What is a Dogme 95 movie?

Michelle Howard2: It’s because they didn't strictly follow those ten rules. The guy basically says, "Let's shoot a movie," and then just decides on a whim, "Hey, why not shoot at least one part this way?" He does it purely out of spite, just so people will be debating it on forums years down the line. Then he tells his followers, "The floor is lava," and suddenly only half the movie is even made. Honestly, it’s like being gay. If you're gay, you stick with the gay crowd; if you aren't, you hang out with the straight crowd, but if you're bisexual, you don't really get anywhere until you've had a few drinks. Then everything starts moving. My advice? Just read the first sentence of this post. Everything else is total nonsense.

Any movies that strictly follow the Dogma manifesto get issued a Dogma certificate, which pops up right at the start of the film instead of the usual opening credits—though I think "Italian for beginners" was actually the first one to do it that way (it’s pretty wild to think that Scherfig's is the only female Dogme director out there).
It’s also kind of funny because even though "Julien Donkey-Boy" officially holds a Dogma certificate, it actually breaks the third rule regarding diegetic music, much like "Italian for beginners" did too.

If I'm being totally honest, I've always felt that Dogme95 is a bit of a gimmick. I mean, filmmakers were already shooting with a Hand-held camera and skipping the fancy lighting or soundtracks long before this came along—they just did it because they were broke and didn't have the budget!

If you want to see where those early Dogma aesthetics really started taking shape in American cinema, you should probably look back at Refnov's "Pusher".

For me, The Celebration and Mifune's Last Song are definitely the standout films from the Dogme movement—The Idiots was alright, too, I guess.

Timothy Cox2 said:Michelle Howard2: It’s because they didn't strictly follow those ten rules. The guy just decides, "Hey, let's shoot a movie," and then out of pure spite, says, "Why not film at least one part this way?" Just so people can still be arguing about it on forums years down the line. Then he tells his followers—his little disciples—that everything is a mess, even though only half the thing was actually made that way. Honestly, it's like being in a clique; if you're part of the group, you follow their specific vibe, but if you aren't, you're an outsider, and you don't get anywhere until you start drinking with them. Once the drinks start flowing, suddenly everyone is on board. My advice? Just read the first sentence of this post and ignore the rest. The rest is total nonsense.

Timothy Cox2... honestly, what a total waste of time. Lars basically spent half the movie just... grit I just remembered I need to finish filming the rest of the movie. Like this....🙄 Back when they were actually filming that movie, the Dogma manifesto hadn't even been finalized yet—it was still being worked on. Because of that, Breaking the wave is often seen as a precursor to Dogme 95 films. In reality, though, Breaking the wave is only partially part of the Dogma movement.

Blue Eyes said:Timothy Cox2... just total nonsense...

Cut the crap 😁
Did you actually think my post made sense at any point? Because if you did, I think you’re the first one. 😁

Regarding the whole Dogma thing... apparently "Love you forever" is supposed to be incredible. I haven't checked it out yet though, mostly because I'm still recovering from the absolute cinematic assaults written by the same director (The Sect, The Only One...)

btw, I just sat through the new Thomas Vinterberg flick (The Celebration), It's All about Love... and man, what an absolutely nauseating, bottom-of-the-barrel disaster of a movie 😲 🙄 🙂
If I happen to run into him anywhere in NYC these days, I might actually break his legs for committing such a crime against cinema... 😠

Italian for beginners might try to act all deep and different from those cookie-cutter Hollywood blockbusters, but at the end of the day, it doesn't give me... well, it doesn't give ME any vibe that's actually different from those mass-produced Hollywood trash movies. Different packaging, same crap. Maybe that's just because I'm not really a fan of Dogma films, ugh. I haven't seen The Celebration, which everyone here seems to obsess over, but out of the rest, maybe The Idiots could pass as an okay movie. Whatever, I'll be generous today. The Idiots might actually be a decent film. 🙂

Timothy Cox2 said:Don't mess with me😁
Did you actually think my last post made any sense? Because if you did, I think you might be the first one here. 😁

Timothy Cox2, I really don't want to let you down again 🙂))) so this time I’m just leaning into your idea that I'm basically the ultimate "one-size-fits-all" solution. 🙂

And yeah, I'm staying true to my totally predictable, cookie-cutter vibe...😳

Now you're just making excuses... na na na na naa naaa 🙂

slyrider16 said:Even though Italian for beginners takes a different approach than those typical Hollywood romances, at the end of the day, it doesn't really give the audience... well, it certainly doesn't give ME a vibe that feels any different from those mass-produced Hollywood movies. It’s just different packaging for the exact same crap. 🙂

But honestly, I think Italian for beginners is pretty mainstream. What I actually found interesting was how it proved that Dogme95 isn't just this rigid, stuffy concept that limits itself to obscure, hard-to-digest films with an inevitable "art house" label slapped on them.
Maybe it's just because it was directed by a woman🙂.

To me, it feels like Dogme95 was primarily a brilliant bit of trolling that a whole lot of people ended up buying into. Even the creators of Dogma themselves admitted they were pretty tipsy when they wrote the manifesto and were basically laughing their heads off while doing it.

I almost forgot to mention this:

Just a heads-up for all the Lars von Trier fans out there—PBS has started airing his eight-part series "The Kingdom." They’ve already put the first two episodes on, so you haven't missed too much yet. Catch it on Saturday nights after 11:00 PM on their main channel.

The Kingdom is absolutely incredible as a series

Eric Garcia90 said:The Kingdom is such a phenomenal series.

Khm, the series is called The Kingdom. 🙂 😁

1. Use 35 mm Academy format (though digital is getting a pass lately).
2. Everything has to be shot on location.
3. Sound needs to sync up with the image. Any music used during filming has to be live.
4. You have to use a Hand-held camera; any movement you can pull off by hand is fair game.
5. Color only. No filters or special lighting setups allowed (except for whatever light the camera picks up naturally).
6. Optical attachments are out.
7. No violence allowed (killings, weapons, etc., are all off the table).
8. The story happens right here, right now. You can't jump to the future or move the setting to some other part of the US.
9. Genre films aren't permitted.
10. The director gives up all publishing rights and is treated simply as an artist.

🙄

Art and rules—it's a bit of a contradiction in terms.

btw Dogma film is just total nonsense. 😉

One might interpret the intentions behind Dogme 95 in two distinct ways, both of which hold significant merit:

1. We could view it as blatant propaganda. It feels like a clever blend of strategic marketing paired with certain "artsy" exaggerations—after all, if the artist doesn't sign their name, how are we supposed to know it was you, Lars? This reliance on Hand-held camerawork and a quasi-documentary style has been a staple since the era of Direct Cinema and Cinéma Vérité, and it has almost always been tethered to the most elitist forms of filmmaking under the guise of "seeking the truth." A raw, uncompromising manifesto naturally attracts an audience, particularly those aspiring intellectuals who wish to be seen as such. Regardless of whether individual films are officially signed, they are universally recognized as the work of the Dogme 95 group, which serves as perhaps the most effective way to promote a collective of authors as a singular, iconic entity.

2. If we set aside the question of propaganda (for one must sell a film somehow if anyone is ever meant to watch it, right?), perhaps we are actually looking at internal guidelines designed to facilitate simpler, more cost-effective filmmaking with smaller crews. In fact, this echoes one of the core tenets of the French New Wave's auteur theory, though it is frequently misunderstood. It acts as a safeguard against falling into the trap of over-reliance on new technology, encouraging a focus on the story and the performances. When you strip a screenplay of all the trivialities used to mask narrative flaws, you are forced to confront the actual quality of the material. If one commits to such demanding parameters from the very beginning, then every ounce of concentration is directed solely toward the story, the acting, and the essential elements that form the backbone of a truly great script.