I loved this film

'Horrifying' is the word - to me this is a horror film. It repulses me on a deep level, you almost need a shower after watching it. By the end of the film the townsfolk have become all too real monsters. The genius of the film is the believable descent into villainy, and how it makes you cheer for a genocide (involving baby killing). Lars is a truly twisted genius.

I loved this film too. I think it also shows the dehumanizing effect of poverty because the people of Dogville were extremely poor and that made them very suspicious of outsiders as a drain on their resources and also very greedy for the promise of a reward for turning in Grace.

It reminds me of an article David Foster Wallace wrote about starving children in Africa. One was too weak to get to the food, and when he tried, the stronger children would take it from him so that you knew he was doomed. That story still bothers me even though it's been years since I've read it.

I cried when I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. And then I laughed...really hard.

This film made by Top 5 films that year and Kidman and Gazzara (supporting) should have been nominated for Oscars.

You and most of Western civilization. You have a sickness. It is leading us in our decline. You dislike reality (you call it the "dark" side and want to avoid, shun, or eliminate it) and you cling to certain unnatural ideals ("goodness", "compassion"). These ideals only evolved late in human civilization and are the remannts of nihilistic Western religion (ie. Christianity). They are really just sophisticated twists on nature - as Grace's father points out with amazing clarity (that she is more "arrogant" than he is, despite thinking herself the opposite!).

We are and will be increasingly confronted with harsh reality as our civilization declines. Finally we, too, will hopefully clue into exactly what Grace did (before it's too late), and transform back into a healthier state.

It truly is horrific, the thought that the ideologies we cling to so strongly could be wrong or sickly, or that we could be wrong or the ones who are full of arrogance. It took Grace a year of slavery and sexual abuse, after which she barely clued in and admitted it to herself. How long will it take our society?

Great film.



~ Observe, and act with clarity. ~

I struggled with the format of this film to start with, it's definitely original but it quickly sucks you in. I'm not sure I would put it in my top 5 films but it certainly raises some interesting questions about human nature. I thought Nicole Kidman was amazing in the first rape scene, I thought it was understated and seemed very true to life.. and the end scene when she talks about the children is just chilling!