Dogville (2003) - One of the Best of All Time

[tabuno]

I was literally blown away by Dogville after finally seeing it on DVD. It is an amazing piece of work because it is part movie, part stage production, part storytelling - a fusion multimedia experience. The depths and transitions, the set up and the climax, the intensity is more than almost any movie I've seen. I experience fear, happiness, anger, hate, redemption yet with guilt. For a movie to be able to pull all these deep seating emotions to the surface, implies to the that this movie is brilliant and among the best I've seen in my life. Nicole's performance is both amazing and fabulous (I admit it's hard not be influenced by her on-screen persona under any circumstances), but her character and her subtle performance is Oscar winning caliber. It is only in the controversial nature and the different minimal approach that will turn away the mass audience to their great loss.

[pmw]

So glad you saw this Tabuno. I really loved it as well. Somehow the stage is a perfect way to tell this story...on film. Very Our Town. And reportedly the first in a series of three films about America? Did I get that right? Cant wait to see the others. I wouldn't say that Von Trier is being unfair in any way, and I wouldn't think that he is only trying to reflect America. The culture he depicts is prevasive in our modern world. America just happens to be a good/convenient metaphor for it....

P

[arsaib4]

Originally posted by pmw
And reportedly the first in a series of three films about America? Did I get that right?

Yeah, the second one is called Manderlay and here we'll see Grace (now played by Bryce Dallas Howard) continuing on with her father to a plantation on which the title is based and there they'll witness the horrors of slavery and I'm sure Grace will intervene somehow. The film will most likely premiere at Cannes next year. Strong supporting cast once again with Isaach De Bankole, Willem Dafoe and Danny Glover.

[wpqx]

I felt this was an appropriate place to share my opinions.

May the lord bless Lars Von Trier. With Dogville, my faith in cinema has been fully and faithfully restored. Following a seemingly endless barrage of mediocre films, I began to wonder if I was numb to great cinema. Had I reached a point where I was burnt out on film, and lost any potential feeling that may derive from cinema, or was I just watching the wrong films? I began to look for known classics, films that should be enough to restore any doubting cinephile’s faith. What I found was increasing indifference. With few exceptions I was rather passive to cinema. Even the few great films that I saw, didn’t profoundly affect me the way that only the truly great films can. That all changed when I watched Dogville.
With the prologue I found myself asking the question of whether this film could do it. I knew that it was something different, and Dancer in the Dark taught me that Von Trier was capable of producing some extraordinary movies. I had to relax though, and not try and convince myself that this film was great, just let it do the convincing for me. I soon realized that this sparse stage piece complete with highly literary narrative was going to be the tone for the entire film. Knowing Von Trier, I was certainly ready for the most extreme cases of melodrama.
With this understanding I let the film continue. It was a long haul, nearly three hours, and for about the first time in months I managed to watch a film at home straight through without stopping to take a break, or just generally get bored. From Nicole Kidman’s introduction I took to her character. Her performance throughout may very well be the best of her career, certainly better than the Oscar winning turn she had in The Hours. Seeing the crop of recognizable faces filling out the rest of the population of Dogville I wondered if this would be some random who’s who of character actors and stars trying to show how great they can act, or whether it was just a cast assembled from Mt. Olympus. Thankfully Von Trier knew what he was doing, and every actor seemed like a perfect fit.
I must admire Kidman’s choice to do the film. Lots of indifference has greeted her last several films, but one thing that she has avoided (unlike other recent best actress winners) is turning movie star. Sure the case can be made that Kidman is a born movie star, she certainly looks the part, but she wasn’t an actress who decided that they were gonna take it easy because they already won their award. This performance was certainly enough to earn her another nomination, but let’s not get into Academy credibility right now.
Von Trier’s attack on small town America is scathing. He opens the film as if this little village were out of a Vincente Minnelli musical. Everyone knows each other, is polite, and scared of the big city folk. As we progress we get a sense that this is a heartwarming story of small town life. A triumph for simple people and simple ways, and a tale of a young lost woman finding her way amidst the mountains of Colorado. For any other (and many lesser) director, this probably would be the gist of the tale, but look at who were dealing with.
The chapter titles serve to keep the literary theme of the film, as well as give us a brief heads up as to what’s about to happen. You at one point are scratching your head and at the same time laughing at Vera’s (Patricia Clarkson) oldest son telling Grace that he’s been bad and needs to be spanked. You start to realize that this town isn’t exactly normal, and the complacency of the first half is about to rapidly deteriorate. Perhaps my only objection on the part of Von Trier is the uncharacteristically under-dramatic raping. Grace seems a bit passive, and there doesn’t seem to be much indication of the psychological impact of it upon her. Perhaps the goal was more to show her as a victim unable to go anywhere for help, so in Von Trier’s eyes all she could do was accept it.
As the film continues it becomes more perverted, and the women become cruel. It is clear from the start that Liz (Chloe Sevigny) is jealous of Grace’s looks, despite what she may say. Which she at first is appreciative of her, by taking some of the prying eyes of the men away from her. As time goes by though, Liz finds that none of the town’s men seem to pay her any mind, and what might have been just a slight case of envy at a pretty face becomes hatred. As Vera finds that her husband is forcing himself on Grace, she doesn’t lash out at him, but rather Grace. Martha, on the other hand just seems to go along with whatever anyone else does. She is a bit simple minded and I view her as a bit of a victim as well.
The tale is redemptive though, but not in any way like we might have expected. There is a change in morals, there is a turning point, and there is a moment of self-discovery for Grace. Even when it appears as though we know it’s come and have figured out what makes Grace tick, well there’s Von Trier to slap us in the face and let us know that we know absolutely nothing about this character we’ve been with for the past 2 and a half hours. However, I won’t mention what revelation occurs, but I sincerely thank our writer-director for giving me that oh so necessary jolt. Grace is vindicated, and then some, and I for one can’t help but be amazed at a happy ending (?) to a Lars Von Trier film.

[arsaib4]

Originally posted by wpqx
May the lord bless Lars Von Trier. With Dogville, my faith in cinema has been fully and faithfully restored.

I'm certainly glad to hear that, although, I'm a bit surprised that it took you this long to get to it.

You've done well to cover the major points. I agree with the comments regarding Ms. Kidman, I haven't seen a better performance from her. Too bad she decided not to continue with the "series."

"Von Trier’s attack on small town America is scathing"

Right, but one can also look at it as an attack on humanity itself which failed at various incidents throughout the 20th century. Frankly, the film could've taken place outside Nanjing, Auschwitz, or Sarajevo but we've opened ourselves at this point in time and Von Trier isn't the kind who'd let an opportunity pass him by.