Dir. Lars Von Trier, 2003, UK/France/Italy, 110 mins
Cast:
Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, James Caan
Set in America during the depression, Grace (Kidman) - on the run from armed gangsters - wanders one night into Dogville, a township in the Rocky Mountains. She meets Tom (Bettany) - a philosopher and writer - who hides Grace when the gangsters arrive in pursuit of her. The following day, Tom calls the town together and convinces them to hide her. In return for their protection, Grace would do chores for them.
At first, all are reluctant to give Grace any work, sending her away with a resounding "no". But Tom comes to her rescue and eventually persuades shop owner Ma Ginger (Bacall) to allow Grace to tend to the garden behind her shop. Gradually, others approach Grace with offers of work and it isn't long before she is fully integrated into the community.
However, when the police come knocking, the town turn against Grace, forcing her to work harder, and for less money, in return for their protection. Furthermore, things become brutal for Grace when the demands become sexual. She is relentlessly abused by all the town's men, except Tom. Nevertheless, when Tom is faced with the choice of the town or Grace, he betrays her. The cars roll up complete with gangsters and guns, and Grace has a choice to make. Can she continue to turn the other cheek?
When Lars von Trier took Dancer in the Dark to Cannes, he had the American press up-in-arms who clearly saw it as an attack on American values. Some criticized him saying that as Trier has never stepped foot on American soil how could he possibly make a film about Americans. "This provoked me", says von Trier, "as far as I can recall, they never went to Casablanca when they made Casablanca."
Dogville is the first in von Trier's trilogy of films on the USA. And while Americans may view this as yet again another blistering attack on their values, the wider picture is that it can be read as an universal comment on human nature. Themes of good versus evil, honesty, self-sacrifice and greed are staples of von Trier's work. His tale of what happens when a person gives complete control of their life over to others is a harrowing examination of power and its abuses; that behind an act of kindness lies blatant self-interest.
Stylistically this is not a Dogme film, yet von Trier employs some of the basic principles of the Dogme 95 manifesto. He cites Berholt Brecht's Threepenny Opera as being one of his inspirations. The film is littered with Brechtian devices; the aesthetic and technical layers are stripped away and the result is 'theatre on film'. All the action takes place on a black-lacquered floor on which the street names and walls of buildings are drawn. With this approach von Trier successfully engages his audience. With no beauty to distract, your focus is firmly on the gruelling events that unfold. But, should your mind wander during the three hour sitting, the gentle narration by John Hurt will bring you back to the fold.
It's been well documented that von Trier is not an easy director to work with. Difficult he might be, but often is the case that great work can result from a little friction. All the cast are outstanding. Von Trier's casting of Kidman is guaranteed to bring a different type of audience to the film. He wrote the part specifically for her and her execution of it sees her rise career-wise to the top of her game. She is excellent as the sweet-natured, vulnerable turned avenging-angel Grace. Equally, Bettany is brilliant as the self-appointed spokesperson who gets caught up in his own self-importance.
We should expect nothing less of von Trier - giving us not only extraordinary cinema, but also fodder for our brain. His moral insight is vivid and sharp, if bleak. We are a product of our environment; that everyone has their limits; it is a dog-eat-dog world.until we choose to make it otherwise.
Sandi Chaitram
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