“Dogville” 2003

Dogville (2003)

Written and Directed by Lars Von Trier.

Starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Becall, James Cann, Jeremy Davis, Philip Baker Hall, Paul Bettany, Chloe Sevigny and John Hurt.

Running time 170 mins.

In 1995 Lars Von Trier was one of the founding members of the Danish Dogme95 group of filmmakers. They were rebels out to make films that got to the core of the story, character and heart of the audience. The jury is still out on what the exact impact of the movement will be. Von Trier himself only made one such film, The Idiots. But Von Trier is always pushing the limits of modern filmmaking. Dogville, is nothing different

The film is set in the fictional city of Dogville, Colorado. A town that is hidden in the mountains and only accessible by one road. The town itself is nothing more than a giant soundstage. Chalk outlines provide placement for the streets, building and houses. Even the town watchdog is nothing more than a drawing on the floor. This Bretchian device gives distance for the audience, but at the same time draws the actions of the film to more emotional highs.

Nicole Kidman plays Grace, a beautiful young woman who escapes to Dogville to hide away from gangsters. The town writer/philosopher, Tom, takes her in and convinces her to stay in Dogville. The people of the small town are not sure about letting this mysterious woman into their safe and secluded lives, but Tom talks them into letting Grace stay. In return for her staying, she helps out around the town doing odd jobs here and there.

Before too long the town becomes all too reliant on Grace. The people that were once nice, kind and openhearted soon turn cold and take advantage of their guest. Grace is beaten, raped and more or less held captive in the town. The final act is shocking in many ways. When the town finally turns Grace over to the gangsters they get a reward that they did not bargain for. This ending can be interpreted in many different ways and is cause for much of the controversy.

Many have called the film Anti-American, but this could not be farther from the truth. The film, however, is about America and American attitudes. Interesting enough, Von Trier has never been to America and probably never will (he’s afraid of flying), however, this is the first in his “America” trilogy. The film is about American arrogance and how it brings violence into and upon itself in many difference ways. We are a country that is culturally blind to the rest of the world. The rest of the world hates us because we cannot understand why anyone hates us. The film is about all of this and much more. The credit sequence is a staggering montage of photographs depicting the poor and economically unstable of America’s past while David Bowie’s “Young Americans” plays over top. It’s a harsh ending to a harsh story.

Von Trier’s last film, the amazing Dancer in the Dark, was also called anti-American and anti-capitalistic. Again, most audiences, especially in America, simply did not understand what von Trier was doing with his film. He is obsessed with America, our culture and our cinema and these films all show that. Dancer in the Dark was the most powerful film released in the last ten years, in my opinion. Taking many of the same themes and styles from that film, he structures Dogville like it was a musical.

Many will be turned off by the film for its dreariness and story-telling style (among other things). However, I think the ones who will dislike it the most are the ones who refuse to accept what the film is saying. The performances are very strong. The direction is perfect. The script is solid. It is, in short, an amazing piece of filmmaking. It should be interesting to see what happens when the film hits more American audiences this year. I predict that the misunderstanding and misinterpretations will be many. It is a firestorm of a film, which should not be missed.

Grade: A

Written By David Bohnert