Manderlay

Colour, 35 mm
Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, United Kingdom, 2005, 139 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

In the second instalment of a planned American trilogy, based on motifs of the United States as a land of unlimited opportunity, Danish enfant terrible Lars von Trier brings the character of Grace to the screen once again. She was also the heroine of his last picture Dogville, though Nicole Kidman is here replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard (known from M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village). At the beginning of the thirties, Grace and her father move from Colorado to Alabama, to an old plantation named Manderlay where they are confronted with the appalling cruelty and injustice of slavery. Unable to idly stand by, Grace decides to do something. But with what result? The social order, maintained for decades, falls apart but does it serve to teach slaves democracy?

About the director

Lars von Trier (b. 1956, Copenhagen) studied at the National Film School of Denmark, graduating with the noteworthy Images of Relief (1982), but before coming to feature films he shot more than 50 commercials. His feature debut, The Element of Crime (1984), was well received, winning the Technical Grand Prize at Cannes. Then followed the dramas Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991; Jury Prize at Cannes), the melodrama Breaking the Waves (1996; Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, European Film Award for Best Film), the anti-musical Dancer in the Dark (2000; Palme d’Or at Cannes), The Idiots (1998), the first two parts of a planned trilogy: Dogville (2003) and Manderlay (2005). He experiments in television as well (Medea, 1988; the series “The Kingdom”/“Riget”, the collective New Year’s performance D-dag). He co-founded the enterprising production company Zentropa, and is coauthor of the moralistic, style-generating directors’ manifesto Dogma 95, which he has used, however, only to shoot The Idiots.