It reminded me of the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde, which could be told in two sentences each. What makes them beautiful is their repetitive style and the general idea of a metaphorical frame story.
And after all Trier always hinted that these "Golden heart films" are connected to the fairy tail world. I have never seen a movie that adapted this genre of literature in such a compelling and pleasing way.
In an era with little originality in films comes his breath of fresh air. It's amazing how one can become so engaged in the story that the set seems not to be a factor. The ending was one of the most satisfying that I've seen.
Awful torture porn. Three hours of watching Nicole Kidman's character suffering without rhyme or reason. The play structure is interesting, but not enough to make up for the story's message, which boils down to a childish "poor people can be mean, too." Almost worth it for the cast alone.
Lars Von Trier is absolutely an eccentric director, but he did a great way of eccentricity i think! the actor, the actress is great but the chalk upon a dark floor is absolutely unforgettable.
the story in the movie also really awesome, it tells us that something we see beautiful at first isn't really beautiful in reality. we just need to know it better.
"it there is any town in this world would be better without, this is it"
Set in a tiny chalk-drawn town, Lars von Trier's Dogville is a minimalist micro-cosm of America (but ostensibly, of humanity) with a hugely talented cast that makes the overt stylism soon blend into an acceptable reality and lose the label of gimmickry. A woman comes to Dogville to hide from the people after her and the town's philosopher convinces Dogville's 15 adults to take her in despite the risk, trying to shame them into putting their values where their mouth is. And over time, the woman, Grace, falls in and out of favor and is sorely abused. It's an allegory. The town is full of "by your bootstraps" American exceptionals, who deny they need help, but end up abusing their one indentured servant. Dogville is discussing slavery (and its legacy) as well as the immigrant experience, and the objectification of women. The people who have served the majority and gotten little out of it except more hardship. In the final act, it spins into Biblical allegory - Grace as Jesus, showing infinite forgiveness in spite of her suffering - but does that mean the American allegory was wrong? I don't think so. It's really about two duelling interpretations of Christianity - what's on the page, at least in the gospels, and the harsh puritanism that came over with the pilgrims - and which is more in line with human nature. It therefore remains an American story. If von Trier exposed how we can overlook evil in Europa, here he shows how we can go one step farther and justify those evils.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 39
tommy_leazaq
My first von Trier film and i'm very much impressed. Looking forward to his other works. Ending gave me a smile. A great movie for my 1700th check.juanelo17
I think it is great piece, it takes your humanity on a quite trippy voyage. An absolutely lovely perfomance by Nicole Kidman.Joao_Carlos
A mix of feelings..Different, weird, uncomfortable, disgusting.
Not recomended for ordinary viewers.
greennui
Really good. I was a bit ambivalent initially about the combination of Von Trier and the minimalistic setting but it was bang on.Musanna
Absolutely outstanding!Incredible filmmaking that gripped me from start to finish.
And yes, what a satisfactory ending.
Joschi
It reminded me of the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde, which could be told in two sentences each. What makes them beautiful is their repetitive style and the general idea of a metaphorical frame story.And after all Trier always hinted that these "Golden heart films" are connected to the fairy tail world. I have never seen a movie that adapted this genre of literature in such a compelling and pleasing way.
der32284
In an era with little originality in films comes his breath of fresh air. It's amazing how one can become so engaged in the story that the set seems not to be a factor. The ending was one of the most satisfying that I've seen.Duke of Omnium
It would have been a great 90 minute film, or a good 120 minute film. At 177 minutes, it is downright excruciating.kaffy
Awful torture porn. Three hours of watching Nicole Kidman's character suffering without rhyme or reason. The play structure is interesting, but not enough to make up for the story's message, which boils down to a childish "poor people can be mean, too." Almost worth it for the cast alone.syarifah dhira
Lars Von Trier is absolutely an eccentric director, but he did a great way of eccentricity i think! the actor, the actress is great but the chalk upon a dark floor is absolutely unforgettable."it there is any town in this world would be better without, this is it"
Siskoid
Set in a tiny chalk-drawn town, Lars von Trier's Dogville is a minimalist micro-cosm of America (but ostensibly, of humanity) with a hugely talented cast that makes the overt stylism soon blend into an acceptable reality and lose the label of gimmickry. A woman comes to Dogville to hide from the people after her and the town's philosopher convinces Dogville's 15 adults to take her in despite the risk, trying to shame them into putting their values where their mouth is. And over time, the woman, Grace, falls in and out of favor and is sorely abused. It's an allegory. The town is full of "by your bootstraps" American exceptionals, who deny they need help, but end up abusing their one indentured servant. Dogville is discussing slavery (and its legacy) as well as the immigrant experience, and the objectification of women. The people who have served the majority and gotten little out of it except more hardship. In the final act, it spins into Biblical allegory - Grace as Jesus, showing infinite forgiveness in spite of her suffering - but does that mean the American allegory was wrong? I don't think so. It's really about two duelling interpretations of Christianity - what's on the page, at least in the gospels, and the harsh puritanism that came over with the pilgrims - and which is more in line with human nature. It therefore remains an American story. If von Trier exposed how we can overlook evil in Europa, here he shows how we can go one step farther and justify those evils.HunterAdams
I'm frightened by how many people are calling the ending satisfying. Sounds like something a potential school shooter might say.rickardelmebring
Never have I ever experienced a more satisfying ending to a movie.Cundurs
I have not seen more satisfying ending than that!marcelosacchi
So awesome I didn't even realize it was so long until the endingShowing items 1 – 15 of 39