Dogville (2004)

The Worst Film Ever

Thanks for the memories!

Sadly Over-hyped

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Grace is on the run from a criminal gang. She seeks refuge in the small town of Dogville, Colorado. The townspeople help her out, but their assistance comes at a price.Highly original story-telling from writer-director Lars Von Trier. The entire movie is shot on a basic stage. The entire town is there, with tape on the ground indicating buildings, walls and streets. A very basic setting for a powerful moral.As the story progresses you see Von Trier's vision - showing the worst instincts of humankind. This he does very successfully and poetically. It's almost Shakespeare-like, especially in how the story is resolved.Superb end-product, though I can see how the movie can be polarising. I am not generally into movies and directors who concentrate more on being arty than telling a good story. With the novel set, I can see how some people may find the movie pretentious. Personally I found it revolutionary, as it strips everything down to the bare minimum, prop-wise, having to rely entirely on character depth and story-telling. Quite the opposite of pretentious, as there is no style - it's all substance.

I first saw this in it's initial run. Its stayed with me after all these years. I thought I'd give it another viewing and see if it still rings as true.The movie is set in a depression era town (Dogville) at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Grace, A fugitive running from the mob (played by Nicole Kidman) comes across the town and is befriended by the town's "leader/self-proclaimed philosopher" Tom Edison Jr. (Paul Betteny). Tom takes Grace's case to the townspeople and convinces them that as an act of charity, they should take her in and help hide her from her pursuers. To help win them over and in exchange for their kindness, Grace agrees to help the Dogvillians with their daily tasks. All seems well at first. But when a wanted poster is put up bearing Grace's picture, the townspeople's demands grow and grow. Add to the mix growing suspicions, misunderstandings, and gossip and the townspeople begin to turn against Grace eventually leading to her literal enslavement and sexual degradation. Revenge on the people of the Dogville, however, is near. It's an incredibly difficult movie to watch - literally and also because of the subject matter. Directed by Lars von Trier (of Dancer in the Dark/Breaking the Waves fame), there is no real set, very little props, and few costume changes. The film was shot on a huge soundstage with the houses and buildings of Dogville represented merely by chalk outlines. Even the dog of Dogville is nothing more then an outline. People pantomime opening and closing doors. And it's long. 3 hours - split into a prologue and 9 chapters and is narrated by John Hurt. In some ways, it's like watching a filmed play. The message about human nature and life in small town America is also incredibly bleak. I walked out of the theatre feeling pretty horrible. Many have called it anti-American and misanthropic. I'm not so sure about the first - but definitely agree with the second comment.I think I'm going to sit with this for a few more days before I pass any final judgment. I am glad I saw it again though and at the very least, it was an incredible performance by an incredible cast including such actors as James Caan, Lauren Bacall, Chloe Sevigny, Patricia Clarkson, Ben Gazzara, Stellan Skarsgaard, and Philip Baker Hall.

Dogville depicts the happenings of a humble little American town, of the same name, when a troubled newcomer stumbles into town and begins to stir its residents out of their comfort zone. It is the first movie in director Lars Von Trier's USA: Land of Opportunities series that follows a woman named Grace, portrayed here by Nicole Kidman, as she moves through America experiencing its history and culture. Here, she has somewhat of a backwards Cinderella story as Von Trier strips the idea of a small American town down to its bare essentials.The entire film takes place in a black box on a sound stage where the buildings and locations of the town are outlined in chalk on the floor, like a life size map with minimal props around to sell the idea that this is where these citizens live. It's strange for a fully fledged film, but it doesn't take long to get used to, as the story and characters are enticing enough to fill in the gaps for a suspension of belief. Before long, you won't even notice that walls don't hide anything from anyone and the mine at the edge of town isn't just a series of wooden arches.With a background that is mostly black, the cinematography is pretty limited to a few interesting lighting effects and pulling focus to the actors at hand. It seems that it would be very fun and freeing for an actor to be able to work with an ensemble cast on a project like this. The ensemble is so filled with great actors that there are too many to name them all, but the chemistry among them is smooth, fitting them together like pieces of a complete puzzle. They all get their moments to shine within the stories that intertwine these households together.Dogville is somehow a convincing combination of several mediums, film, the stage and prose, that could have gone horribly wrong. All three of these mediums have different ways of telling the same story that need to be taken into account when adapting from one to the other, but here, they all work separately and simultaneously together without becoming a jumbled mess. This is like a filmed production of a stage show playing out the actions read from a novel, with John Hurts as the voice of God narrating the actions, thoughts, backgrounds and feelings of all of the characters, which sounds a bit much but actually ends up being simple and lovely.Though it does still tread that balance of realism and fantasy, this is very different for a film from Lars Von Trier. It is much less involved and simple, in a way, but that lends itself to how Von Trier may be perceiving America, a place the director hasn't really experienced first hand, and it's people who have long been critically harsh and at odds with him. Even still, Dogville manages to be yet another bitter and thought provoking look at life and the struggles we experience.

If you are looking for a film which can really make you question your way of life and view of society then avant-Gard drama "Dogvill" would be the right choice for you.The plot of the move is set in a remote small town somewhere in USA during the prohibition era. A young girl named Grace, played by Nicole Kidman, comes to this imaginary town called Dogvil where meats locals. Gradually she becomes familiar with their way of life, personalities, fears and above all with their hypocrisy.The theater like setting (no walls etc.) giving the impression of everybody's awareness of evil deeds which are happening. This way director achieves the effect of guilt transmission and making spectators think about their own social settings, their involvement and responsibility.Dogvill definitely deserves significant place in history of film as a monument of brave and uncompromising criticism of society. Although I would not recommend this move to people who do not feel the moral issue is important in their lives, to children under the age of 16 and to those who suffer from serious depression.