Dogville quotes

View Quote Dogville is a film that, in its flooring penultimate chapter, reverses the usual tables, only to implicate von Trier himself, whose self-criticism here is every bit as incisive as any vitriol spewed America's way... Whether you admire this film or flat-out despise it, you certainly won't walk away unaffected. It's as devastating as it is deeply troubling... I was breathless and more genuinely shaken up than I've been by a film in a very long time. Josh Timmermann at Stylus magazine

View Quote Dogville is as deeply insightful as it is deeply disturbing, a movie that will challenge you intellectually and punish you emotionally. Put as succinctly as possible, Dogville is a "holy ****!" movie going experience... The first great film of '04. Dan Jardine in Cinemania

View Quote Dogville is in no way a standard film and likely won't appeal to many. But Von Trier is so inventive, so outlandish and so filled with energy he has to at least be admired. Tom Long in The Detroit News

View Quote Dogville is not a cry of rage against America — it's a cry of rage against all mankind. It demands to be seen but not to be loved. Joshua Tanzer in OFFOFFOFF

View Quote Dogville isn't for everyone, but there's some intellectually stimulating conversation fodder for those with the patience to navigate the film's rough terrain. James Berardinelli in Reelviews

View Quote In her lifetime Grace had had considerable practice at constraining her emotions, and would never have believed it would be hard to control them now. But as the porcelain pulverized on the floor it was as if it were human tissue disintegrating. The figurines were the offspring of the meeting between the township and her. They were the proof that in spite of everything, her suffering had created something of value. Grace could no longer cope. For the first time since her childhood, she wept.

View Quote The beautiful fugitive's name was Grace. She hadn't chosen Dogville from a map or sought out the township for a visit, yet Tom felt right away that she belonged.

View Quote A marvel — but the film's stylized technique makes great demands on cast and audience alike. Donald J. Levit in Reeltalk Movie Reviews

View Quote A punishing film to sit through, and its rewards may well depend on how much credit you wish to give von Trier for doing something different. Because, for better or worse, Dogville is unlike anything else you'll see on screens this year. Moira MacDonald in The Seattle Times

View Quote A tenacious, brutal drama that dares you to turn your back. Glenn Lovell in The San Jose Mercury News

View Quote Brilliant and infuriating, wise and naïve, outrageous yet unforgettable. Jami Bernard in The New York Daily News

View Quote Challenging, dramatic, provocative. David Sterritt in The Christian Science Monitor

View Quote Continuing his stubborn, aesthetically pathbreaking ways, Lars von Trier has produced, in Dogville, a masterpiece that is nearly unwatchable. Peter Brunette at indieWIRE

View Quote Controversial, intelligent and daring, Dogville features a career-best performance from Nicole Kidman... At three hours it certainly stretches the patience, and any movie inspired by German playwright Berthold Brecht isn't likely to have mass audience appeal. But for all the ideas being examined, it works as a compelling drama too, and the acting is excellent... Dogville is a shock to the system. Nev Pierce at the BBC

View Quote Damn if I didn't completely forget to hate Dogville, and if I wasn't, three hours later, completely blown out of my little mind and right into the screening room next door.... You wanna see what our town is like? Here it is, in all its mean, petty, horrible smallness. It's not particularly about American meanness or pettiness or smallness, though some have accused von Trier of being anti-American — it's about human meanness, etc. The only thing "anti" about Dogville is that it might be called an anti-epic — an ambitious movie with a big cast and a marathon runtime that's about how small and insular and selfish people can be, about the miserable depths to which human beings can sink in their cruelty to others. Nationality's got nothing to do with it, though the ability to wield power over other human beings might, and so there might be some pertinent application to America as a whole right now. But everyone will — or should — recognize the universality of this, the worst side of humanity. MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher