I saw Dogville about seven months ago on its opening weekend in Amsterdam with a varied group of friends: Lucas and Diana, both Dutch; Denison, American; and Micke, Swedish. This is only important because a lot of my ideas about this film have been challenged and distilled through the group opinion. Also, I am no film critic, but am well versed in Lars von Trier's films. Thematically, Dogville is akin to both Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark, with all three films having a female lead with a certain degree of meekness or ambivalence towards their fate and surroundings.

As a founding proponent of the Dogme 95 film philosophy, von Trier is intrigued by making films in unique ways, in stretching himself as director/filmmaker and in challenging the audience in how they view the final result. Dogville is no different. It is not meant to be a Dogme 95 film, von Trier has seemingly moved on since his film Idioten (The Idiots) contributed to the genre. von Trier portrays Dogville much like the set of a modernist play with very little use of props, sets, or scenery. The houses in the sleepy mountain pass village where the story takes place are mostly chalk outlines on the floor of a giant stage, creating a sort of "Our Town" high school production feeling. As the film unfolds, the viewer becomes less concerned with this novelty and more interested in the characters of the film.

The film begins by introducing the everyman small town inhabitants, each complete with their own issues, difficulties, and baggage. The main character is a 20-something wannabe philosopher who is convinced that he can understand why the fabric of American morality is unwinding. He presents his ideas and findings to Dogville through various lectures disguised as town meetings. For his latest meeting, he is looking for a prop to use to strengthen his assertions and is given Nicole Kidman's character.

Kidman's performance is quite outstanding. I am not one to claim any sort of fanaticism with her, such as that expressed by the current pop media, but any fanfare she receives from this movie is most assuredly deserved. In her, von Trier has his muse, the character to express his primary idea and opinion. She has escaped mobsters who would like to kill her and is seeking refuge in the town. The town, persuaded by Billy, decide to take her in to their fold, after Kidman, also persuaded by Billy, begins to offer her services to help them with their daily chores and work. Over a period of days, weeks, and months, she has integrated into the town, her hard work having won their love. Dogville seems like a peaceful and happy place once again. During 4th of July dinner, the police come into the town to post a wanted poster for Kidman, who hides at the coming of any suspicious vehicles, most certainly any police cars. The town is perplexed at what to do: to remain true to their new friend or to follow their lawful obligations to report a criminal. Billy persuades them to stay true to Kidman, but there are small cracks appearing in the veneer of happiness. In this gradual descent into a more tragic circumstance, Kidman, like von Trier's leading ladies in Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark, seemingly takes more and more as she is put upon. Her capacity for endurance is surely as great as the towns people's capacity to dish out grief and harshness.

The ending of the movie is so important to the understanding of the film in that the entire meaning is revised and exploded in the last scene. Anything I really write doesn't mean much without you actually seeing it. Up until the last scene, Dogville is Breaking the Waves, is Dancer in the Dark and does seem to be another run of the mill von Trier philosophical jaunt, save the set gimmick. If you like von Trier's stuff, you will actually be quite shocked at the ending. If you hate von Trier's depiction of women, whose camp I have come to join, you will actually be shocked at the ending.

This movie has no distributor in the US, save for artsy film festivals. So, if you go to those sorts of film festivals, you will see the film, you will be shocked at the ending. If you don't normally, Dancer in the Dark is more accessible and there's the exciting singing and dancing to entertain you. Someone needs to get the balls to release this in the US, it's really not that morally shocking, really.

posted 3.16.04