re:mote voices

Title: Dogville
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, James Caan
Director: Lars Von Trier

Title: All Quiet On The Orient Express
Author: Magnus Mills
Publisher:Flamingo

It was either the day before, or the day that i saw dogville that i finished all quiet on the orient express. as a result i can't help but make comparisons between the two. all quiet on the orient express and dogville both feature strangers in small communities, where the stranger finds that they are doing jobs for the people of this community. at first it makes things go smoothly, they are accepted, they get a certain warmth and feeling of belonging as a result. but as things go on events start to twist. at least at first, it seems that people aren't being malicious, at least not in an especially intended manner. but there is something like spite, which slips in, slides in, twists things about. something which is particularly evident in dogville, which as it goes on stops pulling punches.

all quiet on the orient express is the second novel i have read by magnus mills, following three to see the king, which i particularly enjoyed. set in the lake district of england, the narrator, who remains unnamed, decides to spend an extra week at a campsite. but its the end of the season, everyone else has cleared out, and by staying on he has marked himself as different. quickly the place had changed the illusory village that has been put on view for the tourists disappears, and the locals get back to enjoying their pub, playing darts, trading jobs. the narrator is drawn in, starting with a favour for the campsite manager. before he knows it though his plans to move on have disappeared, he has been there for weeks, and thinks he is part of the community. but mills has the knack of nudging at his narrators, keeping them trying to grasp for the edge, the point where they will become in control of events again. and in the process creating a dark kind of humour from these small scale environments, which look just like reality.

meanwhile, dogville is the latest film by lars von trier, who is described consistently as an enfant terrible. coming from being one of the champions of dogme cinema, von trier takes things a step further with dogville. stripping the narrative down to its barest bones, with a result which would perhaps more expected in theatre than cinema. the cast is a handful of performers, and the action all takes place on the same set - scenery marked out in chalk lines, with a few props to aid suggestion. grace is a fugitive, gun shots in the night, and sinister black cars embrace her arrival in a small town. the town of dogville is in the rocky mountains, depression era america. grace is embraced by young tom, who encourages the town to protect her from whatever it is that pursues her. the town is reluctant to some degree, to take grace in, but with tom's encouragement she starts to do little jobs around town, trying to ingratiate herself with the residents.

soon she is taken in to the town, but regardless of how much work she does, there is always a veneer or reserve. as the film progresses, the town is reminded of the threat that grace may pose, and this threat becomes a tool they use against her. as with all's quiet, things seem straight forward to start with, but it becomes clear that some are manipulating grace, taking advantage. and this is a pattern which takes hold, so that things become worse for this woman, who starts to feel trapped by events.

events in dogville attain a compelling gravity, backed up by the performances delivered by the cast of nicole kidman as grace, and paul bettany, lauren bacall, ben cazerra, stellan skarsgard, and all as the townspeople. at 2hours and 50 minutes dogville is a pretty long film, and with its entire approach it will not be for everyone - as evidenced by the fact there were more people walking out of this showing, than i have seen walk out of any film for awhile. but sticking with dogville rewards, it is a strikingly severe film.