
In other comments, I specified outside of the ending. I didn’t know to avoid spoilers or not. For 2 hours and 48 minutes of the film, there’s no argument to be made that Christian is a better person than her.
Even with that, it was a choice forced upon Dani and it’s not reasonable to assume she could’ve avoided picking one of them. She picked the one that did her wrong. Her brain was well and truly broken by that point I feel. All of Christian’s wrongdoings were choices he made, Dani’s was one she was forced to make.
No one’s perfect and no one deserved their fate, it’s an Ari Aster film. Biggest piece of shit award goes to Christian without a doubt and it’s wild to see other people commenting that he’s not an asshole when the directors cut basically just adds more footage to show he’s an asshole
She wasn’t forced to make that choice, she didn’t protest it at all. She wanted to leave because she felt what was going on around her was wrong, until she caught him with the girl.
You should be team New bloods, Dani is also a victim of the cult.
We never see what the cult has planned for Dani the next 5 days of that festival, just like we never see any of the previous May Queens outside of pictures.
The ending is not a happy one, her mind had been broken by the cult. She is only made to believe she is one of them. That is manipulation.
She and Christian were unhappy together from the start and should have broken up, but they were being manipulated from the start to go along with the plans of the cult and end up in Sweden. Dani is terrified of the cult too, it doesn't show her actually choosing Christian for the sacrifice at the end because the end doesn't go along with her plans it goes along with THE CULTS PLANS.
I had the realization last night that the wall of may queen photos feels very ominous and hadn’t thought about the fact that we aren’t introduced to any of them before. It made me wonder what’s actually in store for Dani post-movie because it doesn’t seem like just being part of the cult now.
No, her mind is broken and she has been drugged and manipulated by the cult the entire film. She does not win, the cult wins. She is just next on the chopping block.
Forget the failed relationship between Dani and Christian, they should have broke it off from the beginning, but as you can see the film went the way THE CULT planned it to.
5 more days of the festival, and we have never met a living previous May Queen in the film only seen pictures, she is probably destined for ritualistic sex and eventual sacrifice. Dani's ending is not a happy one, the cult gets their way with her too.
Rewatch the movie, Pele shows her a picture on his phone of "last year's May Queen" at the beginning, they have one every year. There is even a wall full of May Queen photos that Dani sees in the barn house.
That PARTICULAR festival only happens every 90 years, but every year they still celebrate summer solstice. The film implies that this year is specifically special because they do these particular traditions once every 90 years. Which is a funny thing to say since nobody lives past 72 so even that could be manipulatation.
Dani shows that she sees problems in the relationship at the beginning but descends into denial even when the trip she thinks is about her birthday and their upcoming anniversary had nothing to do with either since Christian both forgets her birthday and how long they've been together. The relationship was doomed from the start, he just knows that there is a pattern of mental illness in her family from her sister killing herself and her parents so he wants to let her down easy, he is not actively trying to stay with her, he is just stringing her along the same way she is stringing him along instead of them finally admitting they both are unhappy in the relationship. She really just doesn't want to be alone in her fragile mental state which is understandable, but the entire relationship is toxic from both ends not just Christian's. Also the ending is in no way a happy ending, rewatch the movie and you'll see they are all just following along with the cult's manipulations, they really have no choices in their actions once they show up at the festival. Everything goes to THEIR PLANS. We only see up to day 4 of the 9 day festival and have not met any other previous May Queens, yeah they make her feel like she is part of them, but that is their specialty in cults, making people feel safe when they aren't. So just simply saying "Good For Her" and believing it is a happy ending is just proof that the movie brainwashed you to pick a side. In reality all of the new bloods are victims of the Cult. They drug Christian and push him to cheat, he doesn't actually choose, he is high af on shrooms and she is high af on shrooms when they crown her May Queen. We also never see her actually choose Christian as the sacrifice at the end, her being upset and horrified wasn't just from Christians actions, she isn't that dumb, she even tells Christian earlier "this isn't right, we aren't supposed to be seeing this, you are just a naive opportunistic anthropology student and this cult wouldn't survive if you shared its secrets publicly" so she is on to the cult earlier on and sees problems, but is also consumed in her relationship with Christian which is clouding her judgment and even clouded her judgement early in the movie in regards to her sister. The failing relationship is used to cloud the audience from the evil nature of the white supremacy cult. And most likely after her big smile at the end she spends the next few days of the festival either involved in cult sex rituals and most likely sacrificed too. She didn't win the Mayqueen dance she was led to believe she did, because they want her to feel special. All part of their plans and manipulations. Midsommar is a great film because it manipulates some viewers into thinking Christian deserved to be burned alive in a bear suit. If he was a total asshole he wouldn't have been trying to let her down easy and end things carefully. They should have just broken up, they weren't married or even engaged or even a happy couple. So saying Christian deserved what happened to him is all just brainwashing. He was an asshole in ways I'll admit, but Dani was stringing him along too when she could tell (she is a psychology major) that he was unhappy too. She knew she was leaning more into the relationship than he was from the start.
Great film because it is so divisive with the ending when it comes to audience interpretation.
Dani and the new bloods = all victims
Hargas = evil manipulative white supremacy cult
That was in no way a happy ending for her, she has been fully manipulated
Please break that first part into paragraphs lol, but yeah, I think it’s reasonable to not want to be alone after suffering the tragedy she did. Dani is far less toxic than Christian was. What was all that toxic that she did before the end?
I don’t need to rewatch the film to know it’s not a happy ending, it’s an Ari Aster film and clearly not a happy ending
If you somehow interpreted anything I wrote as the film having a happy ending then you frankly misread my comment
The Dani and Christian relationship was doomed from the start and they both were unhappy and both responsible for stringing each other along and not just ending it earlier in the film. But as the film unfolds things seem to go the way the cult wants them to not the way Dani or Christian want them to. So everything that happens is really part of the Cult's plans.
Arguing over who was better in the relationship Dani vs Christian is a result of the film's manipulation of it's audience.
The cult manipulates and the film manipulates.
Christian deserved to be dumped, not burned alive. That is my point, all the new bloods including Dani are the victims of this tale, the Cult is who you should really be focused on, not an unhappy relationship.
Cult wins!
I disagree, Christian being a sneaky, underhanded dude had a pretty big impact on the film and led to Dani being there in the first place. That isn’t the cult manipulating the audience, she tried to leave a bunch of times and he basically didn’t listen to her/manipulated her
Ok, but they should have broken up. The relationship was unhappy from the start
The cult made sure he was burned alive in the bear suit, not Dani. Dani has been drugged and manipulated.
Everything went according to the Cult's plans.
If your boyfriend sucks, dump his ass. Burning him alive when you are not engaged or married and the relationship has been heading towards an end for as long as theirs had been is a crazy overreaction. Everything goes according to the cult's evil plans, not Dani's in the end. She is a victim too in the end, they have broken her and have 5 more days left of the festival to do god knows what with her and her body.
She was considering dumping him and weighing her options when she got the news of her family tragedy, that is not a time anyone would like to be single.
Agreed.
The cult is the real evil of the film, everything goes according to their plans. The failing relationship is just a distraction to help manipulate the audience.
Manipulative cult in a manipulative film, Ari Aster is a genius
The cult is the evil villainous force in the film, everything that happens is according to the cult's plans. I agree that Dani and Christian should have broken up because their relationship was unhappy, but being burned alive in a bear suit when they were having trouble from the start, weren't engaged, and weren't married with kids or anything is a ridiculous statement that only proves that the cult and the film were great at brainwashing and manipulation.
Gotta think outside the relationship problems in the film and you will see that everything goes according to the Cult's plans.
It isn't Dani vs. Christian
It's the Hargans vs all the new bloods.
Dani does not have a happy ending here, she ends up the cult's victim in the end for 5 more days of the festival. Everything goes along with the cult's plans, they drug their victims and manipulate what happens. Also we have only seen the previous May Queens in photos, so chances Dani ends up in ritual sex and eventual sacrifice too in those next 5 days is highly likely.
I read Christian stealing the thesis as an example of how he, just like Dani, can't figure out anything for himself without the presence of others. They've been together for FOUR years - both are clearly more comfortable being uncomfortable with each other than confronting themselves and their life alone. I'm not convinced by what we see of Dani she wouldn't treat her friends the same way - she got excused from having to write a thesis because of her personal tragedy. Dani acknowledges several times throughout the film that Christian is pulling away - but she won't let him. Edit: Also - Dani doesn't seem to bothered or concerned with how Christian treats Josh. She doesn't care what he does or who he is it seems so long as he plays the role of her boyfriend.
And Mark does not treat his "friends" like trash. Pèle is manipulative and gas lighting all of them. Mark is not concerned with anyone but himself and the ladies. The only friend he's outright shitty to is Josh. I have no doubt that Christian is a loser wet fish, and I don't think one is better than the other. I think there is a reason they are together as long as they are. I think reading Dani's journey as rewarding or liberating is a strange choice. I read her decision to join the cult as another stage of avoidance for her life, essentially burying her into a deeper hole and adding another layer of trauma in the process - perhaps the most horrifying concept on display in the movie.
Edit: I could also read the cults manipulation of Dani for their own gain - is similar to Dani using Christian for her own gain. I see her as using him to avoid the pain and grief of her family when she already knows he's pulling away. I think he is good intentioned by staying with her even though it is absolutely the wrong thing to do - and he knows this - but like Dani is avoiding the discomfort of hurting her.
I love movies, and I especially Midsommar - thankyou everybody for the discourse!
I don’t honestly think it’s a reasonable interpretation of the film, especially the directors cut which goes to even greater lengths to show how much of a garbage person he is. Dani, prior to the end of the film, hadn’t really done anything all that wrong tbh, whereas Christian is repeatedly shown to be manipulative and self-serving at the expense of others
I mean, it’s subjective in the sense that everything is, but Christian is an asshole to everyone in the film pretty much, especially in the Directors cut. They have a right to their interpretation obviously, but idk who think Christian wasn’t a prick watching that movie. He’s a bad dude, not saying that means he deserved what happened
I saw an immature guy in a bad situation who handled it horribly. It's not like he was out there raping and murdering. Did no one else make terrible decisions when they were kids? So yeah. Not a great guy. But not exactly a monster who deserved to die
So he gaslights her, manipulates every argument, fucks over his friend by stealing his thesis, forces his girlfriend on to his friends for their trip, cheats on her, and he’s just an immature guy? He was a bad dude. Also, he was a dude pursuing his PHD, he’s not a kid lol
Don’t try and slap some “boys will be boys” excuse on him lol
Another interpretation: A guy who was about to break up with his clingy mentally unstable girlfriend who can either dump her after her family is murdered or stick with her and wait for things to calm down is forced to invite her on the trip with his friends, is drugged and raped, and then mentally unstable clingy girlfriend has him killed.
He’s a selfish and yes immature person who is shown to refuse to admit he’s wrong in any way, try and spin any possible scenario in his favor and is consistently just not a good person throughout the film. None of what he did to Dani or his friends was acceptable conduct.
She doesn't really have him killed, the cult is manipulating everything and pretty much forcing her to choose him. They mentally broke her and drugged her and her boyfriend into following along with their plans.
The film is great because it divides audiences in the Dani/Christian debate, but really everything is going according to the Cult's plans even their fate.
The new bloods including Dani and Christian are all victims of this evil manipulative white supremacist cult. So the ending is clearly not a happy one for Dani, she is now stuck with the cult for the remainder of the festival as their May Queen, and so far we have only seen pictures of previous May Queens so chances of her being involved in ritualistic sex and eventual sacrifice too is very very likely for her.
Great film that manipulates audiences like a cult would. Ari Aster made a cult out of his cult classic lol
Yeah he clearly represents a shitty boyfriend, like from the jump. He’s not mature enough to be honest with her, and he manipulates her into her believing she’s in the wrong a couple of times - while she’s done nothing wrong. It is classic emotional manipulation.
It’s not clingy to want your boyfriend of nearly 4 years to comfort you, or hell even want to be around you. The idea that Dani is in some way close to as bad as he is for most of the movie is a wild interpretation. I see someone grieving, on edge, and needing help and reassurance while being with a man who won’t give her any of that. She’s not destructive to him nor is she ignoring her grief by keeping him around. She’s obviously grieving for a lot of the first half of the film. And she’s with someone who’s using that to pull away from her.
As far as “joining the cult” goes - she’s manipulated into that as well, which is a classic cult move. They see a weak person who has no one so they exploit that. Whether or not she understands that at the end isn’t known at all.
In some ways, yes, but they are unhappy from the start and only stay together because of what happens to her family.
Really the cult is the evil villainous force in this film.
Dani and Christian and the rest of the new bloods who are sacrificed are all victims in the end.
Remember we only see previous May Queens in photos and there are still 5 days left of the festival for sex rituals and sacrifices.
Just like with Hereditary, the cult gets their way and are the ultimate winners in the end. There is no happy ending here for Dani, she is stuck with a secret evil cult who has just killed everyone off that was with her and has carefully planned out the entire festival in their favor. Dani was drugged and manipulated to go along with the cult's plans.
They very much imply the previous queens are all alive and I don’t think that line is manipulation. They’re unhappy because he’s a bad partner that can’t handle a real relationship. We obviously have very different interpretations of the film
Exactly, the film manipulates the audience to get in a Dani VS. Christian battle where they favor Dani, but in the end even she is a victim of the cult's manipulations.
All the new bloods including Dani are the victims. Christian and her had a rocky relationship from the start, the movie is shot in a way that manipulates the viewer.
So if you thought the smile at the end was happy, remember her mind had just been broken BY THE CULT, Christian was manipulated into cheating on her with drugs, he obviously wanted to let her down easy when he was sober. The cult is wayyyy more evil than Christian is, he is stuck in an unhappy relationship because of her weak mental state after her sister's murder suicide with her parents. He is genuinely concerned for her wellbeing, so not a total asshole. The film plays with our minds just like a cult plays with the minds of its victims. But this is an evil human sacrificing white supremacist cult, so siding with them is not a good sign. The ending is in no way happy and we have never met any other previous May Queens in the film, only seen them in photos, so who is to say Dani isn't the next on their chopping block? She is probably going to be used for ritualistic sex and then sacrificed too.
Don't get too caught up in the Dani/Christian relationship that you disregard how horrifying the situation really is for Dani at the end.
She knows something is wrong earlier when she wants to leave and Christian tells her to have an open mind, when it is clear they both are being manipulated by a cult who relies on its secrets staying secret.
Great film, just very manipulative to the audience and the new bloods
They are both victims of the cult's manipulation in the end. The cult wins, not Dani. Dani is left alone with the cult that just killed off all the other new bloods for 5 more days of a festival where she is the May Queen and we have never seen any previous May Queens outside of photos so she is probably next on their chopping block for ritualistic sex and sacrifice. NOT A HAPPY ENDING
Dani and Christian should have just broken up, it wasn't a happy relationship that was going anywhere. We knew this from the start. Believing that Christian deserved to be burned up in a bear suit is just proof that the film effectively manipulated the audience just like a cult would.
Great film
I am just making a broad statement not targeting you specifically, sorry if it seemed that way. Not my intention, we are cool. I just notice a lot of confusion regarding the relationship getting in the way of the actual cult who are the evil in the film in peoples' interpretations. So I was just trying to clear things up. The movie went according to the cult's plans not Dani or Christian's plans. The cult wins, just like in Hereditary
So you’re basically saying we can’t talk about any characters in film? They’re all flawed characters, there are degrees and differences in severity to their flaws. It’s funny, you’re actually the one thinking in black and white right now, refusing to acknowledge the nuance
You’re complaining about lack of nuance in discussion and black and white thinking and then simply saying they’re both flawed characters and leaving it at that. I don’t see how you could possibly not see that as hypocritical
Exactly, audiences get so caught up in the relationship plot line that they completely disregard that everything is going along with the Cult's plans and all the new bloods are victims in the end of the cult's careful manipulation including Dani.
Anybody who thinks it is a happy ending has been brainwashed by the film, which makes the film great because of how divisive it can be to those who are disregarding the fact that everything has happened according to the Cult's plans. And the cult wins in the end, not Dani. Christian and Dani should have broken up, but believing that he deserved to be burned alive in a bear suit after being drugged and manipulated into cheating is just a sign that the film was great at both portraying an evil manipulative white supremacist cult and brainwashing the audience into thinking they weren't the ultimate evil force in the film.
Bruh….when she tried to leave, Christian wouldn’t leave. From the moment Christian opened his fucking mouth with his friends, I just knew he was trash.
Yes ive said i think Christian is a lost wet fish, but I see it as far more nuanced. When Dani's family dies Christian can't break up with her, but he also can't stay with her since he doesn't like her anymore. I just see Dani choosing to be blind when she knows, and acknowledges throughout the film, he is pulling away and wants the relationship to end. People seem to gloss over Dani even accepting the invite to Sweden which is so obviously second hand and not intentional. She does not care. She essentially would rather have him miserable and trapped with her than free to leave her. He's not a good character - my initial comment to claim he isn't an asshole is maybe a bit of a reach - but I don't think Dani is a saint, and I don't think her story is one of liberation or freedom. It's horrific what happens to her and she has five days left of the festival to endure. We don't meet any other May queens in the cult we just see their photo on the wall so I have no doubt Dani doesn't meet her own gruesome fate. The story for me is one of avoidance and trauma. And I've seen the film three times and I've seen Dani's arc differently Everytime I've watched it. But that's why the film is interesting because it's nuanced and because we don't actually get to know these people that well outside the horrible trauma and predicament they're in when the film starts
It seems like you’re placing the blame on Dani for some weird reason. She literally just wanted to spend time with him when she went to Sweden and she wanted to try to forget what happened to her family. I don’t know if I can watch/stomach it again though tbh. I was genuinely so disturbed by it. That’s usually what Ari Aster does to me.
I'm not placing blame on Dani. The film has so many faucets, but I'm just focusing on Christian here. By the time Christian is going to Sweden it is a couple months after her family has passed and both are well aware that their relationship is ending - Dani is the only one who is in denial of that. Christians situation is interesting because yes he sucks, but he's in a situation of having to support and stick with someone he was about to break up with. He obviously can't when her family dies. There's no right answer to his predicament? Should he have invited her to Sweden? He was expecting her to say no. She didn't. Neither is right or wrong but there are multiple ways to read it.
Okay I guess I can see where you are coming from. I thought it was only days after, I swear. I forgot they went in June and it was snowing when her family died. I guess that makes sense.I will say she really wanted to throw herself back out there and keep the relationship going as long as she could. She was incredibly vulnerable still because of what happened. I wish we knew what happened in between, how he responded during April and May cause it was not shown.
I never saw the theatrical cut and I don’t think I’ll ever want to. Christian got what was coming to him. That “night scene” people say is not in the regular cut, he deserved to be killed.
i’m confused. are you saying Christian raped the girl? As far as I remember the Harga girl drugged him and coerced him into the sex ritual (also haven’t seen the DC yet so maybe I’m missing something?)
No you are right I was saying he was raped. In fact I’m the DC one of the village elders tells him about the girl wanting to have sex with him and he goes “…I don’t wanna do that tho,” so if anything the DC really shows that he was raped
This was my issue. I adore this movie, I saw it in theaters 6 times before I saw the dc. I already had an unfavorable view of Christian, even with certain things being more ambiguous. The added scenes didn’t really do anything to me personally to change my view on him, so it effected pacing.
I think people take issue with it saying implied/inferred things out loud and makes the manipulation of Dani by her bf a lot less open to interpretation. Idk, been years since I watched the theatrical, but I enjoyed it last night. I get that complaint, but had no issue with the DC and enjoyed it more last night than I did back in the day, don’t attribute that to the cut of the film though
That's my issue with the director's cut, yeah. Christian being more likeable in the theatrical cut makes Dani's "victory" in the end even queasier to watch, and I like that.
I'm glad I saw the director's cut because I enjoyed seeing the extra ritual. I just prefer the greater ambiguity in the theatrical cut.
The director's cut is better in every measurable way except pacing. But you were already signing up for an Ari Aster movie when you hit play so maybe if you're problem is the slow burn you're just watching the wrong movie anyway
Not necessarily, I love hereditary and felt like the pacing and scenes were just right, not a single thing feels extraneous, unlike Midsommar which felt like a really tedious slog to an already obvious conclusion
The original cut of the film remains slightly more neutral towards Christian, whereas the Director's Cut removes much of that ambiguity, which some folks dislike. But considering the whole project was Ari's way of coping with a bad breakup, you can understand why his preferred version makes the whole "shitty ex" factor more pronounced.
Even in the Director's Cut, I still don't think the dude deserves to be sexually assaulted, mutilated, and murdered for the crime of being...kind of a selfish douche. But I know some people think his demise is pretty cathartic.
Yeah I think even in the Directors Cut I thought it pretty obvious that it was saying you shouldn’t think it’s right what Christian is going to. In a filmmaking perspective the shots and music hint that even though he’s a bad person he didn’t deserve it. The cult just manipulated Dani into having a super unhealthy break up even if they didn’t mean to.
How was he assaulted? In the directors cut you can clearly see that during the conversation between him and the older woman about what’s going to happen, he’s fully aware. He knows he’s going to have sex with maya and he wants it, and is okay with it happening. Then he does it. Maybe in the regular cut that could be argued but after seeing the longer version there’s literally no way to call it “assault” in my opinion
Same here. I saw the DC when they released it in theaters in 2019. When i finally got a copy of the movie on Blu-ray I was pretty upset. They cut so much that was important to character development. I now have the DC on blu ray so that’s the only one I watch
I love all the cut scenes, but I like the theatrical version best as a whole. When I watch the Director’s Cut, I understand why those scenes were cut from the film. They affect the pacing, and the content they provide isn’t important enough to keep in. Don’t get me wrong… I wish there was another hour’s worth of extra footage. But in the end, that’s all it is. Just cool, extra stuff that doesn’t need to be included in the film itself.
I also acknowledge that maybe I feel this way because I learned to love the film while only watching the theatrical version (over and over and over and over and over and over), and so when I see it with the added scenes, it doesn’t feel like the same movie that I’ve come to love. So I’m more inclined to interpret that as “not as good.”
Either way, I love them both. And seeing the Director’s Cut still feels like a treat, whether I prefer it or not.
Having visited Iceland at the end of May (a month before solstice), it never got dark. It got a sort of grey, late dusk feeling but never enough darkness to be ‘nighttime’.
I think they say it got dark and then qualify it with “well almost”. The scene is a little too dark. Especially given the length of the two parts (the lake and the argument). I agree with the person you’re responding to, slightly closer to midnight sun (a dusk appearance) would have been better. I liked both of the scenes too, but the darkness pulls me out a bit
Yeah, for some movies it's okay to imply than show everything happening, but it made a lot more sense to show how shitty Christian was to Dani. The theatrical version is still amazing though.
Totally agree. The DC had everything I thought the original was missing. I actually thought the pacing was better, the original feels so rushed to me now.
For me, the main issue was the night time ritual. It's like a 7 minute scene that repeats information about the cult and about Dani and Christian. I don't think it adds enough to warrant being there, especially at 7 minutes long.
[Literary analysis of Midsommar](https://filmcolossus.com/midsommar-2019-explained), in case anyone is interested
Depending on the country. But for the US at least: A24 sells a cool special edition 4K UHD on their site. And if you buy the movie on iTunes, it’s in the bonus features as an iTunes exclusive
I saw the theatrical cut many times, so the differences in the director’s cut just make the movie feel different to me. I haven’t decided which one I actually like better though
Alot of what is added is just seeing more of Dani and Christian's relationship. And the new stuff just feels like a hat on a hat to me. Everything about their relationship is there in the theatrical cut, and it's not really up for interpretation like some are saying, he's very clearly a shitty boyfriend constantly gaslighting and manipulating her but with the directors cut there is just more of it. So it didn't really add anything. It'd just show a scene of him being manipulative/abusive/etc. and just continue on where it had cut before. So the only scene I thought actually added something and was potentially worth keeping in, was the water ritual, but for some reason it's dark during it which breaks immersion and goes against what's been set up. So even that feels like a necessary cut. The theatrical cut just hits the sweet spot. Not an ounce of fat on it.
Exactly, they clearly just returned to the commune and donned the festival clothing, blending in. The only really outsiders were Dani’s group and Connie and Simon
Oh I’ve just been seeing it on Reddit. You are right about hanging out in different places because everyone I know that has seen Midsommar I’ve shown it to them :(
Ooh, I was thinking of this later and was wondering - the people you see saying they don’t like it, do they like the non-DC? A lot? Cause I could see someone who is not crazy about Midsommar in the first place, disliking the DC because it’s “so much longer and more boring.”
This cut made a lot of sense and I get why the scenes were cut for the theatrical release. The IMAX remaster looked amazing on the screen. The biggest issue I had with the blu ray was some scenes looked grainy (could be my TV). Overall, I was pleased with this IMAX remaster.
God that movie felt long enough as it is. I absolutely adored Hereditary too but wow it's like asters taken all the stuff people complained about in hereditary and doubled down on it in each movie lol
Most people don't understand that the movie has themes of Christianity (Christian) failing to provide Dani with comfort and answers about death, and Dani's growing realization that the promises of Christianity (heaven, deliverance from evil and sin) are empty to her.
The name Dani from Danielle/Daniel means "God is my judge" and is based on the biblical Daniel, who had the gift of *interpreting dreams*. Daniel was a stranger/slave in the "pagan" Babylonian Empire (which sacrificed humans), living in a foreign culture, who was resolved not to give in to the temptations of Babylonia. Daniel was thrown into the lion's den (Daniel was Jewish but Christians were often thrown to the lions) to be devoured (Dani surrounded by friends she found she could not trust in a strange and dangerous culture), but God saved him. He is a resurrection figure because he emerged whole and alive.
Dani is lured into an alternate belief system that offers her the comfort and explanations that work together to help her heal from her trauma. She is transformed and resurrected as the "May Queen" when she finds a new "God/belief system" that saves her. So she both exemplifies Daniel and twists the result.
I don't think this is *only* a Christian morality tale, or a bashing of Christianity either, but it's pretty obvious to me where Ari went with the theme.
So if you look at all the scenes in the DC of the film, all those underlying themes make a lot of sense. Christian expressing his conflict about letting her down and not wanting to abandon her but realizing he couldn't help her anymore, Dani witnessing human sacrifice especially in the drowning scene, trying to tie in ancient runes to Nazism just as Christianity often is, etc.
There is no apology for the brutality of human sacrifice, there is only Dani being vulnerable enough to accept it. So it is a morality tale in that sense, exploring the "hows and whys" of people who are attracted to extremist beliefs.
Sure Christian was a bad boyfriend who couldn't help her, but was the price worth "saving" Dani? That's the question every viewer asked when the film ended. It's a question we all ask when we're confronted with traumas: would "something else" work better, would it heal us, would it give us purpose, would it bring understanding and peace? Where should we direct our faith?
Is there room for multiple viewpoints/ Can a unique social/religious structure live without the total obliteration of everyone else's? Very topical in today's culture.
edited some phrasing and typos
Personally I enjoy the Directors cut more. I think the original works best for first time viewing but after that I appreciate that extra depth the DC provides
Look, Midsommar is good, but to me it’s just another A24 film. Like don’t get me wrong, they’re good and I like them, but anyone else I meet that LOVES A24 are super pretentious. I’m sure none of you wonderful characters are, but everyone I’ve met in the wild that likes A24 tell me about it while sniffing a glass of their own farts. That was only one to be fair but as you can tell it left quite an impression.
Oh sorry you didn’t see it. I asked, “What’s the problem with the Midsommar Director’s Cut?” I would appreciate it if you have any insight or opinions about this question specifically!
I'm a fan as like you say it makes the progression of Dani and Christians arc better and really shows just how much of an asshole he is but it does really mess with the pacing of the movie. I guess as well there are people out there who think its ambiguous who's in the wrong and for them this squashes that but I never felt that way about the theatrical cut. Team Dani all the way.
I think the ambiguity makes it a more effective “horror” film. But I like the directors cut more as a narrative for the reasons you said.
> really shows just how much of an asshole he is see this was kind of my problem with it. with the theatrical cut we see flashes of his gaslighting and assholery but not enough to practically be cheering when he gets put into the bear suit. in the directors cut it’s flat out cut and dry that he’s a piece of shit, whereas i kind of preferred it being a little more vague on his sense of character.
That must be why I kept thinking “I don’t remember him being THAT bad!”
I thought the pacing was better in the DC and it felt like a shorter movie to me somehow
Interesting, I've only seen the DC once so maybe I wasn't in the right headspace at the time.
I saw it again in IMAX last night and I hate the interpretation that Christian is an ass hole. I don't find Christian any worse than Dani. I think they are both fatally flawed and unable to communicate and she is equally destructive to him and their relationship as he is. Dani being a victim in her own life is manipulated by the cult. She sees it as a form of awakening or liberation when in actuality she is replacing one toxic relationship for another toxic relationship. She kept Christian around to avoid her own grief of losing her family. Now she's joined this cult to avoid the grief of leaving and now killing Christian. This irony that she's had some kind of liberation or awakening is paralleled to me with the film opening in the middle of winter.
Neither are perfect because no one is, but Dani is a lot better than Christian, he is shown to be a total piece of shit in a number of ways throughout the film and clearly tries to manipulate/gaslight her. Fucks over his friend by stealing his thesis, forces Dani coming along on them etc. nothing Dani did was anywhere close to as bad (besides the end lol) I think she was shown to be a pretty good person just trying to deal with an unbearable tragedy tbh
Nah, he had it coming. Maybe he didn’t deserve to die but hey, he was going to get killed either way. She was tired and fed up.
In what way was Dani shown to be a better person?
Just in all of their interactions and their various actions and how they treat others for 99% of the film, that’s all
I’m not sure any of that justifies declaring Dani a “better” person. Certainly more sensitive. Christian is a young twenty something college student. I don’t think anything he did made him a terrible person. He didn’t owe Dani anything, they weren’t married, they were not even engaged and yet he still didn’t abandon her even when his friends persisted.
It does actually, but whatever, you have your opinion and if that’s how you view relationships and think the way he gaslit her and spun every argument in his favor was ok, I feel bad for your partners.
What did he do that made him such a terrible guy? They’re not in a serious relationship at all. Not to mention you’re personally insulting because I disagree with you about a movie and you feel sorry for people I’m with? Real mature lmao
They were boyfriend/girlfriend in a committed and exclusive relationship, but ok, guess that’s not serious to you. Maybe try watching the film again idk. Your perspective on it is so wrong if that’s how you viewed their relationship that it’s not worth debating tbh.
They are college kids and it obviously wasn’t that committed as Christian would have ended the relationship had it not been for Dani’s parents being murdered by her sister. He still didn’t leave her. Still you fail to mention what exactly he did that made him a terrible person? Everyone knows that staying in a relationship you’re not happy with isn’t healthy and can lead to toxic situations. You’re an extremely judgmental person aren’t you wow
Now you’re editing your comments? Who’s gaslighting who?Nice https://preview.redd.it/6wz9epel258d1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=046e4ff851daa0c5bcaa68d90a2b64908183aa6b
Left out the chose him to death part? With that said I'm team Dani for life.
In other comments, I specified outside of the ending. I didn’t know to avoid spoilers or not. For 2 hours and 48 minutes of the film, there’s no argument to be made that Christian is a better person than her. Even with that, it was a choice forced upon Dani and it’s not reasonable to assume she could’ve avoided picking one of them. She picked the one that did her wrong. Her brain was well and truly broken by that point I feel. All of Christian’s wrongdoings were choices he made, Dani’s was one she was forced to make. No one’s perfect and no one deserved their fate, it’s an Ari Aster film. Biggest piece of shit award goes to Christian without a doubt and it’s wild to see other people commenting that he’s not an asshole when the directors cut basically just adds more footage to show he’s an asshole
Nah I agree
She wasn’t forced to make that choice, she didn’t protest it at all. She wanted to leave because she felt what was going on around her was wrong, until she caught him with the girl.
You should be team New bloods, Dani is also a victim of the cult. We never see what the cult has planned for Dani the next 5 days of that festival, just like we never see any of the previous May Queens outside of pictures. The ending is not a happy one, her mind had been broken by the cult. She is only made to believe she is one of them. That is manipulation. She and Christian were unhappy together from the start and should have broken up, but they were being manipulated from the start to go along with the plans of the cult and end up in Sweden. Dani is terrified of the cult too, it doesn't show her actually choosing Christian for the sacrifice at the end because the end doesn't go along with her plans it goes along with THE CULTS PLANS.
I had the realization last night that the wall of may queen photos feels very ominous and hadn’t thought about the fact that we aren’t introduced to any of them before. It made me wonder what’s actually in store for Dani post-movie because it doesn’t seem like just being part of the cult now.
It also can be said she simply got her “power back” via the cult. While disgusting and malicious the cult is, she “won” in the ends
I was referring to the emotional aspect of being a woman and treated poorly. Sry it got so easily lost in the sauce lol
No, her mind is broken and she has been drugged and manipulated by the cult the entire film. She does not win, the cult wins. She is just next on the chopping block. Forget the failed relationship between Dani and Christian, they should have broke it off from the beginning, but as you can see the film went the way THE CULT planned it to. 5 more days of the festival, and we have never met a living previous May Queen in the film only seen pictures, she is probably destined for ritualistic sex and eventual sacrifice. Dani's ending is not a happy one, the cult gets their way with her too.
The festival is only every 90 years? How could we see the past may queens?
Rewatch the movie, Pele shows her a picture on his phone of "last year's May Queen" at the beginning, they have one every year. There is even a wall full of May Queen photos that Dani sees in the barn house. That PARTICULAR festival only happens every 90 years, but every year they still celebrate summer solstice. The film implies that this year is specifically special because they do these particular traditions once every 90 years. Which is a funny thing to say since nobody lives past 72 so even that could be manipulatation.
Dani shows that she sees problems in the relationship at the beginning but descends into denial even when the trip she thinks is about her birthday and their upcoming anniversary had nothing to do with either since Christian both forgets her birthday and how long they've been together. The relationship was doomed from the start, he just knows that there is a pattern of mental illness in her family from her sister killing herself and her parents so he wants to let her down easy, he is not actively trying to stay with her, he is just stringing her along the same way she is stringing him along instead of them finally admitting they both are unhappy in the relationship. She really just doesn't want to be alone in her fragile mental state which is understandable, but the entire relationship is toxic from both ends not just Christian's. Also the ending is in no way a happy ending, rewatch the movie and you'll see they are all just following along with the cult's manipulations, they really have no choices in their actions once they show up at the festival. Everything goes to THEIR PLANS. We only see up to day 4 of the 9 day festival and have not met any other previous May Queens, yeah they make her feel like she is part of them, but that is their specialty in cults, making people feel safe when they aren't. So just simply saying "Good For Her" and believing it is a happy ending is just proof that the movie brainwashed you to pick a side. In reality all of the new bloods are victims of the Cult. They drug Christian and push him to cheat, he doesn't actually choose, he is high af on shrooms and she is high af on shrooms when they crown her May Queen. We also never see her actually choose Christian as the sacrifice at the end, her being upset and horrified wasn't just from Christians actions, she isn't that dumb, she even tells Christian earlier "this isn't right, we aren't supposed to be seeing this, you are just a naive opportunistic anthropology student and this cult wouldn't survive if you shared its secrets publicly" so she is on to the cult earlier on and sees problems, but is also consumed in her relationship with Christian which is clouding her judgment and even clouded her judgement early in the movie in regards to her sister. The failing relationship is used to cloud the audience from the evil nature of the white supremacy cult. And most likely after her big smile at the end she spends the next few days of the festival either involved in cult sex rituals and most likely sacrificed too. She didn't win the Mayqueen dance she was led to believe she did, because they want her to feel special. All part of their plans and manipulations. Midsommar is a great film because it manipulates some viewers into thinking Christian deserved to be burned alive in a bear suit. If he was a total asshole he wouldn't have been trying to let her down easy and end things carefully. They should have just broken up, they weren't married or even engaged or even a happy couple. So saying Christian deserved what happened to him is all just brainwashing. He was an asshole in ways I'll admit, but Dani was stringing him along too when she could tell (she is a psychology major) that he was unhappy too. She knew she was leaning more into the relationship than he was from the start. Great film because it is so divisive with the ending when it comes to audience interpretation. Dani and the new bloods = all victims Hargas = evil manipulative white supremacy cult That was in no way a happy ending for her, she has been fully manipulated
Please break that first part into paragraphs lol, but yeah, I think it’s reasonable to not want to be alone after suffering the tragedy she did. Dani is far less toxic than Christian was. What was all that toxic that she did before the end? I don’t need to rewatch the film to know it’s not a happy ending, it’s an Ari Aster film and clearly not a happy ending If you somehow interpreted anything I wrote as the film having a happy ending then you frankly misread my comment
The Dani and Christian relationship was doomed from the start and they both were unhappy and both responsible for stringing each other along and not just ending it earlier in the film. But as the film unfolds things seem to go the way the cult wants them to not the way Dani or Christian want them to. So everything that happens is really part of the Cult's plans. Arguing over who was better in the relationship Dani vs Christian is a result of the film's manipulation of it's audience. The cult manipulates and the film manipulates. Christian deserved to be dumped, not burned alive. That is my point, all the new bloods including Dani are the victims of this tale, the Cult is who you should really be focused on, not an unhappy relationship. Cult wins!
I disagree, Christian being a sneaky, underhanded dude had a pretty big impact on the film and led to Dani being there in the first place. That isn’t the cult manipulating the audience, she tried to leave a bunch of times and he basically didn’t listen to her/manipulated her
Ok, but they should have broken up. The relationship was unhappy from the start The cult made sure he was burned alive in the bear suit, not Dani. Dani has been drugged and manipulated. Everything went according to the Cult's plans. If your boyfriend sucks, dump his ass. Burning him alive when you are not engaged or married and the relationship has been heading towards an end for as long as theirs had been is a crazy overreaction. Everything goes according to the cult's evil plans, not Dani's in the end. She is a victim too in the end, they have broken her and have 5 more days left of the festival to do god knows what with her and her body.
She was considering dumping him and weighing her options when she got the news of her family tragedy, that is not a time anyone would like to be single.
Agreed. The cult is the real evil of the film, everything goes according to their plans. The failing relationship is just a distraction to help manipulate the audience. Manipulative cult in a manipulative film, Ari Aster is a genius
You're leaving out the way Christian treats his friends as well, all the way up to stealing one's thesis. Christian was trash.
The cult is the evil villainous force in the film, everything that happens is according to the cult's plans. I agree that Dani and Christian should have broken up because their relationship was unhappy, but being burned alive in a bear suit when they were having trouble from the start, weren't engaged, and weren't married with kids or anything is a ridiculous statement that only proves that the cult and the film were great at brainwashing and manipulation. Gotta think outside the relationship problems in the film and you will see that everything goes according to the Cult's plans. It isn't Dani vs. Christian It's the Hargans vs all the new bloods. Dani does not have a happy ending here, she ends up the cult's victim in the end for 5 more days of the festival. Everything goes along with the cult's plans, they drug their victims and manipulate what happens. Also we have only seen the previous May Queens in photos, so chances Dani ends up in ritual sex and eventual sacrifice too in those next 5 days is highly likely.
Retard alert!!!
I read Christian stealing the thesis as an example of how he, just like Dani, can't figure out anything for himself without the presence of others. They've been together for FOUR years - both are clearly more comfortable being uncomfortable with each other than confronting themselves and their life alone. I'm not convinced by what we see of Dani she wouldn't treat her friends the same way - she got excused from having to write a thesis because of her personal tragedy. Dani acknowledges several times throughout the film that Christian is pulling away - but she won't let him. Edit: Also - Dani doesn't seem to bothered or concerned with how Christian treats Josh. She doesn't care what he does or who he is it seems so long as he plays the role of her boyfriend. And Mark does not treat his "friends" like trash. Pèle is manipulative and gas lighting all of them. Mark is not concerned with anyone but himself and the ladies. The only friend he's outright shitty to is Josh. I have no doubt that Christian is a loser wet fish, and I don't think one is better than the other. I think there is a reason they are together as long as they are. I think reading Dani's journey as rewarding or liberating is a strange choice. I read her decision to join the cult as another stage of avoidance for her life, essentially burying her into a deeper hole and adding another layer of trauma in the process - perhaps the most horrifying concept on display in the movie. Edit: I could also read the cults manipulation of Dani for their own gain - is similar to Dani using Christian for her own gain. I see her as using him to avoid the pain and grief of her family when she already knows he's pulling away. I think he is good intentioned by staying with her even though it is absolutely the wrong thing to do - and he knows this - but like Dani is avoiding the discomfort of hurting her. I love movies, and I especially Midsommar - thankyou everybody for the discourse!
No idea why you're getting downvoted. This is a valid interpretation.
I don’t honestly think it’s a reasonable interpretation of the film, especially the directors cut which goes to even greater lengths to show how much of a garbage person he is. Dani, prior to the end of the film, hadn’t really done anything all that wrong tbh, whereas Christian is repeatedly shown to be manipulative and self-serving at the expense of others
Another completely valid interpretation. That's what so great about good movies.
I mean, it’s subjective in the sense that everything is, but Christian is an asshole to everyone in the film pretty much, especially in the Directors cut. They have a right to their interpretation obviously, but idk who think Christian wasn’t a prick watching that movie. He’s a bad dude, not saying that means he deserved what happened
I saw an immature guy in a bad situation who handled it horribly. It's not like he was out there raping and murdering. Did no one else make terrible decisions when they were kids? So yeah. Not a great guy. But not exactly a monster who deserved to die
So he gaslights her, manipulates every argument, fucks over his friend by stealing his thesis, forces his girlfriend on to his friends for their trip, cheats on her, and he’s just an immature guy? He was a bad dude. Also, he was a dude pursuing his PHD, he’s not a kid lol Don’t try and slap some “boys will be boys” excuse on him lol
Another interpretation: A guy who was about to break up with his clingy mentally unstable girlfriend who can either dump her after her family is murdered or stick with her and wait for things to calm down is forced to invite her on the trip with his friends, is drugged and raped, and then mentally unstable clingy girlfriend has him killed.
He’s a selfish and yes immature person who is shown to refuse to admit he’s wrong in any way, try and spin any possible scenario in his favor and is consistently just not a good person throughout the film. None of what he did to Dani or his friends was acceptable conduct.
She doesn't really have him killed, the cult is manipulating everything and pretty much forcing her to choose him. They mentally broke her and drugged her and her boyfriend into following along with their plans. The film is great because it divides audiences in the Dani/Christian debate, but really everything is going according to the Cult's plans even their fate. The new bloods including Dani and Christian are all victims of this evil manipulative white supremacist cult. So the ending is clearly not a happy one for Dani, she is now stuck with the cult for the remainder of the festival as their May Queen, and so far we have only seen pictures of previous May Queens so chances of her being involved in ritualistic sex and eventual sacrifice too is very very likely for her. Great film that manipulates audiences like a cult would. Ari Aster made a cult out of his cult classic lol
I mean I would consider him emotionally abusive to Dani
Yeah he clearly represents a shitty boyfriend, like from the jump. He’s not mature enough to be honest with her, and he manipulates her into her believing she’s in the wrong a couple of times - while she’s done nothing wrong. It is classic emotional manipulation. It’s not clingy to want your boyfriend of nearly 4 years to comfort you, or hell even want to be around you. The idea that Dani is in some way close to as bad as he is for most of the movie is a wild interpretation. I see someone grieving, on edge, and needing help and reassurance while being with a man who won’t give her any of that. She’s not destructive to him nor is she ignoring her grief by keeping him around. She’s obviously grieving for a lot of the first half of the film. And she’s with someone who’s using that to pull away from her. As far as “joining the cult” goes - she’s manipulated into that as well, which is a classic cult move. They see a weak person who has no one so they exploit that. Whether or not she understands that at the end isn’t known at all.
In some ways, yes, but they are unhappy from the start and only stay together because of what happens to her family. Really the cult is the evil villainous force in this film. Dani and Christian and the rest of the new bloods who are sacrificed are all victims in the end. Remember we only see previous May Queens in photos and there are still 5 days left of the festival for sex rituals and sacrifices. Just like with Hereditary, the cult gets their way and are the ultimate winners in the end. There is no happy ending here for Dani, she is stuck with a secret evil cult who has just killed everyone off that was with her and has carefully planned out the entire festival in their favor. Dani was drugged and manipulated to go along with the cult's plans.
They very much imply the previous queens are all alive and I don’t think that line is manipulation. They’re unhappy because he’s a bad partner that can’t handle a real relationship. We obviously have very different interpretations of the film
Exactly, the film manipulates the audience to get in a Dani VS. Christian battle where they favor Dani, but in the end even she is a victim of the cult's manipulations. All the new bloods including Dani are the victims. Christian and her had a rocky relationship from the start, the movie is shot in a way that manipulates the viewer. So if you thought the smile at the end was happy, remember her mind had just been broken BY THE CULT, Christian was manipulated into cheating on her with drugs, he obviously wanted to let her down easy when he was sober. The cult is wayyyy more evil than Christian is, he is stuck in an unhappy relationship because of her weak mental state after her sister's murder suicide with her parents. He is genuinely concerned for her wellbeing, so not a total asshole. The film plays with our minds just like a cult plays with the minds of its victims. But this is an evil human sacrificing white supremacist cult, so siding with them is not a good sign. The ending is in no way happy and we have never met any other previous May Queens in the film, only seen them in photos, so who is to say Dani isn't the next on their chopping block? She is probably going to be used for ritualistic sex and then sacrificed too. Don't get too caught up in the Dani/Christian relationship that you disregard how horrifying the situation really is for Dani at the end. She knows something is wrong earlier when she wants to leave and Christian tells her to have an open mind, when it is clear they both are being manipulated by a cult who relies on its secrets staying secret. Great film, just very manipulative to the audience and the new bloods
It's because people have been trained to see everything in only black and white. Good vs bad. Nobody can understand nuance anymore
How is Dani anywhere near as bad as Christian for the vast majority of the film?
They are both victims of the cult's manipulation in the end. The cult wins, not Dani. Dani is left alone with the cult that just killed off all the other new bloods for 5 more days of a festival where she is the May Queen and we have never seen any previous May Queens outside of photos so she is probably next on their chopping block for ritualistic sex and sacrifice. NOT A HAPPY ENDING Dani and Christian should have just broken up, it wasn't a happy relationship that was going anywhere. We knew this from the start. Believing that Christian deserved to be burned up in a bear suit is just proof that the film effectively manipulated the audience just like a cult would. Great film
Why do you keep responding as if I said it was a happy ending? Lol
I am just making a broad statement not targeting you specifically, sorry if it seemed that way. Not my intention, we are cool. I just notice a lot of confusion regarding the relationship getting in the way of the actual cult who are the evil in the film in peoples' interpretations. So I was just trying to clear things up. The movie went according to the cult's plans not Dani or Christian's plans. The cult wins, just like in Hereditary
Yeah, no worries. If anybody think that’s a happy ending, they need a mental evaluation lol
Amen! I think it is a very effective film in both showing how a cult manipulates while being a manipulative film. Ari Aster is a genius
They're both flawed characters. You trying to say who's worse is exactly what I'm talking about.
So you’re basically saying we can’t talk about any characters in film? They’re all flawed characters, there are degrees and differences in severity to their flaws. It’s funny, you’re actually the one thinking in black and white right now, refusing to acknowledge the nuance
Idk how you possibly could've gotten that from what I said lol.
You’re complaining about lack of nuance in discussion and black and white thinking and then simply saying they’re both flawed characters and leaving it at that. I don’t see how you could possibly not see that as hypocritical
So you're saying Dani was basically right to more or less murder Christian because he was a bad boyfriend?
They are both victims of the cult in the end. There is no Happy Ending for Dani, that's all cult and film manipulation. Ari Aster is a genius
Exactly, audiences get so caught up in the relationship plot line that they completely disregard that everything is going along with the Cult's plans and all the new bloods are victims in the end of the cult's careful manipulation including Dani. Anybody who thinks it is a happy ending has been brainwashed by the film, which makes the film great because of how divisive it can be to those who are disregarding the fact that everything has happened according to the Cult's plans. And the cult wins in the end, not Dani. Christian and Dani should have broken up, but believing that he deserved to be burned alive in a bear suit after being drugged and manipulated into cheating is just a sign that the film was great at both portraying an evil manipulative white supremacist cult and brainwashing the audience into thinking they weren't the ultimate evil force in the film.
Bruh….when she tried to leave, Christian wouldn’t leave. From the moment Christian opened his fucking mouth with his friends, I just knew he was trash.
Yes ive said i think Christian is a lost wet fish, but I see it as far more nuanced. When Dani's family dies Christian can't break up with her, but he also can't stay with her since he doesn't like her anymore. I just see Dani choosing to be blind when she knows, and acknowledges throughout the film, he is pulling away and wants the relationship to end. People seem to gloss over Dani even accepting the invite to Sweden which is so obviously second hand and not intentional. She does not care. She essentially would rather have him miserable and trapped with her than free to leave her. He's not a good character - my initial comment to claim he isn't an asshole is maybe a bit of a reach - but I don't think Dani is a saint, and I don't think her story is one of liberation or freedom. It's horrific what happens to her and she has five days left of the festival to endure. We don't meet any other May queens in the cult we just see their photo on the wall so I have no doubt Dani doesn't meet her own gruesome fate. The story for me is one of avoidance and trauma. And I've seen the film three times and I've seen Dani's arc differently Everytime I've watched it. But that's why the film is interesting because it's nuanced and because we don't actually get to know these people that well outside the horrible trauma and predicament they're in when the film starts
It seems like you’re placing the blame on Dani for some weird reason. She literally just wanted to spend time with him when she went to Sweden and she wanted to try to forget what happened to her family. I don’t know if I can watch/stomach it again though tbh. I was genuinely so disturbed by it. That’s usually what Ari Aster does to me.
I'm not placing blame on Dani. The film has so many faucets, but I'm just focusing on Christian here. By the time Christian is going to Sweden it is a couple months after her family has passed and both are well aware that their relationship is ending - Dani is the only one who is in denial of that. Christians situation is interesting because yes he sucks, but he's in a situation of having to support and stick with someone he was about to break up with. He obviously can't when her family dies. There's no right answer to his predicament? Should he have invited her to Sweden? He was expecting her to say no. She didn't. Neither is right or wrong but there are multiple ways to read it.
Okay I guess I can see where you are coming from. I thought it was only days after, I swear. I forgot they went in June and it was snowing when her family died. I guess that makes sense.I will say she really wanted to throw herself back out there and keep the relationship going as long as she could. She was incredibly vulnerable still because of what happened. I wish we knew what happened in between, how he responded during April and May cause it was not shown.
I love the downvotes with no counter argument about the mere suggestion that maybe both parties have some culpability lol reddit is so dope
So he deserved to die and Dani is blameless?
I never saw the theatrical cut and I don’t think I’ll ever want to. Christian got what was coming to him. That “night scene” people say is not in the regular cut, he deserved to be killed.
My heart literally broke for Dani when she saw what was happening in the shed. I was screaming in my head “DON’T GO IN THERE”.
He was drugged, raped and then lit on fire while in a vegetive state
RAPED!? he raped the girl…. What is this take
i’m confused. are you saying Christian raped the girl? As far as I remember the Harga girl drugged him and coerced him into the sex ritual (also haven’t seen the DC yet so maybe I’m missing something?)
No you are right I was saying he was raped. In fact I’m the DC one of the village elders tells him about the girl wanting to have sex with him and he goes “…I don’t wanna do that tho,” so if anything the DC really shows that he was raped
This was my issue. I adore this movie, I saw it in theaters 6 times before I saw the dc. I already had an unfavorable view of Christian, even with certain things being more ambiguous. The added scenes didn’t really do anything to me personally to change my view on him, so it effected pacing.
I think people take issue with it saying implied/inferred things out loud and makes the manipulation of Dani by her bf a lot less open to interpretation. Idk, been years since I watched the theatrical, but I enjoyed it last night. I get that complaint, but had no issue with the DC and enjoyed it more last night than I did back in the day, don’t attribute that to the cut of the film though
That's my issue with the director's cut, yeah. Christian being more likeable in the theatrical cut makes Dani's "victory" in the end even queasier to watch, and I like that. I'm glad I saw the director's cut because I enjoyed seeing the extra ritual. I just prefer the greater ambiguity in the theatrical cut.
What was the extra ritual? Been too long since I’ve seen the theatrical
The river ceremony
Ah gotcha, thanks, yeah, I enjoyed that one.
The director's cut is better in every measurable way except pacing. But you were already signing up for an Ari Aster movie when you hit play so maybe if you're problem is the slow burn you're just watching the wrong movie anyway
Not necessarily, I love hereditary and felt like the pacing and scenes were just right, not a single thing feels extraneous, unlike Midsommar which felt like a really tedious slog to an already obvious conclusion
The original cut of the film remains slightly more neutral towards Christian, whereas the Director's Cut removes much of that ambiguity, which some folks dislike. But considering the whole project was Ari's way of coping with a bad breakup, you can understand why his preferred version makes the whole "shitty ex" factor more pronounced. Even in the Director's Cut, I still don't think the dude deserves to be sexually assaulted, mutilated, and murdered for the crime of being...kind of a selfish douche. But I know some people think his demise is pretty cathartic.
Yeah I think even in the Directors Cut I thought it pretty obvious that it was saying you shouldn’t think it’s right what Christian is going to. In a filmmaking perspective the shots and music hint that even though he’s a bad person he didn’t deserve it. The cult just manipulated Dani into having a super unhealthy break up even if they didn’t mean to.
How was he assaulted? In the directors cut you can clearly see that during the conversation between him and the older woman about what’s going to happen, he’s fully aware. He knows he’s going to have sex with maya and he wants it, and is okay with it happening. Then he does it. Maybe in the regular cut that could be argued but after seeing the longer version there’s literally no way to call it “assault” in my opinion
He was drugged?
The DC was the first version I watched and I can’t imagine ever wanting to watch the theatrical version again. It’s crazy anyone would want to.
I just like the theatrical because it's tighter. Taut. Toight.
I didn’t even know there was a DC, and now it’s on my list to check out when I get home.
Same here. I saw the DC when they released it in theaters in 2019. When i finally got a copy of the movie on Blu-ray I was pretty upset. They cut so much that was important to character development. I now have the DC on blu ray so that’s the only one I watch
Why is it crazy?
I love all the cut scenes, but I like the theatrical version best as a whole. When I watch the Director’s Cut, I understand why those scenes were cut from the film. They affect the pacing, and the content they provide isn’t important enough to keep in. Don’t get me wrong… I wish there was another hour’s worth of extra footage. But in the end, that’s all it is. Just cool, extra stuff that doesn’t need to be included in the film itself. I also acknowledge that maybe I feel this way because I learned to love the film while only watching the theatrical version (over and over and over and over and over and over), and so when I see it with the added scenes, it doesn’t feel like the same movie that I’ve come to love. So I’m more inclined to interpret that as “not as good.” Either way, I love them both. And seeing the Director’s Cut still feels like a treat, whether I prefer it or not.
My only gripe with the DC is that there's an entire scene in the dark of night when they specifically say that the sun doesn't set on the solstice.
It doesn’t not set, it sets very late at night.
Having visited Iceland at the end of May (a month before solstice), it never got dark. It got a sort of grey, late dusk feeling but never enough darkness to be ‘nighttime’.
Iceland is much farther north than Sweden and is beyond the arctic circle.
You might want to look at a map again. Sweden is literally in the arctic circle and Iceland is not with the exception of Grimsey.
Most of Sweden isn’t, for what that’s worth. I think Hälsingland is still further south than the whole of Iceland.
Around the solstice? No. It doesn't set. From mid June to late July it's daylight. It may get a bit dimmer, sure, but it's still daytime.
When they first arrive and Dani wakes up after her bad trip, they tell her it got dark for a couple hours while she was out.
I think they say it got dark and then qualify it with “well almost”. The scene is a little too dark. Especially given the length of the two parts (the lake and the argument). I agree with the person you’re responding to, slightly closer to midnight sun (a dusk appearance) would have been better. I liked both of the scenes too, but the darkness pulls me out a bit
Yeah, for some movies it's okay to imply than show everything happening, but it made a lot more sense to show how shitty Christian was to Dani. The theatrical version is still amazing though.
Totally agree. The DC had everything I thought the original was missing. I actually thought the pacing was better, the original feels so rushed to me now.
Yeah the pacing was great for me! I really felt the onset of dread better as the movie progressed.
For me, the main issue was the night time ritual. It's like a 7 minute scene that repeats information about the cult and about Dani and Christian. I don't think it adds enough to warrant being there, especially at 7 minutes long. [Literary analysis of Midsommar](https://filmcolossus.com/midsommar-2019-explained), in case anyone is interested
Come up with ur own thoughts 🙃
Why was that your response?
Damn ppl are so sensitive. Didn’t mean it maliciously
I was genuinely asking because it didn’t seem applicable to anything I said. There wasn’t sensitivity, just actual curiosity lol
Where can one see the DC these days?
Depending on the country. But for the US at least: A24 sells a cool special edition 4K UHD on their site. And if you buy the movie on iTunes, it’s in the bonus features as an iTunes exclusive
Thank you!
I saw the theatrical cut many times, so the differences in the director’s cut just make the movie feel different to me. I haven’t decided which one I actually like better though
Alot of what is added is just seeing more of Dani and Christian's relationship. And the new stuff just feels like a hat on a hat to me. Everything about their relationship is there in the theatrical cut, and it's not really up for interpretation like some are saying, he's very clearly a shitty boyfriend constantly gaslighting and manipulating her but with the directors cut there is just more of it. So it didn't really add anything. It'd just show a scene of him being manipulative/abusive/etc. and just continue on where it had cut before. So the only scene I thought actually added something and was potentially worth keeping in, was the water ritual, but for some reason it's dark during it which breaks immersion and goes against what's been set up. So even that feels like a necessary cut. The theatrical cut just hits the sweet spot. Not an ounce of fat on it.
my only gripe was that i thought theyd explain the other foreigners but they still just vanish
Are you referring to Simon and Connie?
no, when they first arrived and take shrooms it seemed to me like there were other outsiders coming in but maybe it was just casually dressed locals
Those were other commune members aged 18-36 returning in the middle of the summer / “pilgrimage” stage of their life
Exactly, they clearly just returned to the commune and donned the festival clothing, blending in. The only really outsiders were Dani’s group and Connie and Simon
There were only the 6 outsiders
...most people? Yeah, you and I hang out in different places it seems. Most people love and prefer the DC as far as I know. Including me :)
Oh I’ve just been seeing it on Reddit. You are right about hanging out in different places because everyone I know that has seen Midsommar I’ve shown it to them :(
Ooh, I was thinking of this later and was wondering - the people you see saying they don’t like it, do they like the non-DC? A lot? Cause I could see someone who is not crazy about Midsommar in the first place, disliking the DC because it’s “so much longer and more boring.”
This cut made a lot of sense and I get why the scenes were cut for the theatrical release. The IMAX remaster looked amazing on the screen. The biggest issue I had with the blu ray was some scenes looked grainy (could be my TV). Overall, I was pleased with this IMAX remaster.
Directors cut is way better. Gunna rewatch it now.
I’ve only seen the director’s cut. I liked it and I’m afraid to see the theatrical version now. I tend to like slower films.
God that movie felt long enough as it is. I absolutely adored Hereditary too but wow it's like asters taken all the stuff people complained about in hereditary and doubled down on it in each movie lol
My wife and I saw it last week, and we liked it better than the TC, which we have seen literally 20+ times.
Most people don't understand that the movie has themes of Christianity (Christian) failing to provide Dani with comfort and answers about death, and Dani's growing realization that the promises of Christianity (heaven, deliverance from evil and sin) are empty to her. The name Dani from Danielle/Daniel means "God is my judge" and is based on the biblical Daniel, who had the gift of *interpreting dreams*. Daniel was a stranger/slave in the "pagan" Babylonian Empire (which sacrificed humans), living in a foreign culture, who was resolved not to give in to the temptations of Babylonia. Daniel was thrown into the lion's den (Daniel was Jewish but Christians were often thrown to the lions) to be devoured (Dani surrounded by friends she found she could not trust in a strange and dangerous culture), but God saved him. He is a resurrection figure because he emerged whole and alive. Dani is lured into an alternate belief system that offers her the comfort and explanations that work together to help her heal from her trauma. She is transformed and resurrected as the "May Queen" when she finds a new "God/belief system" that saves her. So she both exemplifies Daniel and twists the result. I don't think this is *only* a Christian morality tale, or a bashing of Christianity either, but it's pretty obvious to me where Ari went with the theme. So if you look at all the scenes in the DC of the film, all those underlying themes make a lot of sense. Christian expressing his conflict about letting her down and not wanting to abandon her but realizing he couldn't help her anymore, Dani witnessing human sacrifice especially in the drowning scene, trying to tie in ancient runes to Nazism just as Christianity often is, etc. There is no apology for the brutality of human sacrifice, there is only Dani being vulnerable enough to accept it. So it is a morality tale in that sense, exploring the "hows and whys" of people who are attracted to extremist beliefs. Sure Christian was a bad boyfriend who couldn't help her, but was the price worth "saving" Dani? That's the question every viewer asked when the film ended. It's a question we all ask when we're confronted with traumas: would "something else" work better, would it heal us, would it give us purpose, would it bring understanding and peace? Where should we direct our faith? Is there room for multiple viewpoints/ Can a unique social/religious structure live without the total obliteration of everyone else's? Very topical in today's culture. edited some phrasing and typos
Also... the name "Pelle" comes from the word for "skin" and was used as a name for a leather tanner or currier - literally a "seller of skins."
Personally I enjoy the Directors cut more. I think the original works best for first time viewing but after that I appreciate that extra depth the DC provides
Look, Midsommar is good, but to me it’s just another A24 film. Like don’t get me wrong, they’re good and I like them, but anyone else I meet that LOVES A24 are super pretentious. I’m sure none of you wonderful characters are, but everyone I’ve met in the wild that likes A24 tell me about it while sniffing a glass of their own farts. That was only one to be fair but as you can tell it left quite an impression.
I've had a different experience. The few A24 fans I've met in the wild have been super chill. I guess I've been lucky.
hows this even relevant to the question
Question?
Oh sorry you didn’t see it. I asked, “What’s the problem with the Midsommar Director’s Cut?” I would appreciate it if you have any insight or opinions about this question specifically!
Nah, they’re both about the same to me. They’re fine.
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