Dogville

Rating:
Summary: Not for the closed minded
Review: Dogville: A film written and directed by Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves).
A hit at the 2003 Cannes film festival, many thought that this would win the top prize. Unfortunately it was labeled by many as being anti-American...

Dogville can best be described as filmed theater. It is set entirely on one stage. No doors, no walls, virtually no props at all. The actors mime their way through the entire film and while it may seem odd at first, we quickly forget that there's anything out of the ordinary.
Grace, a fugitive on the run embarks on a small Colorado town in the depression era 1930s. Hoping to take refuge from the mob, she is reluctantly accepted by the townspeople. Unfortunately not everything is as it seems, and Grace has to pay the ultimate price. The film is a lengthy 177 minutes long and does seem to lag at certain parts... but the shocking conclusion makes the whole movie worthwile.
The acting is impeccable, especially by Nicole Kidman who gives quite possibly the performance of her career. Paul Bettany is excellent as well and so is the rest of the supporting cast which includes Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Patricia Clarkson, as well as many other veteran actors.
Fully narrated (by the wonderful John Hurt) and broken up into 9 chapters, the film is almost like a storybook coming to life right before your eyes.
Is it anti-American? No, in fact I felt the themes were entirely universal.
...The film, like many great films, seems to be polarizing people. It is up to you to decide, but if you are open to an entirely new cinematic experience and are willing to use your brain while watching a movie (ahhh! Gasp!)then I'm sure you will feel that you will have gotten your moneys worth.

Just wanted to add that Dogville is the first part of an entire trilogy created by Lars von Trier. The next film, entitled "Manderlay" will hit theaters in 2005.

Rating:
Summary: "Are you for us or against us?"
Review: Every so often, a director appears who seems determined to antagonize and challenge his or her audiences. One such filmmaker would be Lars von Trier, the creator of such uncomfortable viewing experiences as "Breaking the Waves" (in which Emily Watson's character had conversations with God and played both roles) and "Dancer in the Dark" (featuring Bjork as a guileless, nearly blind factory worker who winds up on death row, thanks to bad luck and poor communication).

His "Dogville," a parable about how community spirit can either elevate or destroy people, is lengthy chronicle of Depression-era America that's played out entirely on a large, sparsely furnished soundstage. Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall and others play their scenes not on actual sets, but inside chalk-drawn rectangles meant to symbolize various locations. While Kidman's character Grace Margaret Mulligan talks about finding herself in "a beautiful little town in the midst of magnificent mountains," all the viewer can see is a bunch of scattered chairs, a few wooden arches and a blank white scrim that serves as the backdrop. Locations with such picturesque names as Raccoon Road and Elm Street have no raccoons and no elms to offer.

This is, obviously, at heart a theatrical piece that's heavily dependent on lighting, sound effects and, more than anything else, the passion of the performers to put it over. For many viewers, "Dogville" will be nothing more than a curiosity piece that quickly exhausts the patience; for others, it may be a mind-bending experiment in determining exactly where stagecraft and the art of film can intersect.

It could all have been insufferably pretentious -- and at times, it comes perilously close to being exactly that -- yet the movie does have its own bitter humor, a few vividly etched characters and a kind of offbeat flavor that's admittedly an acquired taste.

Unfolding in nine chapters (plus a prologue), "Dogville" is the story of Grace, a pale young woman who hides behind her dishwater-blonde hair and tries exceedingly hard to please everyone around her, often to her own disadvantage. She stumbles into Dogville (population: approximately 15) after escaping some gangsters and she hopes to find shelter in the backwoodsy hamlet, even though the inhabitants don't seem to have much of anything to spare.

Local philosopher and would-be intellectual Tom Edison (Bettany) takes an immediate interest in the soft-spoken stranger, but most of his fellow Dogvillians (including Patricia Clarkson as a prissy sort, Phillip Baker Hall as a sickly physician, Jeremy Davies as Tom's dopey buddy and Chloe Sevigny as a curly-haired cutie) cast a wary eye in Grace's direction, at least until she volunteers to help out around the place. Suddenly, everyone is quite fond of her -- and why not, when she's willing to work for free? -- and Grace finds herself laboring day and night for mostly thankless bosses. "There's an awful lot to do here in Dogville, considering no one needs help," Grace muses, as she scurries from task to task.

In von Trier's eyes, the residents of Dogville represent not just the stereotypical "ugly Americans," but the very ugliest America has to offer: On the average day, they're merely suspicious, hostile and greedy, but when something really gets them worked up, they're capable of every kind of abhorrent behavior, including the enslavement of the weak and sexual humiliation.

Despite the vaguely 1930s setting, "Dogville" is very clearly designed as a skewering of the jingoistic, anti-foreigner sentiments that swept certain corners of the U.S. in the months following the 9/11 attacks. In the story, the community's happiest times come, not coincidentally, around July 4; not long afterward, circumstances cause most of Grace's new "friends" to turn on her. Even the children Grace has taken care of resort to blackmail to get what they want, as the adults begin barking slogans like, "Are you for us, or against us?"

Kidman, in a performance as emotionally stark as any she's ever given, makes Grace's journey achingly real, even though everything around her is deliberately artificial. Initially, Kidman and von Trier had planned to collaborate on a trilogy of stories following Grace's misadventures, but Kidman has since pulled out of that project. Considering what the director puts her through in "Dogville," it's not hard to guess why she didn't sign up for more.

Rating:
Summary: A lot of bite to this movie
Review: I'm glad to see this movie has finally made it on DVD and VHS in the States. It took a long time to do so. Lars von Trier follows up Dancer in the Dark, with an even darker view of small town life in America. In this case, we find a town quite literally at the end of the road, buried in a hollow somewhere in West Virginia, where the denizens are reduced to having to pick up the scraps left behind by others and live out a marginal existence. But, in its midst there is a dreamer, Tom, who at first appears to be the moral bellwether of the community. He tries to convince the community to take in a fugitive, evocatively played by Nicole Kidman, and finds that he has to make certain concessions in order to do so.

This film unfolds on stage in a highly theatrical telling, lending to the story the strong sense of a parable. Von Trier has assembled an impressive cast including old favorites Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara. The story builds slowly, with some fascinating twists and turns before reaching its shattering climax. It reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson's classic story, The Lottery, but seems to owe more to the small town vision of Sinclair Lewis and Thornton Wilder.

I suppose some will be turned off by von Trier's disturbing view of small town life, but this film is masterfully handled, and shows what an accomplished director he is, drawing the most from his actors, in particular Nicole Kidman.

Rating:
Summary: Pure genius. Lars von Trier has done it again.
Review: If you believe that movies should be first and foremost for entertainment, read no further. Why? Because "Dogville" is not an entertaining movie by any stretch of the imagination. It's a disturbing, emotional masterpiece. I know this word is overused but I can not give another definition for this film but a masterpiece. As you probably have read in the other reviews it looks like a play, the houses don't even have walls and are just chalk lines on the ground. Strangely enough, that is actually a plus for the movie as it allows the viewer to concentrate his entire attention to the story and the actors' performances. And the lack of walls intensifies the feeling of community which the Dogville residents have (in a sense that everyone is aware what the others are up to) which is very important for the idea of the movie.

And talking about acting, here is where "Dogville" really shines. We have Nicole Kidman who lives up to her great reputation and delivers an awesome performance as Grace, an innocent and seemingly naive woman who hides from some gangsters in the little town of Dogville. Never overacting or taking all the attention upon her (newsflash for some other directors - you can actually show a given character's sorrow and pain WITHOUT making the actor/actress cry all the time, the subtle ways are much better), she totally nails the part. Her face and especially her eyes give a perfect representation of the pure, all-forgiving but at the same time smart woman Grace is meant to be. Kidman is supported by a group of some very talented actors like Paul Bettany, who is nearly perfect as the all-knowing but doing nothing, pseudo-philosopher Tom, Stellan Skarsgard, James Caan etc. The narration is brilliantly done by John Hurt and completes the bleak atmosphere superbly. As usual von Trier manages to make this incredible cast to perform even better than their very high standarts, making watching the movie worthy even if you happen to dislike the story.

Anyway, there are a lot of good movies who rely just on the actors brilliance to mask the poor plot. Not the case here. It's a very symbolic and engaging tale, the film is nearly three hours long but I hardly noticed that when I watched it for the first time as it never drags. The ending is very controversial and has kept me thinking about it in the few days since I watched the movie. But not by being unclear and requiring complete attention to details (like "Donnie Darko", for instance) - it's very clear and seemingly easy to understand but it's really open for interpretations from a moral point of view and can inspire a lot of interesting discussions and thoughts. It has also one of the most unforgettable and thought provoking dialogues I have ever seen on screen followed by one of the best scenes I have ever watched. You need to see it to believe me. In some ways, it resembles a very well written book, unlike the majority of blockbusters today who are more like a badly written comics.

From a purely cinematographic perspective, there is the audacity of Lars von Trier to shoot the movie with a hand-held camera. But nevertheless it has some truly breathtakingly beautiful moments despite the lack of proper sets - Grace laying in the back of the truck comes to mind. The important thing is that it totally works unless you care for the perfection of the vision more than for the idea and message of the film.

I was really amazed to see a lot of people who attack the movie as being "anti-American". That's not the case, it has clearly a lot more to do with the decline of the human society as a whole than with attacking the American way of life. The same events could have taken place virtually anywhere in the world and it would totally make sense.

What makes this movie special apart from the philosophical questions it boldly raises, is the level of emotion. I can only speak for myself but I have never hated movie characters more than some of those in "Dogville". They develop all the time and the fast and easy way in which a human being can lose its whole humanity and turn into something deserving nothing but hatred, given the right circumstances and victims, is both very disturbing and realistic.

Just see this movie with an open mind. You will probably either love it or hate it, I hope it will be the former.

Rating:
Summary: Hint: It's actually a dark comedy
Review: The critics will tell you this film is cynical, misanthropic, etc. Although this is pretty much correct, they also fail to note that Dogville is also a lot of fun. Nicole Kidman proves once again she can actually act as the beautiful, distant, and utterly absurd "Grace". And Paul Bettany is nothing less than fantastic as the befuddled and clueless "Tom". Jim Hurt's narration, a Brechtian parody of "Our Town", is comic genius. It sets the tone and lends structure to the film. Dogville is indeed best understood in the Brechtian tradition of humorous theater. It is an absurd narrative that teases the viewer's expectations (molded by Hollywood formulas), pokes fun at traditional bourgeois narrative strategies (with Tom as a terrific centerpiece), and finally shocks us by turning the narrative on its head, with Hurt hilariously relating the absurd events to nature and the crisp mountain air all the way through. And the finish-the finish is inspired, cynical, absurd-genius.

The issues Von Trier deals with are certainly deep, but the larger goal is that the viewer should become more suspicious of the hackneyed nature of conventional cinematic themes of selflessness and small town community. (...)

Rating:
Summary: LONG BUT WORTH IT (AND IT'S NOT ANTI-AMERICAN!)
Review: Von Trier has never been to America and has been known to have said that he is afraid to visit the U.S. With this in mind, it seems a little audacious if not viciously self-indulgent to make a film about the ugliness of human nature set in an American village.

Critics have pounced on this feature of the movie, accusing von Trier of anti-Americanism. I feel such paranoid jibes completely miss the point: although Dogville is set in a fictional village in the Rockies during the Depression-era, it really could be any place, any time. It is anti-human-ugliness. The tagline reads "A quiet little town not far from here", and the sparse stage set reinforces that point. The viewer's imagination is meant to fill in the gaps, making Dogville their home town for nearly three hours.

The theme veers around Grace (Nicole Kidman) arrives, seeking shelter from pursuing gangsters, the natives are reluctant to help. With the assistance of a local 'philosopher' (played by Paul Bettany), she eventually persuades the inhabitants to relent, and they grant her a two week trial period. During the fortnight, she manages to win the villagers over by performing good deeds, but gradually they begin to take advantage of her kindness and the rot sets in.

This is an extremely long film, but it is definitely worth the effort. It is an allegory of staggering proportions, it deals with virtually every aspect of humanity and some of the most fundamental questions people can face, whilst maintaining a lightness of touch that makes the mental workout more than bearable. Did it have to be 3 hours? No. But nor did the Matrix or LOTR or the Titanic.

So empty the tank, order a pizza and coke, and settle down for 180 minutes of cinematic genius.