Manderlay (2006)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Touches You

As Good As It Gets

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Forget the film snobs. They can't wait to show off how much they know and stick in all their clever gossip which makes up for an intelligent and balanced view. The worst - if you want to know - is the late Philip French who wrote for the Guardian. A much loved man and an ace know-all. I met him often. Knew everything and knew nothing. The feel of this film is what is important. The step away from the mundane into a fantasy model within a fantasy medium. The stage on screen. OK. It has been done many times but has yet to become a cliché. The acting throughout is first class and the voice over is clear and being English adds to the off beat nature of the movie's mood. I came to this film knowing nothing about it. I am not a professional critic. I just watched and enjoyed.

I don't think this is near the level of Dogville, not even close. That remains one of the best films I've ever seen. Still, very much a worthy sequel to it with its own ideas and moral questions. It's not as consistently riveting or as intriguing as Dogville, and at times the film lacks the former's certain punch, but it's pretty good. Bryce Dallas Howard is good in the role and she brings a warmth to it that Kidman definitely didn't bring. Because of this, it's hard to sort of see them as the same character. On the reverse side however, Kidman brought a sense of intelligence and maturity (as she usually does) that Howard lacks. Both are really good in their roles and I honestly wish they had been different characters.

If Dogville is a movie about human nature Manderlay is a movie about social nature, it is a very political movie.Manderlay works on many levels: It appears to be a story about oppression of the black people (and slavery) in America. In fact it's an allegory about society in general. How is a just society supposed to function? Is democracy the ultimate political possibility? These are the basic question we ask ourselves since the beginning of time. Lars von Trier chose America because it is the dominant culture of our time. It could be (like in Dogville) any society, even a family. The point is that the movie shows the unmasking of terms like "democracy" and "freedom". This story has so many levels, it could even be an allegory for all the wars that the West has fought and still is fighting in order to "impose democracy" and to "help" the oppressed peoples.The movie is made like Dogville and it is no less valuable than Dogville but because Dogville was the first and blew me away I prefer it slightly to Manderlay .

Where "Crash" exposed prejudice at the human core, this film does the very same but works at an entirely different level. von Trier lets the viewer pick battles, stand-points and interests from a very big platter, while "Crash" serves tidbits. "Manderlay" succeeds because of a very simple moral story, where Grace continues from "Dogville", the first film in this series of two, and reaches a villa where a white woman rules negro servants despite the American civil war being over since 70 years. She takes self-manufactured responsibility for paying back what "our people did to yours", and does indeed pay. This film is multi-faceted, arty in the best sense and little things like the shots of humor through John Hurt's narration and the impeccable barrage of pictures at the end to that music are brilliant. Symbolism is key. Highly recommendable film.