Why so much hype?
Perfectly adorable
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
View MoreA film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
View MoreGrace is on the run from a criminal gang. She seeks refuge in the small town of Dogville, Colorado. The townspeople help her out, but their assistance comes at a price.Highly original story-telling from writer-director Lars Von Trier. The entire movie is shot on a basic stage. The entire town is there, with tape on the ground indicating buildings, walls and streets. A very basic setting for a powerful moral.As the story progresses you see Von Trier's vision - showing the worst instincts of humankind. This he does very successfully and poetically. It's almost Shakespeare-like, especially in how the story is resolved.Superb end-product, though I can see how the movie can be polarising. I am not generally into movies and directors who concentrate more on being arty than telling a good story. With the novel set, I can see how some people may find the movie pretentious. Personally I found it revolutionary, as it strips everything down to the bare minimum, prop-wise, having to rely entirely on character depth and story-telling. Quite the opposite of pretentious, as there is no style - it's all substance.
View MoreShort and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerLars Von Trier's experimental drama is an amazing feat of film making. The story is full of brutal, saddening, and heartwarming moments. The story is told in chapters, much like a book, with little scenery. The film elegantly puts forward some very deep questions about innocence, ignorance, and morality. The ending is brutal and left me stunned.The acting is amazing. Nicole Kidman performs flawlessly. She plays an innocence girl on the run who wants to begin a new life. Paul Bettany also performs very well. John Hurt narrates the story. His voice perfectly blends into the film as he describes the characters, their thoughts, and the story.The pacing is slow but I enjoyed how Trier takes his time in setting up the characters, the environment, and the story. The runtime can be overlong for nonmovie fans, but once you get into the film it goes by like the wind.Pros: An amazing experimental film, a powerful story, great characters, amazing acting, great questions asked by Trier, and slow pacing that develops the story and charactersCons: The pacing can seem slow to nonmovie goers and the runtime is a little long at almost three hoursOverall Rating: 9.2P.S. I would highly recommend this amazing film. The story, characters, acting, and the amazing and stunning ending is what makes this film a must see.
View MoreIt probably won't dawn on you what the film maker is trying to say in "Dogville" until well into the picture, and even then I think there's a wide range of interpretation possible. For me, it began to click when the town citizens began doubling their demands of Grace (Nicole Kidman) to do more work for less pay. But the 'taking advantage' didn't stop there, as most of Dogville's men folk began extracting their pound of flesh from her, in a manner of speaking. Perhaps the one person who violated Grace the most however, at least in my estimation, was Vera (Patricia Clarkson), who destroyed the only physical possessions Grace held dear while making her watch and challenging her not to cry. The symbolism of the chain is glaring, as Grace becomes a prisoner to the whims of Dogville's citizens with no hope of escape unless an outside force should intrude to coerce them into facing their inhumanity. The idea that the scenario presented was all a test designed by Grace and her father (James Caan - the unnamed Big Man) was something I thought about as the Big Man's thugs were given the go ahead to destroy the town. At last willing to face the truth about society's inhumanity, Grace participates in it's demise by personally shooting Tom (Paul Bettany), while asserting that "Some things you have to do yourself".I wasn't quite sure how to take this film when it started out. For a while my disappointment with the excessive voice over narration and minimalist sets began to get real irritating. But after some time, the story took on the quality of a slow motion car wreck that one just has to take a good long look at to be sure nothing's missed. It's not the kind of movie I'd think of recommending to anyone though; much of the dialog is dense and even though there's a lot going on, it feels at times like things are standing still. And except for Nicole Kidman's character, almost all the rest seem static in their devotion to themselves. This is definitely not a picture for everyone, and something I just thought about that's kind of funny, for many viewers a good alternate title for the movie might have been 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'.
View MoreNothing 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.
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