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Dogville

Dogville (2004)

March. 26,2004
|
8
|
R
| Drama Thriller Crime

A mysterious woman named Grace hides in a small mountain town from criminals who pursue her. The town is two-faced and offers to harbor Grace as long as she can make it worth their effort, so Grace works hard under the employ of various townspeople to win their favor. Tensions flare, however, and Grace's status as a helpless outsider provokes vicious contempt and abuse from the citizens of Dogville.

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VividSimon
2004/03/26

Simply Perfect

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Lawbolisted
2004/03/27

Powerful

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Listonixio
2004/03/28

Fresh and Exciting

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Kien Navarro
2004/03/29

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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grantss
2004/03/30

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.

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KenToo
2004/03/31

First off, let me say that the gimmick of having no set does NOT work. It is a major distraction for the audience. Some have suggested not having the setting somehow forces you to pay attention more to the characters. That is totally incorrect. Your eye and attention is naturally drawn to what you know should be there, but is not. It is only when you have a set that actually fits the story that it essentially becomes invisible to the mind, and your attention is fully on the characters. This is simply a gimmick. It in no way is intrinsic to the story, nor does it advance it in any manner. It is as if the creators wanted to scream as loud as possible, "This is an artsy film!" Yeah, I heard you, but it still sucks.Next, to the story. The underlying theme appears to be that people in the depression who were poor and struggling to get by were horrible, mean and untrustworthy, and all men are closet rapists, and all women are closet rape-accomplices. In fact, none of this is true. On the contrary, the poorest people are often the ones who help one another the most, because the notion "there but for the grace of God" is most true for them. I frankly do not believe a town like that portrayed in this movie ever existed. I do not for a second believe poverty leads to this level of inhumanity but, on the contrary, poor people generally display the highest levels of humanity, and it is the wealthy who are more likely to stray from humanistic behavior. I believe the characters are unrealistic, 2 dimensional and contrived.Ultimately, the movie gets by with big name actors, a lame set gimmick and shock value from contrived and unrealistic characters and behaviors. It evades the critical derision it deserves by hiding behind the label of an "art" film, so if you don't like it, you are too dumb to get it. I think I recall a story about that very phenomenon and, spoiler alert, in that story it turned out the Emperor had no clothes.

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spamfritter-44132
2004/04/01

I never expected to like this film and thought the stylised setting of an empty warehouse with chalk markings for buildings wouldn't work and i'd give up. Not so, i was hooked within the first 10 minutes. The story is set in a small Depression era town. Grace, played by Nicole Kidman, enters Dogville to escape gangsters. The town, led by Tom agree to let her stay. Grace earns her keep by doing chores for the townsfolk and for a while this is agreeable to all. This changes with the arrival of police looking for Grace and a few incidents between Grace and the townsfolk. As a result, Tom decides Grace needs to perform more chores in less time to repay the community's 'kindness'. The darker side of the town emerges as Grace is treated as a physical and sexual slave, her voice and her autonomy is removed. Retribution becomes inevitable. This film is an acutely observed insight into the darker side of human nature. It isn't an easy film to watch for this reason. How can an act of charity lead to such depraved behaviour? The key ingredients of vulnerability and lack of self awareness enable the downward spiral into extreme forms of cruelty. A very powerful film.

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rockman182
2004/04/02

I haven't watched a bulk of Lars Von Trier's filmography but I do love the Depression Trilogy. Melancholia is just an absolutely amazing work of art (and the first proof that Kirsten Dunst is really good), and Nymphomaniac is so f'ed up but undoubtedly amazing. I feel like a lot of those films and the mood and melancholy involved is personal to his own depression. In a similar way I think Dogville really purveys his misanthropic feelings towards humans. Nonetheless, I found this film to be really entertaining, unique, and artistic.The film is about a woman who comes upon the inhabitants of a town called Dogville after fleeing from gangsters. The town takes her in on the condition that she do chores for the town folk. Gradually the favors that she does turn intense and a growing hatred occurs for the woman. She is then treated like a slave, chained, raped and emotionally abused. She once escapes danger in her life and then stumbles upon it in Dogville, and becomes emotionally withdrawn to the abuse she suffers. The film explores the evil of human beings and the revenge taken upon those who wronged you.I really enjoyed this film but I can see film goers finding it pretentious and tedious. The film is quite unique as its a parable that is literally a stage production. The actors are on a stage the entire time complete with chalk lines dividing different territories in Dogville. I've never seen anything like this before and really liked the unique production on display. The film is also a near full 3 hours long and is mostly filled with dialogue. If this turns you away, then this film probably isn't for you. Lars von Trier films aren't for everyone , but I'm quite appreciative of the strong pathos on display in his work.Nicole Kidman is DAMN good in this film. Her character (Grace) is an innocent beautiful and obedient woman who gets taken advantage up. Things get to a breaking point and she realizes the ugly nature of humans and then takes revenge. Human beings cause the suffering of other humans and things are a cycle. Whatever is done onto you is done back onto others. Its a bleak tale of human misdoings that will polarize viewers. I'm leaning towards masterpiece though.8/10

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