Dogville

Dogville is directed by the mad, bad and slightly unhinged director, Lars Von Trier.

As you’d expect from Lars this is an incredibly brave piece of film making. The entire film is staged with minimal props on a black background. But the writing is so good it manages to hold your attention.

The story centres around a beautiful fugitive, Grace (Nicole Kidman) fleeing her past, who arrives in the isolated, Rocky Mountain Colorado township of Dogville on the run from a team of Depression-era mob gangsters.

With some encouragement from Tom Edison, Jr. (Paul Bettany), the little community reluctantly agrees to hide her.

Later, when a "Wanted" poster of Grace is tacked up and searches occur, everyone’s accepting attitude changes and the townsfolk's demands become more arduous, mean and dangerous.

At just under three hours, it’s not easy going but stick with it for an ultimately rewarding experience.

Lars is currently working on a film project called Dimension, starring Udo Kier, taking a 3 minute shot every year around Christmas on different locations all over Europe over a period of 33 years. The project started back in 1991, so its premiere is expected to be in the year 2024. (Told you he was bonkers.)