Ranking Every Lars Von Trier Film Worst To Best

The first part in von Trier's unfinished Land of Opportunities Trilogy, Dogville stars Nicole Kidman as Grace, a woman who hides from some pursuers in the town of Dogville. There, she comes across the strange townspeople and must work for them in order to secure lodging. Increasingly dark and morally ambiguous, the film is a twisted and stylish parable of hope, suffering and abuse.

Like its weaker successor, Manderlay, Dogville was filmed on a bare sound stage, the whole thing complete in one setting. Though on paper this seems as though it would be a constrained way of working, the simplistic construction allows the film to feel constantly claustrophobic and palpable with tension.

As with many of von Trier's films, Dogville is both loved and hated, and regardless of where you find yourself once the shocking climax has reached its end, it cannot be denied that the film is a grade-A example of what makes von Trier such as a unique and brilliant presence in cinema.