Dogville (2003/2004)
Note: Spoilers. That is, if shit
can spoil.
If your idea of a good time is sitting
in a theater for 3 hours and then having your face
symbolically spit in for 2 of those hours then "Dogville"
may well become your favorite film. This is a vicious,
bitter, and angry film, full of hatred for America
and everything that America stands for. It's a disgusting
excuse for a film that if we lived in another type
of world, would be banned. Thankfully we live in a
world where we are free to have this kind of shit
poured upon us from a disgusting and hateful foreign
filmmaker and have it done so in our local art theaters.
See, regardless of what Mr. Lars Von Trier (hereafter
referred to as "The Asshole") may think of this country,
he should remember that he is, at least, free to say
what he thinks here. Even if he is a complete fuckhead
for doing so.
The Asshole sets us up nicely. His
film starts like a modern day version of "Our Town."
He films his 3 hour epic on a soundstage with minimal
props and sets. Often sets are marked by white chalk
and the words "Tom's House" or whatever written on
the ground. We gain entrance into this world via an
overhead shot. The soundstage represents the small
town of "Dogville."
The Asshole thinks he is clever,
calling his main character Tom Edison, not because
he is at all based on the real person but because
the real person embodies what is so great about America.
This is all just part of his set-up that begins the
film in a bucolic way so that The Asshole can later
drop his proverbial pants and take a steaming dump
upon our country.
The film has gentle and old fashioned
narration by John Hurt and in many ways emulates its
1920's time setting by using narration written in
the style of books from that period, using chapter
titles in the style of the books of that period, displayed
on title cards echoing the style of silent movies.
We know we are in for a long, long movie when it begins
with the title card "Dogville - A film in 9 Chapters
and a Prologue." The chapters have titles like "Chapter
One: Where Tom hears gunfire on the ridge and meets
Grace." You get the idea.
This is obviously a film by The
Asshole from beginning to end as the camera work and
editing are obviously inspired by the Dogme movement.
There is the normal shaky hand-held camera work and
the typical jump cuts throughout the film. Also, there
is no music, except what is made briefly by a character
in the film. However, even though there are no doors,
there is a sound effect of a door closing when a character
pantomimes shutting a door.
For the first hour or perhaps even
more, the film is oddly sweet. The Asshole seems to
be presenting some sort of modernization of "Our Town"
and even though we have been told this will be a "sad
tale," we are lulled quite easily into a nice false
sense of serenity. The Asshole seems to be making
a quaint little heartwarming film about 1920's America
that reflects the Europeon obsession with our county's
colorful past. It seems like a wonderful piece of
Americana.
But all this cheer, hope and goodwill
is really just a set up for pretentious, righteous
indignation. His characters, who have been nice, albeit
simple and quirky, become viscious, heartless and
cruel. This change in tone is first set up by a young
boy who flirts shamelessly and disgustingly with Grace,
as played by the far too lovely Nicole Kidman. Patricia
Clarkson, who is one of the best actresses in the
world, is called upon to take such an enormous change
in character that not even she can make it work. Fuck.
No actress could make it work. The film begins to
take on the feel of a morality play before it finally
goes way - WAY over the top and becomes absurdist.
Like "Dancer in the Dark," The Asshole sets-up a wonderful
story with interesting, likeable characters and then
turns up the melodramatics to 11 and has characters
do things that, up until this point, have not appeared
to be in their nature at all. It becomes ridiculous,
ludicrous and unbelievable. Eventually it just becomes
vicious and childish.
The plot ends stupidly as well,
with the exact plot twist we expect. James Caan appears
for a cameo and there is a long conversation between
he and Kidman in the back seat of a car. If you are
ever unfortunate enough to see this piece of crap,
notice how the conversation between them could also
be a conversation between God and Jesus, at least
for a while anyway. Here the film almost had tugged
me back into its graces. For a moment, I liked the
ending and thought that perhaps I had misjudged The
Asshole and his story and theme. I had almost forgiven
him. The film was a morality play and did have some
merit.
But then The Asshole goes and ruins
all he has done to sway me by ending the film with
end credits that run as David Bowie's "Young Americans"
plays. Now normally, I love Bowie, and his thin, sweet,
crisp voice on this modern classic tune was a welcome
reprieve from the harrowing journey we have just been
taken through. But the song is used here as an exclamation
point, the final kick in our collective groin. The
Asshole wants to make it clear to us that his film
is a hateful, violent, repulsive diatribe against
America and everything WE stand for.
If we are still unsure that The
Asshole hates us, he makes it clear by using still
pictures of bloody, violent killings from America's
last century to accentuate his repulsion. It is disgusting.
The Asshole continues to spit in our face until the
very last frame of this so-called film.
"Dogville" is a harsh, anti-American
piece of schlock that degrades and defiles our great
country. It is not an attack on our government or
our ideology. It is an attack on the American people.
The Asshole calls us violent, aggressive, hateful
and slave-drivers. In his mind we are the worst type
of person, one who viciously and violently uses fear
and intimidation to make others our lesser and our
slave. This film says that if an American sees an
opportunity to enslave or degrade or use another person,
he will. He calls us lazy, passive-aggressive and
violent.
In the end, he calls for our extermination.
If anyone who sees this film thinks
it is about America's place in the current geopolitical
word, he is wrong. And while I am not a Bush supporter,
nor a supporter of the war, I am an American. I respect
a filmmaker who wants to make a statement about America's
place in the current state of affairs. I don't respect
a filmmaker who personally calls me a slave driver
and a heartless user. I don't respect a filmmaker
who calls me a person who should be killed.
Fuck you ASSHOLE! Go back to the
fucking loser country you came from. We don't want
you or your repulsive films in our country. Go whine
to the French you ungrateful, spiteful, hateful prick.
My only hope is that Bush can explain to his generals
and bombardiers where Denmark is on the map.
Notes:
Also with Chloe Sevigney, Phillip
Baker Hall, Jeremy Davies, Ben Gazzara, Stellan Skarsgaard,
Udo Kier, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, Siobahn Fallon
Hogan, Zeljko Ivanek and Blair Browne.
As Bowie"Young Americans" comes
to the line "Do you remember/Your President Nixon"
a picture of the former president appears.
God help us. This is part one of
a proposed three part trilogy called "USA: Land of
Opportunities." The second and third films are to
be called "Manderlay" and "Washington."
When the film played at Cannes Kidman
committed to work on the "sequels" with Von Trier
but has since dropped out, purportedly due to schedule
conflicts.
Somewhat inspired by a portion of
Berchtold Brecht play "The Threepenny Opera."
The stills at the end of the film
are from Jacob Holtds book "American Pictures."
A version that is 45 minutes short
has appeared in some countries and this cut was not
done nor approved by Von Trier.
A documentary about the filming
of the piece called "Dogville Confessions" was made
and has been released in some countries.
Released in some countries in 2003,
the film will not officially be released in the US
until March 26th, 2004.
Viewed at SXSW
in Austin in March 2004 at the Paramount Theater
with Alan Campbell. I argued with my friend Kyle Henry
after the film (about the film) a bit but we hugged
and made up.
