Dogville (2003)

Director:

Lars von Trier

Writer:

Lars von Trier (written by)

Release Date:

21 May 2003 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A quiet little town not far from here.

Plot:

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 town, she finds out that their support has a price. Yet her dangerous secret is never far away...

Plot Keywords:

Mob | Gangster | Rocky Mountains | Community | 1930s

Awards:

13 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Grace Margaret Mulligan
Harriet Andersson	...	Gloria
Lauren Bacall	...	Ma Ginger
Jean-Marc Barr	...	The Man with the Big Hat
Paul Bettany	...	Tom Edison
Blair Brown	...	Mrs. Henson
James Caan	...	The Big Man
Patricia Clarkson	...	Vera
Jeremy Davies	...	Bill Henson
Ben Gazzara	...	Jack McKay
Philip Baker Hall	...	Tom Edison Sr.
Thom Hoffman	...	Gangster
Siobhan Fallon	...	Martha (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
John Hurt	...	Narrator (voice)
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Ben

Also Known As:

Dogville (France) (Germany)
The Film 'Dogville' as Told in Nine Chapters and a Prologue (USA) (long title)
U - Der Film 'Dogville' erzählt in neun Kapiteln und einem Prolog. (Germany) (long title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexual content.

Runtime:

178 min | Australia:138 min | Italy:135 min

Country:

Denmark | Sweden | Norway | Finland | UK | France | Germany | Netherlands

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Norway:11 | Iceland:14 (theatrical rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Italy:T (re-rating) (2004) | Singapore:PG (video rating) (cut) | Malaysia:U (DVD) | Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Film i Väst, Nohab Industrial Estate, Trollhättan, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Company:

Zentropa Entertainments

Trivia:

Nicole Kidman is said to have communicated very little with the rest of the team, apart from practical issues. However, she did invite the team for champagne and caviar and flew in Mexican chefs to cook for everyone.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the beginning of the movie, Tom and Bill are going to play "checkers". The board that's used however isn't a checkers board (8x8 squares) but a draughts board (10x10). As far as I'm aware, this version of the game wasn't played in the USA in the 1930's (it was played in Europe, however).

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...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

Soundtrack:

Young Americans

A Disturbing Sense of Illustration

"Dogville" is, along with Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures", one of the most disturbing film experiences I've ever had. Love it or hate it, it's impossible to be indifferent about this overwhelming film written and directed by Lars von Trier.

This is the first part of a trilogy ironically entitled "USA: Land of Opportunities" ("Manderlay" is the second, "Wasington" will be the third). "Dogville" begins with a prologue and extends to nine chapters in almost three hours of daring, exquisite film-making.

Nicole Kidman gives the performance of her career, in my opinion. Forget her (great) portrayal of Virginia Woolf in "The Hours", and the ambitious Suzanne Stone ("To Die For"): Kidman's most accomplished composition to date is Grace. She's a beautiful young American who, apparently on the run from gangsters, hides herself in a small Colorado town called Dogville, helped by Tom (Paul Bettany) and the other residents. Things go fine for some time until Dogville's folks begin to exploit the lovely Grace and, literally, chain her up like a dog.

You'll better appreciate the film if you don't know too many details (and even if you do, Von Trier reserved us lots of bitter surprises). We could say briefly that this is a film about those people you lend a hand and want to take your arm, but "Dogville" is too sharp and intelligent to be summed up this way. Many people accused Lars von Trier of criticizing the American arrogance violently. That's true, but the fact is that "Dogville" is a universal story: it could happen anywhere. Human beings are really this bad?, we wonder by the end. "Dogville" wasn't made to make you feel good, but it's a compulsory film for everybody.

"Dogville" is a much better work than "Dancer in the Dark", Von Trier's previous film which gave him the Golden Palm at Cannes, and proves definitely he's one of the greatest filmmakers nowadays. He led his ensemble cast wonderfully, and all of them are superb (that's no surprise, however, regarding Kidman, Ben Gazzara, Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Chloë Sevigny, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Davies, Patricia Clarkson, Harriet Andersson, Udo Kier, Zeljko Ivanek and Philip Baker Hall, among others – honourable mention to John Hurt's excellent, ironic narration). 10/10.

P.S.: You'll never forget David Bowie singing "Young Americans" after seeing this film.