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Directing In the Dark.
Since his 1995 critically acclaimed "Breaking the Waves," Danish director Lars von Trier has been hailed as a filmmaking genius--and dismissed as an eccentric blowhard. His latest film, "Dogville," starring Nicole Kidman as a sweet-natured girl on the lam, proves he is both. "I am liberating the cinema, like America has liberated Iraq," von Trier boasted to NEWSWEEK the day after "Dogville" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month. "I'm not satisfied with the way things are, and furthermore, I'm willing to do something about it. I'm the Che Guevara of the film world, and I will end by being betrayed."
Betrayal is a consistent theme in von Trier's life. Raised a Jew in Copenhagen, the only child of communist academics, Trier--as he was known then--was so bullied at school that he dropped out. He eventually entered the Danish Film School, where he added the aristocratic participle "von" to his name. In the mid-'80s he made his first trilogy of feature-length films, "The Element of Crime," "Epidemic" and "Europa," which won the Grand Prix at Cannes. After the awards ceremony, von Trier memorably declared that he deserved the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, and called the jury's president, Roman Polanski, "a dwarf."
He has been betrayed in his personal life, too. In 1995, von Trier's mother confessed on her deathbed that her husband had not been the boy's biological father. His real father was a classical musician and a Roman Catholic. Von Trier converted to Catholicism, split from his first wife, started taking Prozac for depression and set to work on "Breaking the Waves," a riveting drama about a bride whose crippled husband asks her to make love to other men and then tell him about it. When it premiered at Cannes, "Breaking the Waves" left audiences weeping and went on to win the Grand Prix.
At the same time, von Trier reconsidered his method of filmmaking. He and fellow Danish director Thomas Vinterberg dreamed up a manifesto called Dogme 95, with 10 "commandments" that included filming only with ...
- From Dogme to Dogville--Von Trier's Ode to the...
- Newspaper article from: The New York Observer (New York, NY) April 12, 2004 700+ words
...why I liked Lars von Trier's Dogville more than I ever...America of Mr. von Trier's latest alleged...I learned that Dogville was three hours...Christ. Anyway, Dogville turned out to...improvement over Mr. von Trier's previous vicarious...
- The monuments of Dogville: Sven Lutticken on Lars von Trier.(Film)
- Magazine article from: Artforum International Lutticken, Sven March 1, 2004 700+ words
...new feature, Dogville, isn't a Dogme film, von Trier has nevertheless...ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dogville abounds with...character of Tom, von Trier's parody of...the set of Dogville wouldn't work...above, and von Trier's mobile camera...
- Dogmatic 'Dogville' alienates; Lars von Trier's theater piece a resentment...
- Newspaper article from: The Washington Times April 9, 2004 700+ words
...speaking, Mr. von Trier's "Dogville" lives down to...constitute Mr. von Trier's accusatory...really define Dogville. Their helping...STAR TITLE: "Dogville" RATING: R...directed by Lars von Trier. Cinematography...
- The melancholy Dane: Lars von Trier's Dogville'.(Screen)(Movie Review)
- Magazine article from: Commonweal Alleva, Richard April 9, 2004 700+ words
...beginning of Lars von Trier's latest film...caption announces that Dogville will be "told in...From what I knew of von Trier's work (the fascinating...we learn that Dogville is a tiny town in...pursuing wealth, von Trier is unable to summon...For instance, ...
- "Dogville": the American effect: in his latest film, set in a small isolated...
- Magazine article from: Art in America Rice, Shelley April 1, 2004 700+ words
Lars von Trier's film Dogville, a tour de force that...condition. "Yes," von Trier said in an interview, Dogville "is about the United...the nonexistent elms. Dogville is, similarly, von Trier's search for, and interaction...
- VON TRIER'S STYLISTIC `DOGVILLE' IS MUZZLED BY ITS CONTEMPT FOR...
- Newspaper article from: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA) Axmaker, Sean April 16, 2004 700+ words
...as God. Lars von Trier does, or so it seems in "Dogville," his most...creatures, von Trier laces John Hurt...could think of "Dogville" as an arrogant...residents of Dogville as a microcosm...another of von Trier's long-suffering...
- Dogville.(Just Announced ...)(Lars von Trier's drama)(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: Video Business Clark, Samantha June 7, 2004 700+ words
* Controversial director Lars von Trier's drama, which grossed $1.4 million in limited release and stars Nicole Kidman and Paul Bettany, takes refuge on DVD...
- Nicole Dogville tambien tiene una vida de perros.(Magazzine)
- Newspaper article from: Reforma (México D.F., México) January 18, 2004 700+ words
...en la historia Dogville, del director Lars Von Trier, en la que la...la pesadilla Dogville literalmente...Y desde ah, Von Trier da la primera...Visualmente, Von Trier ha creado un...original para Dogville. Todo el filme...
Source: HighBeam Research, Directing In the Dark.