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 the town, she finds out that their support has a price. Yet her dangerous secret is never far away.
A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Director:
Lars von Trier
Stars:
Willem Dafoe,
Charlotte Gainsbourg,
Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adulthood, obsessions and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
Director:
Lars von Trier
Stars:
Charlotte Gainsbourg,
Stellan Skarsgård,
Willem Dafoe
The story follows Jack, a highly intelligent serial killer, over the course of twelve years, and depicts the murders that really develop his inner madman.
Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass.
Director:
Gaspar Noé
Stars:
Monica Bellucci,
Vincent Cassel,
Albert Dupontel
A French drug dealer living in Tokyo is betrayed by his best friend and killed in a drug deal. His soul, observing the repercussions of his death, seeks resurrection.
Director:
Gaspar Noé
Stars:
Nathaniel Brown,
Paz de la Huerta,
Cyril Roy
Late one night, a beautiful and well-dressed young woman, Grace, arrives in the mountainous old mining town of Dogville as a fugitive; following the sound of gunshots in the distance which have been heard by Tom, the self-appointed moral spokesman for the town. Persuaded by Tom, the town agree to hide Grace, and in return she freely helps the locals. However, when the Sheriff from a neighbouring town posts a Missing notice, advertising a reward for revealing her whereabouts, the townsfolk require a better deal from Grace, in return for their silence; and when the Sheriff returns some weeks later with a Wanted poster, even though the citizens know her to be innocent of the false charges against her, the town's sense of goodness takes a sinister turn and the price of Grace's freedom becomes a workload and treatment akin to that of a slave. But Grace has a deadly secret that the townsfolk will eventually encounter.Written by
Neil Hillman.
Lars von Trier wrote the role of Grace with Nicole Kidman in mind. Before meeting her, Trier read an interview with her where she expressed her desire to work with him and he subsequently wrote this film for her. See more »
Goofs
When Chuck takes the scarf from Grace's neck it shows up two shots later, then is gone again in next shot. See more »
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, and they liked their township. And while a sentimental soul from the East Coast had once dubbed their main street Elm Street, though no elm had ever cast its shadow in Dogville, they saw no reason to change anything. Most of the ...
See more »
Crazy Credits
Closing credits play over photographs depicting crime and poverty in the United States. See more »
Alternate Versions
To fit the needs of some local distributors, in Italy among others, assistant director Anders Refn cut a version of Dogville which is about 45 minutes shorter than the original. The version was accepted and approved by director Lars von Trier. See more »
Is this a tale about the loss of humanity as an individual suffers from the power of group behavior? Is it a about an idealist / philosopher unable to handle events and see the tragedy around him? Is this a scathing attack on the social conditions in the US? Or is it about the New World reversing power roles with the Old World? Is it a biblical allegory? Or an autobiographical description of Von Trier's life?
Dogville, made as a staged play and inspired by the song Pirate Jenny by Bertolt Brecht, is all, making not the structure of the tale set in a Colorado mining town complex, but its interpretation. Like in Breaking the Waves, Von Trier uses the literature reference, dividing the movie in chapters to tell his tale of an individual becoming victim of group behavior, this time combined with the idealist / intellectual standing by and having no solutions on offer. It all watches like a Greek tragedy, the Greek names of the children of Vera and Chuck only confirming this.
The biblical parts are thrown in with the dog Moses, as guardian of the Ten Commandments which are severely transgressed by the citizens of Dogville. The dog can only be seen at the end and is spared. We have the name of the main character Grace and her treatment comparable to that of Jesus; the blindness and the window; the seven figurines broken by Vera stand both for her seven children and the seven sins. Also the Old and New Testament (father and daughter in the car having different interpretations of morality) are touched upon, and Tom representing the betrayal of Judas.
The concept of power plays an important part throughout the movie. The line of power starts with Tom, convincing the citizens of Dogville to give Grace a place to hide. As the philosopher, writer and spiritual leader of Dogville he is unable to cope with the basic problem of keeping mankind under control, he is shown as a theoretic, not someone who has practical solutions and fails as an authority (the practical engineer only adds to the misery here as he only makes instruments of oppression). Later the power is taken on by the group to commit the atrocities shown. Dogville is therefore also a warning about letting ignorant and simple minded people take on authority and decisions as there can be horrific consequences. At the end Grace's father comes in and Grace assumes the power from him. All misuse and are unable to handle the concept of power to proper use, the power of Grace and her father is mafia power after all (there is a hint the movie uses that the power of the US has grown out of criminal power, a common historical misunderstanding). The US State is unable to prevent anything of it happening here, it can only be heard in the distance or seen shortly when the police arrives (a prison and police force is the only thing the state offers in the movie). Dogville starts with a speech to be heard on the radio made by the President of the US; the radio is turned off before he starts talking. The end credits with the pictures give way to interpretations of the lack of a proper welfare state in the US, at least at the time of the Depression.
Another moral issue arises in the most important dialog in the movie between Grace and her father. At first Grace is incapable to condemn the villagers. Her father calls that arrogance, because she should judge others by the same moral standards as she judges herself. She changes mind after thinking about this concept of morality, judgment and punishment. The whole view on mankind in Dogville is extremely dark: As you make yourself dependent of other people, they will always misuse that opportunity and take advantage of your weaknesses. Later Grace forgets all notions of forgiveness.
Another interesting addition and layer comes when Tom suddenly takes on the role of Von Trier himself (the point where he talks about the trilogy). So in reality Von Trier sees himself in the role of Tom. And he makes a deliberate parody of himself, because the harsh and demanding way he treats actresses is in a way comparable to the treatment of Grace.
Technically the movie is well shot with the camera-work of Anthony Dod Mantle. When Grace is raped for the first time, the camera retracts and it diminishes on purpose the impact of that scene. By showing inhuman acts without barriers like walls and doors they show how ignorant people usually are about them. But the best shot technically is from Grace under a blanket in the truck, it has surreal qualities.
Two side notes: The beautiful music is by Vivaldi ('Cum dederit dilectus suis somnum' (IV) from 'Nisi dominus' RV 608). On the mine shaft we can read Dictum ad Factum, meaning Said and Done.
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Is this a tale about the loss of humanity as an individual suffers from the power of group behavior? Is it a about an idealist / philosopher unable to handle events and see the tragedy around him? Is this a scathing attack on the social conditions in the US? Or is it about the New World reversing power roles with the Old World? Is it a biblical allegory? Or an autobiographical description of Von Trier's life?
Dogville, made as a staged play and inspired by the song Pirate Jenny by Bertolt Brecht, is all, making not the structure of the tale set in a Colorado mining town complex, but its interpretation. Like in Breaking the Waves, Von Trier uses the literature reference, dividing the movie in chapters to tell his tale of an individual becoming victim of group behavior, this time combined with the idealist / intellectual standing by and having no solutions on offer. It all watches like a Greek tragedy, the Greek names of the children of Vera and Chuck only confirming this.
The biblical parts are thrown in with the dog Moses, as guardian of the Ten Commandments which are severely transgressed by the citizens of Dogville. The dog can only be seen at the end and is spared. We have the name of the main character Grace and her treatment comparable to that of Jesus; the blindness and the window; the seven figurines broken by Vera stand both for her seven children and the seven sins. Also the Old and New Testament (father and daughter in the car having different interpretations of morality) are touched upon, and Tom representing the betrayal of Judas.
The concept of power plays an important part throughout the movie. The line of power starts with Tom, convincing the citizens of Dogville to give Grace a place to hide. As the philosopher, writer and spiritual leader of Dogville he is unable to cope with the basic problem of keeping mankind under control, he is shown as a theoretic, not someone who has practical solutions and fails as an authority (the practical engineer only adds to the misery here as he only makes instruments of oppression). Later the power is taken on by the group to commit the atrocities shown. Dogville is therefore also a warning about letting ignorant and simple minded people take on authority and decisions as there can be horrific consequences. At the end Grace's father comes in and Grace assumes the power from him. All misuse and are unable to handle the concept of power to proper use, the power of Grace and her father is mafia power after all (there is a hint the movie uses that the power of the US has grown out of criminal power, a common historical misunderstanding). The US State is unable to prevent anything of it happening here, it can only be heard in the distance or seen shortly when the police arrives (a prison and police force is the only thing the state offers in the movie). Dogville starts with a speech to be heard on the radio made by the President of the US; the radio is turned off before he starts talking. The end credits with the pictures give way to interpretations of the lack of a proper welfare state in the US, at least at the time of the Depression.
Another moral issue arises in the most important dialog in the movie between Grace and her father. At first Grace is incapable to condemn the villagers. Her father calls that arrogance, because she should judge others by the same moral standards as she judges herself. She changes mind after thinking about this concept of morality, judgment and punishment. The whole view on mankind in Dogville is extremely dark: As you make yourself dependent of other people, they will always misuse that opportunity and take advantage of your weaknesses. Later Grace forgets all notions of forgiveness.
Another interesting addition and layer comes when Tom suddenly takes on the role of Von Trier himself (the point where he talks about the trilogy). So in reality Von Trier sees himself in the role of Tom. And he makes a deliberate parody of himself, because the harsh and demanding way he treats actresses is in a way comparable to the treatment of Grace.
Technically the movie is well shot with the camera-work of Anthony Dod Mantle. When Grace is raped for the first time, the camera retracts and it diminishes on purpose the impact of that scene. By showing inhuman acts without barriers like walls and doors they show how ignorant people usually are about them. But the best shot technically is from Grace under a blanket in the truck, it has surreal qualities.
Two side notes: The beautiful music is by Vivaldi ('Cum dederit dilectus suis somnum' (IV) from 'Nisi dominus' RV 608). On the mine shaft we can read Dictum ad Factum, meaning Said and Done.