Review of Dogville (2003) by Ld P — 08 Sep 2009

Dogville (2004) After Seeing Europa (Zentropa) I queued all Lars Von Trier Films. With Dogville --watch this at your own risk. Unless you have seen Waiting for Godot Vanya on 42nd Street or lots of Live Plays skip this film. Its a film shot in a theater play type setting. I found the film very interesting but long (3 hours). I did not see the anti American sentiment (like most reviewers write about) but instead see an huge indictment of small town morals and values. I guess in the middle ages and earlier small towns in Europe (and USA) and everywhere had small town people that banded together like this film-for mob violence and to protect their own values. I live in a small town of 400 and it reminds me much of these people. The story of Dogville is narrated by John Hurt in nine chapters and takes place on a stage with minimalist scenery. Some walls and furniture are placed on the stage, but the rest of the scenery exists merely as white painted outlines which have big labels on them; for example, the outlines of gooseberry bushes have the text "Gooseberry Bushes" written next to them. While this form of staging is common in black box theaters, it has rarely been attempted on film before (Vanya on 42nd St Louis Malle). I think this is a brave new film which drama teachers drama students (high school and University) will especially understand and enjoy. surprisingly enough the film grossed $16 million. It was shot in high def video cam and is reminiscent of Dogma 95.

Ebert Writes: "Lars von Trier has made some of the best films of recent years ("Europa," "Breaking the Waves," "Dancer in the Dark"). He was a guiding force behind the Dogme movement, which has generated much heat and some light. He takes chances, and that's rare in a world where most films seem to have been banged together out of other films. But at some point his fierce determination has to confront the reality that a film does not exist without an audience. "Dogville" can be defended and even praised on pure ideological grounds, but most moviegoers, even those who are sophisticated and have open minds, are going to find it a very dry and unsatisfactory slog through conceits masquerading as ideas.".

I rate this four stars really five stars-brave new film making--but not recommended for general film audiences or families.