Dogville (2003)

Director:

Lars von Trier

Writer:

Lars von Trier (written by)

Release Date:

21 May 2003 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A quiet little town not far from here.

Plot:

A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado town. In exchange, she agrees to work for them. As a search visits town, she finds out that their support has a price. Yet her dangerous secret is never far away...

Plot Keywords:

Community | Gangster | Rocky Mountains | Mob | 1930s

Awards:

13 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Grace Margaret Mulligan
Harriet Andersson	...	Gloria
Lauren Bacall	...	Ma Ginger
Jean-Marc Barr	...	The Man with the Big Hat
Paul Bettany	...	Tom Edison
Blair Brown	...	Mrs. Henson
James Caan	...	The Big Man
Patricia Clarkson	...	Vera
Jeremy Davies	...	Bill Henson
Ben Gazzara	...	Jack McKay
Philip Baker Hall	...	Tom Edison Sr.
Thom Hoffman	...	Gangster
Siobhan Fallon	...	Martha (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
John Hurt	...	Narrator (voice)
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Ben

Also Known As:

Dogville (France) (Germany)
The Film 'Dogville' as Told in Nine Chapters and a Prologue (USA) (long title)
U - Der Film 'Dogville' erzählt in neun Kapiteln und einem Prolog. (Germany) (long title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexual content.

Runtime:

178 min | Australia:138 min | Italy:135 min

Country:

Denmark | Sweden | Norway | Finland | UK | France | Germany | Netherlands

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Norway:11 | Iceland:14 (theatrical rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Italy:T (re-rating) (2004) | Singapore:PG (video rating) (cut) | Malaysia:U (DVD) | Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Film i Väst, Nohab Industrial Estate, Trollhättan, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Company:

Zentropa Entertainments

Trivia:

A fifteen-minute pilot film was made in the pre-production phase to test whether the concept of chalk lines and spare scenery would work. The pilot starred Danish actors Sidse Babett Knudsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas. Dogville: The Pilot (2003) (V) is featured on the 2nd disc of the Dogville (2003) DVD, released in November of 2003.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the beginning of the movie, Tom and Bill are going to play "checkers". The board that's used however isn't a checkers board (8x8 squares) but a draughts board (10x10). As far as I'm aware, this version of the game wasn't played in the USA in the 1930's (it was played in Europe, however).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: This is the sad tale of the township of Dogville. Dogville was in the Rocky Mountains in the US of A, up here where the road came to its definitive end, near the entrance to the old abandoned silver mine. The residents of Dogville were good honest folks...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Anecdotes from 'Europa' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Young Americans

Like watching a brilliant novel...

It's the only way I can describe a movie like this. To me, the best movies are like watching novels. In some ways, this can be detrimental, and at times, I did indeed find myself disconnected from the movie.

However, therein lies the redeeming value in "Dogville." Like a great novel, its nuances and details develop slowly and become intertwined with the underlying message within this film.

This movie forces you to pay attention to the story at hand. It's sparse of scenery and locale, yet if you're willing enough, you can fill in the details if you want to. The lack of scenery forces you to focus on the characters and the slow deterioration of their human sensibilities.

It's a movie that, like all brilliant movies, has themes that transcend into society as a whole.

10/10