I hadn’t seen Dogville in six years until last night. It worked much better for me now, mostly because I’m not restricting myself to analyzing it as a comment on America. As such, I found it to be a formally innovative exercise in more-of-the-same. But, removed from that mitigating context, it’s quite an incendiary bit of judicial therapy, not unlike the revenge therapy that is the focus of Tarantino’s films. I only wish that I could machine gun my problems like poor Grace has the opportunity to do at the end of this film! Mike D’Angelo and his Skandies clique just cumulatively voted this the best film of the 00’s (aughts, et al), which it isn’t, but it was a gesture that motivated me to revisit it, and, thus, like it much more than I did. So thanks to those guys.
Over at criterionforum.org, the guys are conveniently in the 00’s episode of their Lists Project, up to 28 pages of light, but thought-provoking insight into some truly hidden gems from the last ten years. It’s one of the best ongoing best-of-the-decade discussions on the web right now, so I’d encourage anyone who reads this to check it out (*you have to be a member of the forum to see it, but this is one of many reasons to register over there).
I’m currently trying (failing) to see my share of 00’s movies that I’ve missed, which I’m logging in my 2009 film log in the tabs up top. October was a great month for pretty good, ungreat films.
And, yes, Les herbes folles will be making any decade list that I may or may not make; can’t stop swooning over that one.