Movies - Dogville

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	Movies - Dogville

Dogville is a 2003 movie written and directed by Lars von Trier, starring Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Stellan Skarsgård and James Caan, among others. It is a parable that uses an extremely minimal set to tell the story of Grace (Kidman), a fugitive from mobsters, who arrives in the small town of Dogville and is provided refuge in return for physical labor.

The film is the first in the USA - Land of Opportunities
trilogy, followed by Manderlay
(2005) and Wasington
(2007).

The film was in competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival but Gus van Sant's Elephant
won the award.

Staging

The story of Dogville is narrated by John Hurt in nine chapters and takes place on a stage with minimalist scenery. Some walls and furniture are placed on the stage, but the rest of the scenery exists merely as white painted outlines which even have big labels on them; for example, the outlines of gooseberry bushes have the text "Gooseberry Bushes" written next to them. While this form of staging is common in black box theaters, it has never been attempted on film before. The bare staging serves to focus the audience's attention on the acting and storytelling, and also reminds them of the film's artificiality. As such it is heavily influenced by the theatre of Bertolt Brecht.

The movie was shot in a studio in Trollhättan, Sweden.

Tagline: A quiet little town not far from here.

The story of Dogville is given in 9 chapters and a prologue, with a description of each chapter given as it takes place in the film. These descriptions are given below.

Plot summary

Prologue

Dogville is a very small American town in the Rocky Mountains with a road leading up to it, but nowhere to go but the mountains. The film begins with a prologue in which we meet the two dozen or so citizens of the town. They are portrayed as lovable, good people with small flaws which are easy to forgive.

The town is seen from the point of view of Tom (Paul Bettany), an aspiring writer who procrastinates by trying to get his fellow citizens together for regular meetings on the subject of "moral rearmament." It is clear that Tom wants to succeed his aging father as the moral and spiritual leader of the town.

Chapter one

:In which Tom hears gunfire and meets Grace It is Tom who first meets Grace (Nicole Kidman), who is on the run from gangsters who apparently shot at her. Grace, a beautiful but modest woman, wants to keep running, but Tom assures her that the mountains ahead are too difficult to pass. As they talk, the gangsters approach the town, and Tom quickly hides Grace in a nearby mine. One of the gangsters asks Tom if he has seen the woman, which he declines, and so the gangster offers him a reward and hands him a card with a phone number to call in case Grace shows up.

Tom decides to use Grace as an "illustration" in his next meeting -- a way for the townspeople to prove that they are indeed committed to community values, and willing to help the stranger. They remain skeptical, so Tom proposes that Grace should be given a chance to prove that she is a good person. Grace is accepted for two weeks in which, as Tom explains to her after the meeting, she has to convince the townspeople to like her.

Chapter two

:In which Grace follows Tom's plan and embarks upon physical labour

On Tom's suggestion, Grace offers to do chores for the citizens -- talking to the lonely, blind Jack McCay (Ben Gazzara), helping to run the small shop, looking after the children of Chuck (Stellan Skarsgård) and Vera (Patricia Clarkson), and so forth. After some initial reluctance, the people accept her help in doing those chores that "nobody really needs" but which nevertheless make life better, and so she becomes a part of the community. After the two weeks are over, everyone votes that she should be allowed to stay.

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