Midsommar
Overview
Midsommar is a 2019 folk horror film written and directed by Ari Aster, starring Florence Pugh as Dani Ardor, a young American woman who is grieving the death of her parents and her sister. The film is set in Sweden, at a remote, isolated commune called Hårga, which celebrates a midsummer festival that occurs every 90 years. The film is a daylight horror film, with almost all of the action taking place in the bright, sun-drenched Swedish summer. The film follows Dani and her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and his friends: Josh (William Jackson Harper), Mark (Will Poulter), and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), who is from Hårga. They arrive at the commune, and they are welcomed by the community. The festival begins with a ritual suicide: two elders, a man and a woman, jump from a cliff. The Americans are horrified, but the Swedes see it as a natural part of life. The film follows the slow, creeping horror of the festival. The Americans are drugged, manipulated, and killed, one by one. Mark is skinned, Josh is bludgeoned, and Christian is drugged and raped as part of a mating ritual. Dani, who has been grieving and isolated, is embraced by the community. She is chosen as the May Queen, and she is given the honor of choosing the final sacrifice. She chooses Christian, who is stuffed into a dead bear and burned alive. Midsommar was a critical and commercial success, earning over $47 million on a $9 million budget. The film is a disturbing, beautiful, and unforgettable exploration of grief, trauma, and the need for belonging.
