Hi. So what this film is is the greatest possible subversion of "Our Town" ever, in how von Trier takes the idyllic nature of Wilder's play, and the homespun philosophy, and the omnipotent narrator, and the lack of sets, and the small-town love, and the theme of the transience of human life, and then he twists the situation and shows what Wilder is too docile to say: That the insular temperament of small towns can just as easily be a force of evil than as good. Sometimes, when Neighbour Rosicky has a bad heart, there's no need to add a "ha, ha, ha." Through this subversion, Dogville becomes one of the most fascinating looks at group psychiatry I've ever seen -- not only in the obvious communal downward spiral in how they treat Grace, but in how townspeople overlook the sins of others in Dogville in a tacit agreement that theirs will be ignored as well, and in how lesser sins lead the way for greater sins to become more acceptable. Further, in the last 15 minutes, von Trier pulls out his last rabbit by making one of the most conservative cinematic moves this side of, well, the last 10 seconds of Breaking the Waves, successfully arguing for personal responsibility and standards and that, despite the strength that community can hold with an individual, groupthink is no excuse for individual sins. (The final showdown, so to speak, is not so much a dismissal of those views as it is an allegorical need for cleansing. I think.) The film's no doubt didactic and moralizing, but off the top of my head I can't think of a didactic and moralizing film I love more (partially because my views are in line with the film; partially because the film is so amazingly accomplished in all technical and actorial aspects [except for the kid, because nearly all kid actors suck]). Forget When I Say "The Passion of the Christ," I Really Mean That's All I'm Gonna Show In My Film; this is the film that has something to say about modern Christianity. I'm not completely sure why the minus behind the A -- I suspect it may be thrown away upon a second viewing -- but regardless, almost certainly one of my three favorite films of this year.
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
