A difficult yet rewarding film from the equally complex Danish provocateur Lars von Trier! This fiercely polemical, little-seen sequel to Dogville tackles a topic as sensitive as slavery, all the while maintaining its predecessor’s Brechtian premise, anti-American bent, and yes, its brilliance.
Lars von Trier dialed down his ferociousness in the mid-2000s to make a satire of neoliberalism that is, in fact, surprisingly sweet! Circling around an eager thespian who bears the brunt of a peculiar act of outsourcing, this droll, lo-fi version of the office sitcom never needs a laugh track.
In between breathtaking moments of knee-jerk violence and oddly cathartic brutality, Nicolas Winding Refn delivers an unhurried and evocative allegory of a Norse warrior (Mads Mikkelsen) surviving heaven and hell in the eleventh century. A sublime, visceral journey into the depths of cruelty.