Dear Wendy (2005)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Thomas Vinterberg

Writer:

Lars von Trier (writer)

Release Date:

23 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

One shot is all it takes.

Plot:

A young boy in a nameless, timeless American town establishes a gang of youthful misfits united in their love of guns and their code of honor.

Plot Keywords:

Gun | Mining Town | Pacifist | Pacifism | Weapon

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jamie Bell	...	Dick Dandelion
Bill Pullman	...	Krugsby
Michael Angarano	...	Freddie
Danso Gordon	...	Sebastian
Novella Nelson	...	Clarabelle
Chris Owen	...	Huey
Alison Pill	...	Susan
Mark Webber	...	Stevie
Trevor Cooper	...	Dick's Dad
Matthew Géczy	...	Young Officer
William Hootkins	...	Marshall Walker
Teddy Kempner	...	Mr. Salomon
Thomas Bo Larsen	...	Customer

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:102 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Denmark | France | Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:18 | Philippines:R-13 | USA:Unrated | Brazil:18 | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Czech Republic:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Denmark:15 | Netherlands:12 | UK:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Ireland:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Lucky Punch

Trivia:

Director Nicolas Winding Refn stated in an interview with Mads Brügger on "Den 11. time" (2007), that Lars von Trier offered him the chance to direct this film, but he declined (6th September, 2007).

Quotes:

Dick Dandelion: The Regulations are, that the most important thing for a Dandy is never to show off his partner, whatever the provocation. We carry them as moral supports. And that's the most important thing. They may be carried, but never brandished. That would be the worst thing of all.
[contiunes as voice-over narrative]
Dick Dandelion: Not one of us were in doubt about the most important thing of all. The reason why our partners could only be fired in the darkness of the old mine and could never be exposed to full light and thereby be woken up. Because once awoken nothing could stop them from following their true nature and killing. And it was so forbidden to say that word, that we called it "loving" instead. And "loving" could never ever happen because that would be the end of it all.

Movie Connections:

References Dogville (2003)

Soundtrack:

She's Not There

Too smart for it's own good?

Dear Wendy, you're the second Lars von Trier film I saw. At first you were so hard to understand now all is at peace.

Dear Wendy is another take on American culture from the outside. There are a lot of traits and references that most won't notice, and the biggest being the use of guns in this film.

I didn't know what to expect and at the end was upset. I was missing something. So I gave it another chance. If you're caught up into guns, or watch movies to be entertained easily this movie will confuse you.

Not so unlike Dogville, everything is shot like it were on stage. I had a hard time with this movie because I didn't understand the layout and lack of city and tried to keep in mind his other film.

The story itself is clever. Dick is a good-boy living in an American town somewhere in the South (he has a Austin, Texas style to him though) He has a father he hates who works in the town mine, a hard but sweet care-taker, and no friends. He gets a job at a store, buys a toy-gun, and falls into an obsessive world and recruits others to form a group called the Dandies.

This movie continue to take us into a fantasy world where reason starts to drift away. Weapons are personified by the children and they take it upon themselves to protect and serve. They end of meeting the police head on and mellow-drama ensues.

Talking to a friend, I found out the writer isn't a big fan of Americans. This movie doesn't show us in a horrible light but to me really pointed out how isolated and far away from reason these Children and police seem to be, not so unlike our real world.

The cast is fantastic. Visually it is easy to watch but you feel this town is awfully small. Some of the cartoon visuals started to bug me but they fit well in the world that the children seem to have created for themselves.

This isn't Mimi Vice, DejaVu, or Stealth. To enjoy this movie you can't try to have the movie spell it out to you or amaze you with action. Follow the story with an open-mind and heart and you'll feel and experience all the characters. It may take a second time to watch.

It's a love-hate kind of movie I suppose.