Dogville

Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier wrote and directed Dogville, a 2003 experimental arthouse drama and an international co-production including France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is the first film in von Trier's "USA: Land of Opportunities" trilogy; Manderlay (2005) followed, and Washington was never made. It competed at Cannes in 2003, where the Palme d'Or went to Gus Van Sant's Elephant.

The story is set in 1930s America, in the tiny Colorado mountain town of Dogville. Grace (Nicole Kidman), on the run from gangsters, is allowed to stay in return for everyday work. Her stay depends on winning over every resident, and help turns to exploitation and humiliation until the refuge becomes a prison. The cast includes Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, Ben Gazzara and James Caan, with John Hurt as narrator.

The film is staged like a play: the houses are only outlines marked on a studio floor, with no doors or walls. It runs 177 minutes, though a 132-minute cut reached most cinemas. It is dedicated to Katrin Cartlidge. Reviews split sharply: some found it pretentious, others a masterpiece. Its standing has grown, and in 2016 it placed 76th in the BBC critics' poll of the 21st century. Tarantino has praised it.