Drexl Takes On Von Trier's DOGVILLE!! Plus KEN PARK News! Banned In Sydney!!

Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...

All the talk about Chloe Sevigny putting a piece of diseased meat in her mouth seems to have overwhelmed the fact that there were many, many films at Cannes this year that did not feature someone blowing Vincent Gallo. And thank god for that, eh?

Drexl here has had the opportunity to peek at the new von Trier film, something I can’t wait to do for myself. Love him or hate him, von Trier is one of the most expert provocateurs working in cinema today. Here’s what our scooper has to say about the movie:

Hello Harry, Moriarty and everybody turning AICN into one of the best damn sites about movies on the Net!

Alright, enough kiss-ass for now. It’s time to talk about DOGVILLE.

If you wanna know absolutely, and I mean abso-fucking-lutely nothing about this movie then get your raggedy asses out o’ here! Pronto! I’ll promise not to spoil a hell of a lot but there are things in this movie so weird and out of the ordinary that I would advise you to go in not knowing anything. It’s definitely worth the trip.

So… SPOILERS.

DOGVILLE is, above all things, a Lars von Trier movie. It is with shame that I have to admit I haven’t seen BREAKING THE WAVES and even though I own DANCER IN THE DARK on tape, I haven’t gotten ‘round to checking it out.

DOGVILLE is photographed in pure von Trier fashion (never saw one o’ his flicks but seen enough clips). It’s not Dogma, the much debated technique used in e.g. FESTEN, but it’s quite shaky. Not that it annoys or anything. Hell no, moviegoers will be challenged when they find out there’s not a set in the classical interpretation of the word. The story takes place in a small village in the Rocky Mountains, but there are no mountains to be seen or houses. What we get is a soundstage where the houses are drawn with white chalk. Even a dog is nothing but a drawing and when characters open and close doors they make the movement, we hear the sound effects but there is no spoon… I mean, no door.

Knowing this movie lasts 3 hours I was kinda feeling tired 15 minutes in. I thought the giant soundstage idea, turning this into a cinematic play, was interesting but unsuccessful until Nicole Kidman pops up and the story kicks off.

Kidman (definitely on a roll) plays Grace, a young woman on the run from a bunch of no-good hoodlums. She ends up in the small town of Dogville. The townsfolk, a diverse bunch of familiar faces (all character actors), decide they are gonna let her stay (even with the gangsters still lurking around). Grace wants to pay them back and they all find chores for her to do. Things that "don’t need to be done" but since Grace offers her services they agree. Conversations with the blind Jack McKay (Ben Gazzara in a fantastic performance), taking care of a disabled child (daughter of a friendly and humble African-American woman), babysitting (and teaching) kids and so on… All goes well and Grace is loved all around. Until… things start to crack. Cops show up with notes saying the ‘missing woman’ is dangerous and when one of the characters lets out the animal that lurks in all of us, the town turns on poor Grace and a devastating destructive drama ensues.

DOGVILLE is truly something. I really loved it and if there’s one criticism to be had it’s that some of the characters are truly underused. In a 3-hour movie I expected everybody to get it’s share of screen-time but that’s not the case. It’s a shame when people like Lauren Bacall and Philip Baker Hall are pushed to the background in what otherwise are solid parts.

Redemption lies in John Hurt’s fantastic voice-over work. He bathes the story in a fairytale-ish glee, tells the tale with such enthusiasm and spirit… he is the perfect storyteller. In more ways than one, this feels like a fairytale. A very dark, twisted one. Very adult. I won’t go into the ending but it’s something I saw coming a mile off but that didn’t make it any less powerful. I kept thinking "this is the way to take this story, it’s brutal, vicious and nasty, but it’s the only way."

Kidman is astounding and Paul Bettany, Patricia Clarkson and Stellan Skarsgard (with a thick American accent) give more than solid support. Also, the rest of the cast (including Jeremy Davies and Udo Kier) are great, even if they are left with very little to do. There is a revelation at the end that feels more like a gimmick (it has got something to do with a very familiar face) but I decided to let it slip because it gives way to the aforementioned powerful end scene.

There are a lot of cool effects in the movie. I’ll try to give you an idea. The look of the soundstage changes, whether it is night or day, rain or sunshine. And there is a scene where Grace lies hidden that lasts for quite a while but is my favorite moment of the movie. It’s also very uneasy and distressing. But that’s nothing compared to what’s gonna come.

So what’s the consensus? Check this out. It’s definitely not for everybody’s taste but that’s as lame criticism gets. I urge everybody to go see this. I don’t know how this will ring in America because, despite Von Trier denying, there is an anti-American allegory here. Brave cinema.

I would like to apologize if I made mistakes for I’m a Belgian bred ‘n fed redneck known to regular AICN chatters as

Drexl

Ow, if you liked this Moriarty, I’ve seen Larry Clark’s (and Ed Lachman’s) controversial, XXX-flick KEN PARK. I got a review cooking up. Wanna see?!

Sure. KEN PARK’s picking up steam as a controversial film around the world. We got a report in earlier today that I’ll share:

hey all

just a quick note that might be of interest to some - ken park , which was scheduled to be screened at the Sydney Film Festival on the 17th of June, has been banned, refused classification and refused a special exemption for a festival audience. the fact that the film has screened at festivals around the world and is in commercial release in Spain, Russia, Denmark and other European countries (and is expected to be released in the US later this year) makes this decision fucking ludicrous. anyone who gives a good god damn about the right to call ken park a work of visionary genius and/or the last flaccid hurrah by a dirty old man can email the Hon. Daryl Williams AM, QC, MP here or the Hon. Robert John Debus, MP here to party for our right to...see a film that won't plague society like syphillus? or whatever

cheers

Thanks for the news. Whattaya say, Drexl? Got something to share with our Australian readers so they know what they’re not able to see?

"Moriarty" out.