Dogtown is a suspense film that aired in 2003. The film was written and directed by Russ von Trier, with Nicole Kidman as the heroine Grace, James Kane as her father, and Paul Bettany as Tom.
Set in the United States in the 1930s, the film revolves around the story of Grace from the city and a dog town at the foot of a remote mountain.
Grace: The little princess who is running away from the gang
TOM: Writers who do everything but write
Bill: Playing chess rookie
Chuck: The epitome of the poorer the poorer (drunken father of seven children)
Ben: A poor bare stick who can't face and restrain his sexual desires
The following is a summary and analysis of the content of the nine chapters of "Dogtown".
The content is long, and it is browsed as you like.
During the Great Depression in the United States, there was a dog town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, where a group of self-sufficient residents lived. For a long time, they have all survived in this small town with closed traffic, backward economy and primitive life. They do not care about each other, do not disturb each other, and live indifferently to each other.
One day, Grace passes through Dogtown on her way to escape from her mafia father. Her arrival shattered the calm maintained on the surface of Dogtown. Dogtown writer Tom discovers Grace and helps her get temporary consent from dogtown residents to stay in Dogtown.
Grace is given a two-week examination period, and she needs to take turns doing some chores for the residents of the town every day to gain the shelter and understanding of the townspeople, while earning some living expenses. No one in Dogtown needed her help at first, but the kind Grace took the initiative to discover their needs and help them with farm work, talking, taking care of the children...
Grace presents her true self in front of the dogtown residents: kind, enthusiastic, honest, erudite, and doing her best to find and help the dogtown residents solve the difficulties of life. But she forced Jack McKay to face up to the fact that she was blind, and she didn't get along very well with Chuck. Two weeks soon arrived, dogtown residents held a group meeting, and she unexpectedly got 15 unanimous votes to continue living in dogtown.
The dogtown residents accepted Grace's kindness and they had a great time. Grace goes to a family every hour to help them, she helps the doctor realize that she is not sick; chats with old Jack in the sun-filled house; becomes Bill's chess soldier; helps Chuck's wife take care of her seven children; helps the paralyzed girl change the futon sheets and does housework; goes to the orchard to weed and pick... Although the days are busy, everyone gets along easily and happily. The police came to post the notice for the first time, and everyone was slightly worried but still accepted Grace.
(Why have dogtown residents been refusing Grace's help before?) Why aren't people willing to ask for help? Are these needs only found by Grace? Obviously not. The residents of the town have long been indifferent to their emotions in the long-term relationship, they suppress their perceptions, refuse to care for each other, and refuse to change their lives. This collective silence becomes deep and solid day after day. Grace's appearance shatters their mask of peace, and life seems to be shifting for the better. But did the arrival of the police really not have much impact on dogtown life? )
There is a secret affection between Grace and Tom. Christmas came, and Grace and the residents prepared a warm dinner party with food, music, laughter and fun. But the re-arrival of the police has taken a sharp turn for the worse. The wanted list appears on Grace to have been robbed two weeks ago, and the townspeople are shaken to know that Grace has been with them without committing a crime. They felt that the cost of taking Grace in was getting higher, and Grace was asked to take a pay cut in overtime at Dogtown.
Chuck threatens to rape Grace by using the police to find someone to accuse her, but Tom passes Grace's door and quietly walks away. Chuck's wife accused Grace of seducing her husband and throwing away her drive to live and work, a porcelain doll.
The villagers began to insult Grace and drove her as a servant slave. Grace discusses escape with Tom and Ben, and Tom makes an escape plan. Tom goes to borrow money from his dad, gives Ben a reward, and takes Grace out of town. On the day of the escape, the entire population already knew the plan, and Grace, in the dark, hid in her car and left the town hopefully.
The moment the car stopped on the road, Grace's new tragedy began. Ben raped Grace to avoid police charges, and when the car finally stopped she returned to Dogtown. The townspeople accuse Her of stealing money under Tom's guidance, Bill, who once helped, earned by making a dog chain with bells, and the villagers dragged Grace to a heavy object and tied it to a chain.
Grace was used by the residents every night as a tool for taking turns to vent their desires, living in a trance and passive life. She heeded Tom's advice to speak out about her true feelings at the residents' meeting and rebelled against the abuse of her. Dogtown residents deny that they are committing atrocities and accuse Grace of nonsense to drive her away. Tom's cowardly voice at the residents' meeting was fruitless, and he left the crowd to follow the mark Grace had left in the snow.
Tom goes back and wants to have sex with Grace, but Grace politely refuses on the grounds of love. Her words made Tom feel that the fig leaf of morality was pierced, and Tom felt fear and danger, and he took out the hidden business card of the gang boss and prepared to give Grace to the gang that pursued her.
Dog Village waits for the gang to come and take Grace away and lock her up in the house. The residents flatteringly welcome the arrival of the car, and the gang asks the residents to unlock Grace and take Grace to the boss's car.
Grace and Dad begin to talk, and they debate arrogance and kindness.
Grace originally intended to spare the people in Dogtown. When she got out of the car, she gazed back at the village in the moonlight and made the final decision. She got back into the car and ordered the killing of all the people in the entire dog town, young and old. She ordered Zeng Jin's mother, who had smashed her porcelain doll, to hold back the tears of killing her child and to treat her as a human being.
Dogtown eventually left with only one dog left.
The little gangster princess who mistakenly entered the dog town no longer believes in kindness after this disaster.
The big guy with the white cut black is about to go online.
The first half of this film really gave people a dream, so that the editor really wanted to let down his guard and believe in the existence of goodness on the way to watching the movie. There had been such a good beginning between them, but this beauty was so easily punctured. If the story could stop before the arrival of the police, how happy and beautiful life would be.
The appearance of the police seems to be a test of human nature, and this suspicion and atrocity in the crowd is contagious like a virus, and the collective evil is easily forgiven and spared by everyone. None of the townspeople resisted the bullying of Grace, and in the presence of this outsider, they placed themselves in the position of gods, despised Grace spiritually, abused Grace in action, and united to enjoy the crazy pleasure of oppressing others.
However, the beginning of all this may be just a small patience of Grace. Grace's attitude towards this atrocity made the editor think more about human nature. Warm water can easily boil frogs to death. In the beginning, she also used words to resist, and this resistance was weak and weak, and it was easily loosened in the face of collective doubt. In time and again, in patience and compromise, collective evil brews and ferments. Everyone knows they've made a mistake, but the consequences of not punishing them make them even more rampant. Grace's kindness became a sharp weapon in the hands of others, leaving her with nowhere to hide her scales. The real world was so cold, she could only cover up the holes in her heart with a numb spirit.
People are stubborn. It's hard to admit that you were wrong, and the dialogue between Grace and her father is more like a process of growing up through a cocoon. In the face of the real pain, endure the pain of the spirit, cut open the broken tentacles, and the wound will eventually scab.
Human nature can not withstand temptation, kindness also needs boundaries, may you and I find warmth and brave life in this complex world.
It's hard to change the crowd, but we can start by changing ourselves.