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	Dogville
	Lars von Trier Nicole Kidman, Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, Jean-Marc Barr, Paul Bettany, Blair Brown, James Caan, Patricia Clarkson, Jeremy Davies, Ben Gazzara, Philip Baker Hall, Siobhan Fallon, John Hurt, Zeljko Ivanek, Udo Kier, Bill Raymond, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård 2003		During his career, director Lars von Trier ("Dancer in the Dark," "Breaking the Waves") has shown a measure of devotion to the cinema verité-style production strictures dictated by the Dogma collective of Danish filmmakers. Von Trier's "Dogville" is an even stranger breed of movie. Set on a near-barren stage that stands in for a rural Depression-era town, "Dogville" tells the tale of Grace, a beautiful fugitive woman who is taken in by the community and then learns the price of her security. In the process, von Trier challenges assumptions people hold about the film medium. Period costumes and a handful of props are used. Chalk outlines designate the walls of the town's buildings. But it's von Trier's script and a group of superior actors that truly create this world. Led by Nicole Kidman as Grace, the cast encompasses veterans such as Lauren Bacall, Harriet Andersson, James Caan, Ben Gazzara, John Hurt, and Stellan Skarsgård, and newcomers including Paul Bettany, Patricia Clarkson and Chloë Sevigny. "Dogville" rises and falls on the level of commitment shown by the ensemble and the director. It's a difficult, lengthy piece, dramatically potent and ultimately rewarding. There's also an air of misogyny to "Dogville" for dramatic and/or cautionary reasons. The impatient and the conventional are hereby warned.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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