Dogville (2004)

An amazing cast, and on the surface an interesting premise. I have no qualms about the artsy theatrical sets.However, the story is either totally illogical or massively biased allegory.The main protagonist is charming, beautiful, sweet, and is used and abused by literally everyone she meets. There is not one positive character other than Kidman's in this movie. Is that the film makers view of how America treats the immigrant, the poor and weak? Maybe, there may even be an element of truth to that, but there are no moral people in America? If that is the films message then I feel that the movie signifies a risible level of self-indulgent on the part of the film maker.Finally, I could not help but feel that the abuses suffered by Kidman's character and her eventual 'revenge' looked like little more than an arted up 'I Spit On Your Grave'.

"Dogville" is a cinematic experience, or should I say a social experience? Good, do not know. The fact is that Lars Von Trier tells a story about human nature in a city that is no more risk on the ground in a film that is 3 hours long, impossible? fulsome? silly? no, nothing like that, quite the contrary, the genius of "Dogville" is in its simplicity, everything is simple, but everything is extremely technical quality, let's talk about the best thing in the film, the script, which goes in the 30s and tells the story of Grace (Nicole Kidman) who is running away from gansgters and decides to take shelter in Dogville, a town with 15 inhabitants who decides to hide in exchange for favores.E is there that Lars Von Trier makes a study on human evil, showing the extent to which human being is able to act when it has power over the other, and how it takes situations of advantages when you can, benefits those who go this the rapes to simple favors, going to leave Grace chained as a dog, but Lars von Trier also tells us in the final scene that is intrinsic to the human being and to the fact that Grace did not kill the dog is a message for us, because the dog is not evil by nature as human beings. Technically, the file has a otina photograph, although the city does not really exist, all climate change are flagged with perfect care, she spends host and fear at the same time, the picture is good, sound mixing is amazing, because we have doors, windows, or anything, but we have the sounds, and it does that as long you just forget that this city simply does not exist, and the performances are very good, Nicole Kidman is great. I love Dogville, pos despite its three hours he has pace, and has something to say, and is a very intelligent comment, I love the fact that the city does not exist, it goes on the idea that can be any city, I love the story third-person and especially love the theatrical atmosphere of the film, "Dogville" is more than a movie, it's a lesson on the human being.

Nothing quite like being beaten over the head with a trite morality play for three hours, with such naked and ham-handed emotional manipulation that I couldn't find a pinch of humanity inside.This was basically torture porn for overly emotionally invested people. I give it a few points for going out on a limb with the style, but again, it just feels like something a very high college student would come up with the day before the script was due. And it was a one-trick pony, the sense of style was never used effectively for anything else. It contributed absolutely nothing to the movie.The acting was fine, just terribly dull. Never felt the slightest connection to anyone, or felt that any situation was any more than a ridiculous farce; everything happened not because it naturally follows from the characters and events, but because it had to happen to move the plot forward. Everyone but Grace is basically a hive mind who feel everything in perfect lockstep with each other, like a good fable. The brutality followed the generic revenge flick arc trod by hundreds of other movies, even the narrator just felt utterly pointless and jarring, instead of quaint and unusual.Obviously, there are quite a few people who love it. Give it five minutes, and you'll already know if you'll enjoy the whole movie or not.

It's pretty obvious that Grace's name represents something more than just a random name. In whole of the film her behavior, actions, reactions are not something that would be considered as "normal" human behavior in such circumstances.She truly was the personified ideal, everything good that we all promote and imagine to accomplish in ourselves and in society. Her "arrogance" as her father defined it, is exactly it if viewed from humans' flawed perspective. But it is not arrogance! It is an ideal, and by calling it - no, by choosing to call it arrogance - we try to excuse our dishonorable behavior. That's why the ending is not logical nor justified. With choosing to step down on humans' level, get her revenge and condemn the people of Dogville to death, Grace actually negated herself and everything she was the whole time. Now, I would go even further and say, her gangster-family background is not relevant. It is shown throughout the story with her actions, and with her own saying "I've never stolen anything before. So now, now I have to punish myself. I was raised to be arrogant. So, I...I had to teach myself these things." It is clear here that no matter where she comes from, she is her own person, creates herself, is responsible to self only. There is one other sentence: "If she had acted like them she could not have defended a single one of her actions and could not have condemned them harshly enough". But it is only at the ending that Grace finds herself for the first time, at position of power - and she chooses to behave just like the flawed ones. By judging them to their own standards she actually goes against her own nature.If the acting is right (and I don't doubt that) she watches the executions and cries, but as there is horror there is also some satisfaction in her - seems like a transformation of personality is taking place. This is interesting also from the gnosticism's point of view. If Grace is grace (Sophia), would the ending symbolize a gnostic phenomenon of "Sophia's fall from grace"?Should they all be punished? Yes, definitely. By their own standards? Of course. But is it up to her to get down on their level as soon as she got the power and do the executioner work? In the ending, what becomes of Grace? And what is done to grace? Was there ever any, or is it the same as the writer who never wrote any.