Monday, August 02, 2004
Movie Musings: Dogville
Does it seem I've been watching too many movies lately that they're all I can write about these past few days? I will explain. For one, working a night shift schedule, I try to stay awake until at least 3am, even on my nights off (and am frequently up until 5am or later). There isn't much to do at that hour when you want to be quiet enough to allow your partner to sleep. So I tuck C in and then head into the living room, sit a foot from the tv to keep the volume down while still being able to hear it and throw in a DVD.
Tonight's movie, however, is not yet out on DVD. My friend, Cat, from way-back-when at Antioch College, is visiting. And we were all in the mood for a film. After much laborious deliberation, we finally agreed upon Dogville.
Cat's girlfriend Charlotte had mentioned she'd heard from a friend that the movie contained multiple scenes of a woman being raped. This was definitely in the "con" side of the list for this movie, however after ruling out "Corporation" and "Hijacking Catastrophe" on the grounds that we were in more of a drama mood than a documentary mood, we consented to potentially undergoing trauma by watching this movie in the theater.
Following is a sampling of the conversation that took place in the bathroom immediately after the film ended.
C: I feel like I was beat up.
Cat: Yuck, yuck, yuck.
Charlotte: (groaning) That was really disturbing.
ME: Well, it was very thought-provoking. I definitely have mixed feelings.
The consensus during the walk home was that the movie portrayed a very pessimistic view of human nature, reinforced a classist view of society in certain ways, reinforced the view of men as perpetrators and women as victims (as well as perpetrators at times). And yet the film was incredibly well-done.
The minimal props and empty stage set throughout the film was a turn-off at first. But by the end of the film, I was glad that the intensity of the plot was subdued to a degree by removing it so far from reality. An unseen narrator offered insight throughout the film, which was unique in making the film feel like mixed media - film, theater, and novel blended together. The philosophical discussions among characters added depth to what would otherwise be a rather dreary plot - "A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado town. In exchange she agrees to work for them. As a search visits town, she finds their support has a price." (IMDb). The dreariness is in the price she pays.
Bedtime final review -
ME: I wasn't as disturbed by the film as both you and Cat seem to have been.
C: That's probably because of your interest in existentialism.
ME: That film was not existentialist. Existentialism doesn't have a negative view of human nature. It's more neutral. Yes, there is no meaning to life but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to get something out of the experience or enjoy life.
C: Yes, I suppose that film was more nihilistic than existentialist.
If you've seen Dogville, what did you think?
Tonight's movie, however, is not yet out on DVD. My friend, Cat, from way-back-when at Antioch College, is visiting. And we were all in the mood for a film. After much laborious deliberation, we finally agreed upon Dogville.
Cat's girlfriend Charlotte had mentioned she'd heard from a friend that the movie contained multiple scenes of a woman being raped. This was definitely in the "con" side of the list for this movie, however after ruling out "Corporation" and "Hijacking Catastrophe" on the grounds that we were in more of a drama mood than a documentary mood, we consented to potentially undergoing trauma by watching this movie in the theater.
Following is a sampling of the conversation that took place in the bathroom immediately after the film ended.
C: I feel like I was beat up.
Cat: Yuck, yuck, yuck.
Charlotte: (groaning) That was really disturbing.
ME: Well, it was very thought-provoking. I definitely have mixed feelings.
The consensus during the walk home was that the movie portrayed a very pessimistic view of human nature, reinforced a classist view of society in certain ways, reinforced the view of men as perpetrators and women as victims (as well as perpetrators at times). And yet the film was incredibly well-done.
The minimal props and empty stage set throughout the film was a turn-off at first. But by the end of the film, I was glad that the intensity of the plot was subdued to a degree by removing it so far from reality. An unseen narrator offered insight throughout the film, which was unique in making the film feel like mixed media - film, theater, and novel blended together. The philosophical discussions among characters added depth to what would otherwise be a rather dreary plot - "A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado town. In exchange she agrees to work for them. As a search visits town, she finds their support has a price." (IMDb). The dreariness is in the price she pays.
Bedtime final review -
ME: I wasn't as disturbed by the film as both you and Cat seem to have been.
C: That's probably because of your interest in existentialism.
ME: That film was not existentialist. Existentialism doesn't have a negative view of human nature. It's more neutral. Yes, there is no meaning to life but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to get something out of the experience or enjoy life.
C: Yes, I suppose that film was more nihilistic than existentialist.
If you've seen Dogville, what did you think?
Comments:
Well, I did not see it, but I liked getting the review because I've considered seeing it now and then. David and Jan (my brother and his boyfriend) saw it. They are big fans of the director, Lars Von Trier (I think), and see all his stuff. Keep up the movie reviews, nice feature! Also the dialogue is great. It makes the blog come alive. I saw the Village, M. Night's new movie. I didn't totally GET it. Let me know what you think if you see it. It's another movie that is not exactly UPBEAT :)
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