“if there is any town this world be better without, this is it.”
“yes. shoot them and burn the town”
“there’s a family with kids. do the kids first, and make the mother watch. tell her you’ll stop if she can hold back her tears.”
happy new year everyone!!! i know a lars von triers movie is a weird choice for a first log of 2026, but it’s an amazing film and i think i’ve fully processed it, so why not. i’ve had quite a fun time (not really, but i guess positive?) discovering lars von triers filmography: from the sexually explicit, philosophical nymphomaniac - to the dark musical of a blind woman being failed by a system and authority figures. his movies are always quite experimental, bleak, and can be quite uneasy to watch: and the same can be said for ‘dogville’, even more so. the main reason why this movie in particular caught my eye, out of his many films, is because it’s notably described as his most misanthropic pieces of fiction, and it’s also in a trilogy with ‘dancer in the dark’, so i assumed they’d have quite a similar vibe. while they both bring out negative emotions within me, i think they both had different reactions when finishing. dancer in the dark made me completely saddened at such an innocent woman being subjected to death, something which is unfortunately a reality of many due to society’s corruption. ‘dogville’ on the other hand, brought me more disgust, or frustration. the people who say this has misanthropic themes definitely weren’t lying, as i just don’t feel sad for the outcome of the movie, instead just feel disgust for human kind in general, and how grace, a woman who tries to help the townsfolk, they pay her back by being raped multiple times and made unable to escape due to a massive metal circle attached to her leg. there’s many reasons why i would personally call this a perfect movie, but one noticeable thing for me that made me connect with it fully was its set ep design. the entire town of dogville lacks any walls for houses, and have very minimal props with chalk drawn on the ground. without the distraction of walls, it allows the performances to shine more clearly: their voices, emotions, faces. it also had a feeling of one big room, without any privacy, and symbolises how while grace is getting raped repetitively, everyone turns a blind eye to it, either encouraging it or showing indifference. this movie is also amazing because of how well it dissects the human mind, and how while some people may seem good at first, they can quickly submit to apathy if they sense someone weaker than them. grace is almost a christ like figure, due to her extreme forgiveness and patience, and how the townsfolk exploit her. like i mentioned before, the performances are a big part of the movie, and it’s all really effective as a whole. nicole kidman has always been an actor i was aware of, but nothing really more. after watching this movie: i suddenly have a massive urge to watch every other film with her in it. i just loved her as grace, and is honestly perfectly cast (i also just love her in the interviews for the promotion of this movie). the chapters was a really nice feature, and the eery, slow paced narrations were also really effective. it’s very much a slow burn, but i’ve honestly always preferred those over the in your face, flashy action sequences. the end is also completely rewarding, with all these disgusting specimen of humans being exterminated, and the dog being left alone: as it’s impossible for a dog to truly be evil, which can’t be said for humans. it’s semi-bleak, but after 3 hours of the protagonist being tormented and sexually/mentally abused, i was happy.
“if there is any town this world be better without, this is it.”
“yes. shoot them and burn the town”
“there’s a family with kids. do the kids first, and make the mother watch. tell her you’ll stop if she can hold back her tears.”
happy new year everyone!!! i know a lars von triers movie is a weird choice for a first log of 2026, but it’s an amazing film and i think i’ve fully processed it, so why not. i’ve had quite a fun time (not really, but i guess positive?) discovering lars von triers filmography: from the sexually explicit, philosophical nymphomaniac - to the dark musical of a blind woman being failed by a system and authority figures. his movies are always quite experimental, bleak, and can be quite uneasy to watch: and the same can be said for ‘dogville’, even more so. the main reason why this movie in particular caught my eye, out of his many films, is because it’s notably described as his most misanthropic pieces of fiction, and it’s also in a trilogy with ‘dancer in the dark’, so i assumed they’d have quite a similar vibe. while they both bring out negative emotions within me, i think they both had different reactions when finishing. dancer in the dark made me completely saddened at such an innocent woman being subjected to death, something which is unfortunately a reality of many due to society’s corruption. ‘dogville’ on the other hand, brought me more disgust, or frustration. the people who say this has misanthropic themes definitely weren’t lying, as i just don’t feel sad for the outcome of the movie, instead just feel disgust for human kind in general, and how grace, a woman who tries to help the townsfolk, they pay her back by being raped multiple times and made unable to escape due to a massive metal circle attached to her leg. there’s many reasons why i would personally call this a perfect movie, but one noticeable thing for me that made me connect with it fully was its set ep design. the entire town of dogville lacks any walls for houses, and have very minimal props with chalk drawn on the ground. without the distraction of walls, it allows the performances to shine more clearly: their voices, emotions, faces. it also had a feeling of one big room, without any privacy, and symbolises how while grace is getting raped repetitively, everyone turns a blind eye to it, either encouraging it or showing indifference. this movie is also amazing because of how well it dissects the human mind, and how while some people may seem good at first, they can quickly submit to apathy if they sense someone weaker than them. grace is almost a christ like figure, due to her extreme forgiveness and patience, and how the townsfolk exploit her. like i mentioned before, the performances are a big part of the movie, and it’s all really effective as a whole. nicole kidman has always been an actor i was aware of, but nothing really more. after watching this movie: i suddenly have a massive urge to watch every other film with her in it. i just loved her as grace, and is honestly perfectly cast (i also just love her in the interviews for the promotion of this movie). the chapters was a really nice feature, and the eery, slow paced narrations were also really effective. it’s very much a slow burn, but i’ve honestly always preferred those over the in your face, flashy action sequences. the end is also completely rewarding, with all these disgusting specimen of humans being exterminated, and the dog being left alone: as it’s impossible for a dog to truly be evil, which can’t be said for humans. it’s semi-bleak, but after 3 hours of the protagonist being tormented and sexually/mentally abused, i was happy.
