Hey folks, Harry here with another of the several reviews that Capone sent in today. He's seen the latest from Lars Von Trier, that very talented consummate filmmaker that likes to shake things up cinematically speaking. Here ya go with his look at MANDERLAY!

Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here.



Manderlay

Director-provocateur Lars von Trier doesn’t want you to like him. In fact, I’m convinced that he’d rather have you hate him, especially if you’re an American. Considering he is devoting a trilogy of lengthy films (Dogville was the first, this film, and Wasington, set for release in 2007) opens criticizing American values and practices, I’d say he’s not booking an cruises stateside for quite some time. In fact, Von Trier has (proudly) never been to the United States and says he’ll never come. His latest, Manderlay, appears on the surface to be a film that attacks the practice of slavery, but it becomes something even darker than that (if that’s possible). Using the same minimal staging practices he did with Dogville (no sets, just chalk lines on a black floor indicating streets, homes, landmarks, etc.; minimal props) and many of the same actors, Von Trier has crafted a work that is at times naïve, poignant, frustrating, and manipulative. Thank goodness there is at least one filmmaker out there making films like this, even if they don’t always hit the mark.

Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village) picks up the Grace role Nicole Kidman had in Dogville. She and her father (Willem Dafoe) are traveling through the south when they stumble upon a plantation (run by Lauren Bacall) where slavery is still very much in effect. Grace informs the slaves that they no longer have to serve for no pay, as she takes on the role of their great emancipator. Von Trier dares to ask the question (whether he’s serious or not, is anybody’s guess), are African-American’s better off as slaves in America? Danny Glover’s Wilhelm is the emotional focal point of the former slaves and the film, and it’s great to see him back in top form. Because of their isolation from the outside world, these slaves have a tough time understanding their rights as well as their rightful place in society. Grace’s attempts at acclimating never quite play out how she thinks they will, especially with the rebellious Timothy (Isaach De Bankolé).

If all of this sounds more like a thesis than a film, you’re not far off. Von Trier’s American trilogy is filled with as much theory and philosophy as they are plot and characters. In fact, his characters seem more like icons than human beings, and it’s on this level that frustration sets in. Still, he has more challenging and thought-provoking ideas running around his pesky little films than just about any other filmmaker working today. Sometimes dead-on, sometimes ignorant, Von Trier is a writer-director that simply should not be ignored. After watching one of his films, my natural inclination is always to confront him, and once I feel that way, I know that Von Trier has gotten under my skin once again. Does he hate women, as he’s shown us evidence of in Dancer in the Dark and Breaking the Waves? Probably. Does he despise certain American values? Most definitely. Does that make his works any less worthy of being seen. No. Manderlay is not the best he’s given us, but it’s still challenging and well worth investigating.

Bryce Howard... MARRY ME! Wait, Let Me Become Mormon First!

CAPONE