Dogville

I am no great fan of Lars von Trier's work but I like Melancholia and Dogville a lot. Dogville is a hard and deep look on human society and human behaviour, on moral and ethics. Like the book Blindness by José Saramago, and the movie based on that book, it is not an easy watch, but a close, intense and realistic look on the shadow side of mankind.

On top, the method of stage acting like in a theatre adds some sense of advantgarde and extravaganza to Dogville, and makes this movie, with the theme, an exceptional piece of art.

Dogville maybe the only one movie using unique setting and cinematography concept. With no walls, no boundary, the viewers could see so many social environment at one time, provoking every wild perspective. Some scenes taken with presice set piece of camera works. Because in this kind of cinematography concept, camera positioning is a key, but it successfully made it.

The lead actress is really flawless. Potraiting cold, calm, and mysterious character. The acting is really charming. Provoking human emotion such as sadness, lovable, lust, toughess, and anger. She has very broad skill of characterization of many human emotion.

Overall, Dogville is a unique and well-made movie with flawless performance of it's lead actress.

Initially I found the 'play' set-up gimmicky and disconcerting, however I soon forgot all about the framing and became fixated on the picture itself. There are no special effects nor camera tricks and make-up is kept to a bare minimum, which allows us to focus purely on the story and the quality of the acting; both of which are exemplary. Nicole Kidman is amazing as usual bringing a wonderful vulnerability and frailty to her character which conceals an underlying ruthlessness and brutality. Ample support comes from co-stars Betthany and Chloe Sevigny and in truth the whole cast is frighteningly convincing.

The story is simple, a young woman who it appears is on the run from the mob seeks refuge in a small town known as Dogville. The residents who are initially wary of her soon warm to her and welcome her into their midst. This however, comes with a price she must do small favours in return for refuge. Inevitably greed, desire and mistrust take over the residents which corrupts them and has devastating consequences for all involved.

The dramatic shift in the mentality of the townspeople is so well handled and expertly crafted by Von Trier, that it makes the emotional payoff which one receives at the end of this film even greater. It is utterly compelling and has universal themes. Ultimately, this is a film which may serve as a cautionary tale for all self-proclaimed 'civilised' societies and as a treatise upon karmic retribution.

This is probably the most shocking movie experience I've ever had, not only because of the emotional impact, but because this is truly a moral-horror movie that slapped me in the face.

The film is probably one of the best moral tales ever told, in which Nicole Kidman and all the supporting cast shined. Why did the makers try to make it look incomplete? Why haven't they used more sophisticated production set rather than some made-believe structures directly exposing the film studio's interior environment to you? I didn't get it at first, thinking this might just be another pretending piece of crap that tried to be "artistic".

However as the story proceeded, the whole thing started to make senses. Featuring some of the best character study I've ever seen, the story involved you into the adventure of Grace, the main protagonist who's supposed to be despised by us logically and naturally. Then, the audiences were forced into a game that the filmmakers keep you guessing what would happen the next, until the very end.

The ending, in my opinion, is the most shocking and frightening ending ever seen in a film. Dogville is by no means marketed as a horror movie, but if one believes himself/herself to have the moral high ground, he or she should stand the test the movie has given us. For me, I chose to live with all the miseries happened to Grace and play along just like every other character in the story, "sh!t happens" as they say. This, has not only put me in shame but also freaked me out at the end. Considering the potential spoilers I would caused, I'd suggest you go see it for yourself.

With superb acting, very well plotted story and a shocking message for senseless societies, Dogville is easily a masterpiece.

Tough. Once again Lars von Trier tortures the audience (as he did previously on Dancer in the Dark) by upraising the darkest side of the human being. From the beginning you know that things can only get worse, but I doubt that one can figure out neither what's to come nor the powerful conclusion. Nicole Kidman's interpretation is perfect - intense, poignant, passionate, you name it. She is fantastic and so is the small cast locked inside Dogville's scenario (a wonderful creation - I wonder how something so simple can bring such a strong effect). Again, the entire cast is fantastic and for that goes an extra credit for Lars von Trier. His capability of pushing actors to the limit and extracting painful emotions from them creates a heavy atmosphere, full of tension and, at the same time, so familiar. It is not that Dogville represents the essence of our communities, but it exposes some aspects of our lives that we prefer to hide under the carpet.