Reviews

I just watched it. It's quite interesting in some ways, I like its ambiguity, its visuals, the boy actors, specially the one that plays Vanya is very good. But...

* possible spoiler ! * ...I don't know, maybe I just saw it in a bad day, but it didn't convince me completely, the boy afraid of the tower in the beginning/ going up the tower in the end I found a bit obvious, besides that photograph disappearing thing, I usually don't like films that end in a "symbolic" note that suggests that it should be seen as a metaphor rather than at face value - well, at least in this case it felt a bit "artificial" for me. However, it is true that it has some nice poetic touches, wonderful nature, and the concept of the loving/hateful father was very interesting (I hadn't thought of it as a metaphor for Russia, as some people suggest in their comments, but it makes sense). But I don't think this is anywhere near (the best of) Bergman or Tarkovsky.

* Spoilers Ahead (It's impossible to comment this film and not talk about its ending) *

I didn't like "Dancer in the Dark" and "Breaking the Waves" (although I enjoyed Trier's "Kingdom"), so this was in some ways a pleasant surprise. The minimalist set is actually aesthetically interesting (much more than the horrible musical sequences from "Dancer"), and Kidman's never been more beautiful.

As the film put her character thru more and more suffering, I thought, well, there comes another pointless martyrdom a la Breaking the Waves (I hated the ending of that film). So it was a surprise to see everything turn around in the final chapter. And of course, by making us identify with the heroine until the end, Trier makes sure that we end up actually supporting her revenge at the end, which is somewhat disturbing, since it verges on sadism. And I suppose that's exactly what Trier wants. Despite all the clear references - Brecht's Pirate Jenny, Thortnon Wilder's Our Town, Kubrick's Barry Lyndon - somehow it reminded me more of a Biblical allegory or a story by Flannery O'Connor, like the one in which the Misfit says, "She would a been a good woman if there was someone to shoot her every minute of her life" - a message that could apply to all Dogvillians.

But, as in all allegories, Dogville works by creating an unrealistic portrait of life. And for all its anti-Americanism (or, more exactly, misanthropy - could happen anywhere), I did not feel the ending as scathing as, say, the work of great misanthropes such as Swift, Machado de Assis or Golding: I did not end thinking that, "gee, humankind is really evil", and I think it's because some of its misanthropy feels stagey or coldly calculated. Some events that at first seem exaggerated, motivated merely by unjustified cruelty (putting Grace in chains, the repeated rapes), you see that are put there to justify our anger and support for Grace's revenge in the end. But I guess I do have a problem with allegories - I much prefer films like Renoir's Rules of the Game, in which no one is totally good nor totally bad, but somehow the problems of society are better illustrated in the end.

That said, I do think that Dogville was a pleasant surprise, a really interesting film and not boring at almost three hours (which is saying something). Besides, when many films are so unwilling to go against conventions, Trier does all he can to rip them apart, mixing literature, theatre, film, whatever. Some may say this is "filmed theatre", but who has decided how film should be and look like? You might not like his films (and from what I read Trier is not very likable as a person either, or at least quite tough with his actors), but just for going against the general attitudes he is a refreshing presence in modern cinema.