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Jared Carrillo
Professor Jody Sekas
TFD 306
April 20, 2010
Essay # 2 Dogme 95
The new wave was washed up and the Avant-Garde was dyeing out, a new style of film
making needed to sprout up. Everything that was coming out was being overproduced and the
film world began to loose sight of what a film really was. Two Danish film makers decided to
take advantage of this situation and grab the bulls by the horn. What was born was Dogme 95. It
was the opposition to all the overproduced and to all the illusions cast by modern day films. It
challenged film makers to step away from the norms and get back to the basics. Although the
style is not too extremely popular it continues to grow and as long as there are film makers
looking to be free of the everyday cinema distraction, more films will be made in the Dogme 95
style.
Dogme 95 was the opposition of the excessive overproduction of films. The cinema was
getting to be too predictable and too much of an illusion. In 1995 Lars von Trier and Thomas
Vinterberg, decided to write a manifesto against the normal cinema, it became known as the
Vow of Chastity. The manifesto was a set of ten rules that were to mainly focus on the narratives and
the actor’s performances as compared to the unnecessary extra bullshit. The films were shot specifically
on location with only natural light, settings, and sounds. There were to be no pros, if it wasn’t there then
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it didn’t belong. The films are meant to capture the here and now and give the feeling of real life, in real
time, in real situations. The directors could take no credit and anything goes.
The main effect the “Dogme Brothers” brought to the cinema was the step away from norms of
filmmaking. They wanted filmmakers to think outside of the box and explore real, raw filmmaking.
Dogme brings a voyeuristic approach to films as well. It’s meant to give the sense that people do not
know that they are being filmed. The raw semi documentary style specifically focuses on four things: the
actors, their talents, the director, and the story. So you as a viewer can specifically focus on the
emotions behind the acting. In the film industry u can plainly see that movie makers are spending an
extensive amount of money on props and sets and yet the acting is terrible or the dialogue lacks true
emotion; Dogme pushes that out the door. The art of Dogme challenges film makers to get back to the
basics of film making and focus on the main things, rather than on every other aspect but the acting.
As long as there are film makers out there who truly wish to film without distractions there will
be Dogme. It offers a chance to stay away from norms and be free in your film making. Plus Dogme is a
poor man’s dream. You cut the cost of films by a significant amount when you don’t have to worry about
paying for lighting and props and sound. In Dogme you just go out and film. You get to be free and crazy
and crazy behavior often brings powerful results. Dogme will continue to live on especially due to the
fact that with so many natural settings out there in the world why should you have to pay to recreate it
somewhere else.
Dogme may be off the beaten path but the concept behind it is amazing. It’s a way to be natural
and step away from the idea of overproduction. With Dogme you’re free to express the actual acting
aspect of a film without having to set up an illusionary world. So as long as there are free thinking and
adventurous filmmakers in the world Dogme will live on.
