Dogville, 2003
Dogville
A quiet little town not far from here.
A barren soundstage is stylishly utilized to create a minimalist small-town setting in which a mysterious woman named Grace hides from the criminals who pursue her. The town is two-faced and offers to harbor Grace as long as she can make it worth their effort, so Grace works hard under the employ of various townspeople to win their favor. Tensions flare, however, and Grace's status as a helpless outsider provokes vicious contempt and abuse from the citizens of Dogville.
20032 h 58 min
Images
A movie stripped of everything but the cruelty and inebriated truth of Lars von Trier and the characters, who you get to know really well by the end of it’s 177 minutes run time.
By then all you can do is watch them helplessly from your seats as the protagonist exacts what she has to exact, almost reluctantly. Pay special, affectionate, attention to the metamorphosis scene in the Phantom Rolls-Royce with James Caan and Nicole Kidman.
Trier uses the camera as alcoholic catharsis, experimenting with each frame & how it affects the audience and himself.
And it works, much to this sinnerman’s surprise, delight and slight disdain.