location and using props which would normally be found in such a setting. Festen takes place inside a large country house and its’ grounds in rural Denmark. As such, the onscreen action is divided between scenes which occur in the bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, a large dining room and the extended exterior grounds of the house. Italian For Beginners for the large part takes place in a small Danish town in suburban Copenhagen, with a smaller segment towards the end of the film shot on location in Venice. The film makes excellent functional use of the town it is filmed in by using the main characters’ places of work as filming locations alongside their homes and local amenities such as local cafes, the hospital where Karen’s mother is an inpatient and the school lecture theatre where the main characters congregate on a weekly basis for the Italian classes. This allows for a range of props to be used which would be naturally located in these settings and largely applies to Italian For Beginners as it employs the use of multiple different locations. As Festen is filmed in fewer locations the use of props occurs to a lesser extent, however, the minor touches to a film which are achieved through the use of props is countered by the use of other technical considerations such as lighting, choice of camera shots, music and also through the use of dialogue and the proxemics of the onscreen action. The sound that features in these two films is both natural and diagetic and the music which characterises specific scenes in each film is complimentary to the storyline or the onscreen action. Italian For Beginners features music during the various religious services at the church where Andreas is the Pastor, in the Venetian restaurant where the main characters enjoy a romantic Italian meal at the end of the film and during a somber moment at the hospital where Karen is visiting her mother from an adjacent
music room. Festen contains fewer incidences of music. Despite the collective, drunken, singing outbursts of the party guests, the only scene which features explicit music comes after the dinner party when some sleepless, drunk family members, guests and servants gather around the piano to dance in the early hours of the morning. This is integral to the narrative as their drunkenness symbolically marks the deterioration of the Klingenfeldt family at this particular point in the film.
The camera work throughout each film uses the Academy 35mm format, neglects the use of both optical work and filters and relies on natural lighting to accompany each shot. Both films are shot in colour and feature the use of hand-held camera work in alignment with the vows of chastity, characterised by the often shaky camera movements particularly when the camera tracks characters’ movements or switches between shots of characters in a single scene. Furthermore, the films take place without temporal and geographical alienation, however, during the closing scenes of Italian For Beginners the characters stray away from the small Danish town which their previous interactions have taken place in and relocate to Venice to conclude their story. Despite this geographical shift, the same temporal settings apply to the action and the change in location is very much integral to the storyline as is it provides the opportunity for the culmination of the main characters’ dreams and desires. Festen works in an opposite way to bring together family members and guests from different parts of Denmark and Europe to descend on one specific location in the Danish countryside. Though the action takes place within many different rooms and in the exterior grounds of the house in which the story is set,
the action never moves from these grounds and the equilibrium of the story is destabilized and restored within less than a 24-hour time frame.
Superficial action, in terms of murders and the use of weapons, is not a part of either film, though it could be contested that superficial action to some extent is portrayed as both films contain violent outbursts of fighting and aggression. During Festen, Michael, along with some other guests, are instructed by Helge to remove Christian from the house, a task which they respond to with force and results in a fight between Christian and Michael outside in the woods. Michael is also featured in other scenes displaying aggression towards his wife (Mette) and subsequent to Helge’s confirmation that he did abuse Christian and his sister as children; Michael drags Helge from his bedroom in the middle of the night and begins to assault him in the garden. Aggressive outbursts similarly occur in Italian For Beginners, however, to a lesser extent than in Festen. Halfinn is a hostile character by nature and although there are no overt physical assaults in Italian For Beginners, there are several aggressive outbursts by Halfinn with Olympia in the baker’s shop when he is refused rum truffles, with the hotel manager when he is fired from his restaurant job and with two patrons of the restaurant who won’t remove their feet from a table.
Where the two films fall short of meeting all of the criteria for a Dogme film, is with the assignment of genre. The Dogme manifesto states that to qualify as a Dogme film that genre movies are not acceptable (Dogme95, 2007), but this presents itself as a problematic area. Italian For Beginners is chiefly characterised as a romantic comedy
and Festen could be labelled as a family drama or a black comedy, thus breaking the fundamental Dogme rule of no assigned genre. This area becomes problematic because in all forms of art, particularly those including the spoken word and action, there are conventions that exist which characterise texts and films and it would be near impossible to create a film that could not be assigned a genre. Marshall and Werndly (2002:114) define genre as “a type of text” which includes “particular and recognizable characteristics that exist within a text that relate it to other texts”. Some forms of genre identified by Myers (1994:210) include; a murder mystery, a riddle, a sonnet, a collections letter, or a demonstration advertisement. Furthermore, it is a specific text type which is “characterized primarily by the kind of relationship it sets up between its users and certain textual properties” which is important to create a relational value between the audience and the text. Moreover, genre is a highly important factor with the marketing of a film. The balance of romance and comedy in Italian For Beginners is perhaps the main component of the film that contributed to its imminent success across the continents as it provides a relational value. Festen was also successful at several International film festivals, chiefly because it was the much anticipated first Dogme production, but it could be argued that part of its success is because it too has a relational value with the audience. Its popularity may have spread because of the elements of production that gave it a genre for filmgoers to relate to, be entertained by and to be interested in.
As previously stated, it was the initial contention of the brotherhood to take filmmaking back to basics and remove the Hollywood gloss in a new wave of film production. Adams (2001:1) notes that:
“The film business, they (von Trier and Vinterberg) concluded, had become overly dependent on special effects, fancy camerawork, and other techniques of production. Rather than being built on the bedrock foundations of drama – actors playing real human beings in a story - movies were becoming more and more dependent on gratuitous action, special lighting, impressive sets, optical effects, audio engineering, and all the other gee-whiz paraphernalia of showbiz. The vital essence of film, dramatic narrative, was in danger of being submerged in glitz. And as if this weren't enough, they also concluded that the cult of personality surrounding the film director was detrimental to making good films. Movies are not the work of a single visionary,
they argued, and too many directors spend time making "artistic statements" to gratify their own egos when they should be concentrating on characters and story”.
Meddings and Thornbury (2000:1) further state that the Dogme brotherhood, most notably von Trier, “rejected Hollywood razzmatazz, and saw itself as a “rescue action”, attempting to restore to cinema the “inner story” of its characters and to rehabilitate, for the makers of films, their original joy in film-making”. This would be largely achieved through dialogue and an intense focus on the characters and an attempt to “reclaim reality by a wholesale purge of their aesthetic means” (Matthews, 1999). Naturally, for what is essentially ‘lost’ by rejecting the special effects, fancy camerawork and removing the Hollywood gloss from production, somewhere along the line must be compensated for in order to keep Dogme films visually interesting, but yet still working within the boundaries of the ‘vows of chastity’. In both Festen and Italian For Beginners, this is achieved by two different interpretations of working within the ‘vows of chastity’, particularly the rules concerned with camera work, sound, locations and lighting.
Beginning with Festen, once the siblings have arrived at the country house and are preparing for dinner there are increasingly rapid cuts between three different scenes which include separate storylines for Christian, Helene and Michael. Christian and Pia (a chambermaid, friend and past lover of Christian’s) remain in Christian’s room discussing the past as Pia prepares to take a bath. Michael and Mette are seen in their bedroom arguing about Mette not packing appropriate shoes for Michael to dress in for dinner, a conversation in which Michael reveals the underlying feelings of his father’s disapproval of him because he did not attend the funeral of his sister (Linda). The absence of correct coloured dinner shoes to match his black suit adds fuel to this argument which eventually results in Michael being physically aggressive towards Mette and the instigation of sex which the viewer deduces is not wholly consensual on Mette’s part. Following this Michael is seen showering as Mette prepares herself for dinner. Meanwhile, Helene and Lars (the receptionist) enter Linda’s former bedroom which has the furniture covered in white sheets and in which Helene is supposed to reside in over the course of the weekend. As Helene leads Lars into the bathroom, the two begin to play a game of ‘getting warmer’, marked by following small drawings on the white walls, which is a familiar game from Helene’s childhood. The intense focus on the bath in the bathroom suggests to the viewer that this is where Linda committed suicide only months prior to this gathering. The game ends with Helene locating an apparent suicide note from Linda in a light fixture on the ceiling that she conceals in her handbag without reading and which is later read at dinner. The filming cuts between these three separate scenes in an intense
building of suspense and the cuts gradually become faster, cutting at integral parts of the story. The climax of the scene occurs as Pia who has been pictured underwater in the bath (mimicking Linda’s possible drowning) as Helene begins to read the suspected suicide note. Helene shouts ‘boo’ to Lars, Pia rises out of the water gasping for air and Michael yells as he falls in the shower and pulls down shower rail. These three separate cuts occur simultaneously, consuming less than two seconds of screen time. Additionally, using hand-held cameras to track the characters’ movements and to switch to views of different guests in their rooms, outside and in the dining room provides an interesting detail of this film appearing similar to a home video of a family’s celebration. Cameras are also placed in unnatural positions during some scenes; as Helene pushes Linda’s apparent suicide note into a pill tube pulled from her purse after locating it, a camera is placed under the bottom of the pill tube to capture the note being pushed into the brown tube. Also, in the same sequence in Linda’s bedroom, the camera captures the action of the ‘getting warmer’ game from above, providing an almost bird’s eye view of events as the camera is attached to a boom mic. However, this is something which breaks one of the vows of chastity as the camera at the point is not technically being hand-held by the standards of the Dogme manifesto.
Vinterberg makes an interesting use of the lighting during the film. As the guests arrive at the beginning of the film during a sunny afternoon, Brown (2002) states that the scenes appear ‘overlit’, but as the film continues and as the family collapses, this is accompanied by darker lighting as the party continues into the night and the images disintegrate. This is shown in particular when Christian is removed from the house for the final time by
Michael and is left in the woods in darkness and also during Christian’s subsequent dream sequence in which Linda appears in candlelight. The dream sequence in particular
is successful in conveying the emotional deterioration of Christian. Not only does the lighting play a part in showing this personal decline, but at this time he is also drunk, collapsed and in a subjective state. A dream sequence in a Dogme film may be construed as superficial action to some, but the way in which this sequence is set up and filmed and the context behind Christian’s character at this point in time, depicts the dream as realistic and helps to convey the real emotions of Christian.
What is also interesting in Festen is the use of metaphor and symbolism which occurs through the film. There are running images of water throughout the film; while Pia takes her bath, Christian sits in his bedroom pondering and the camera focuses on him swirling water in a glass, accompanied by the association of water with baths and showers which is occurring in the scenes that feature the other siblings. This is contrasted by the focus in the dinner scenes of the red wine in the guests’ glasses. It could be said that this is a covert reference to blood, thus drawing upon the familiar phrase ‘blood is thicker than water’ in relation to the trials and tribulations of the family, particularly between the siblings and in particular between Christian and Michael as Michael begins the evening in disbelief at Christian’s claims of sexual abuse whilst friends, such as Kim (the Chef), encourage Christian to stand his ground.
Italian For Beginners works in almost opposite ways to achieve continuity and pleasure for the audience. Unlike Festen, Italian For Beginners contains longer scenes in which character background and depth is established. At first this is achieved by focusing on each separate character in their respective employment and domestic settings and within the classroom for their Italian lessons, whilst utilizing the zoom effect on the camera to capture close-up images of the characters faces and reactions. This produces a documentary feel to the production as their lives and circumstances are revealed in a lengthy opening sequence. Since Dogme film production is concerned with intensely portraying characters and stories, a documentary style effect in the filming provides the sense of real-life and allows the audience to acquire a greater knowledge of and relate to the characters on a deeper level.
Through the use of multiple indoor locations, such as the hotel, the football stadium and the hospital, there always appears to be available light to work with, although for the large part that was most likely artificial lighting from lights located within the buildings As such, Italian For Beginners did not suffer and did not need to suffer from a deterioration in lighting and the advent of grainy images, as this story, unlike Festen, did not become ‘darker’, it became ‘lighter’ and the characters transformed from being lost souls to finding love and friendship. Very few scenes are filmed outside, and when they are these occur during the daytime, but the most notable outdoors sequence is the characters’ arrival to Venice. Here, on the sunny waters and streets, the characters explore the scenic attractions of Venice, often in couples, with the exception of Halfinn
and Karen. At this point in the film, Karen has shunned Halfinn’s romantic advances after overhearing the disparaging comments he made about her alcoholic mother in a previous sequence, however, in a darkened tunneled alleyway, with the only natural light appearing as the natural daylight at the end of the tunnel, Halfinn apologises to Karen and their love is rekindled. During the closing scenes of the film, the characters, in their respective couples join each other for a romantic group meal in an Italian restaurant, accompanied by a romantic atmosphere set by candlelight and the overture of soft music.
As previously noted, Italian For Beginners is typically labeled as a romantic comedy, thus breaking a fundamental Dogme rule (Stevenson, 2002; Riding, 2002). However, Italian For Beginners, Stevenson (2002) claims, saved 2000 from being a disastrous year for Dogme film production due to its worldwide success with both Danish and English-speaking audiences (Stevenson, 2002; Riding, 2002), thus proving that there was still an audience for Dogme films (Riding, 2002).
It appears that neither film fully conforms to all of the rules laid down in the Dogme manifesto. In support of this, in November 2000, Stevenson (2002) notes that the Dogme brotherhood agreed that a pure Dogme film had yet to be made. Though they furthermore decided that this was in fact a good thing, possibly because it would increase the longevity of the Dogme movement and see filmmakers striving to make that all illusive first Dogme film which completely adhered to the Dogme manifesto. However, at the same meeting, Jesper Jargil, the only member of the brotherhood without a portfolio revealed that there were no plans to update or adjust the manifesto, a revelation which
some felt was a poor idea as there were a plethora of low-quality, foreign Dogme films being produced which were gaining exposure from their certified Dogme status (ibid., 2002).
Nevertheless, Dogme film production has continued, but with its critics who continue to debate the seriousness and sincerity of the campaign (ibid., 2002). Matthews (1999) contends that “suspicion is already stirring that the so-called vow of chastity taken by members of the Dogma 95 group, if not an outright scam, is at least intended with a pinch of irony” and continues to argue that “it's an open question whether he (von Trier) and his Dogma cohorts are entirely straight-faced in proposing these fundamentalist theses or whether they remain merry postmodern pranksters, committed to nothing but paradox, devious game-playing and generally having us on”. However, in addressing the Dogme movement in Riding’s (2002:3) interview, Lone Scherfig claimed:
“It recently struck me that Dogma is a phenomenon that has to do with how spoiled we are…we have to create laws for ourselves because we are so free. In a way, it's like when very spoiled kids decide to go slumming. That's why Dogma works best for directors who have already made lots of films. Otherwise, you don't enjoy how loose and easy and fast it is”.
Vinterberg (1999. in Kelly, 2000:112) himself further comments on the Dogme phenomenon that “people don’t seem to have picked up the idea in the way I hoped. I was hoping it would create a polemical atmosphere and provoke people to do something of consequence…to make huge films (but)…just to show you can do them another way too”. Despite these contentions from those who have produced certified Dogme films and the fact that the number of Dogme films has now surpassed 200 (Dogme95, 2007), the
earnestness of the movement still remains under question (Matthews, 1999; Stevenson, 2002; Roman, 2001).
Whilst there has been an abundance of low-quality Dogme films by which directors have used the Dogme certification as a way of arguably gaining exposure (Stevenson, 2002), from viewing Festen and Italian For Beginners alone, it is clear to see that there have been successes within these numbers, success which is not merely measured by the awards received at International film festivals, but through financial success and positive audience reception pleasures. In applying rules to film production, although some may forever be unable to be abided by (i.e. genre), the Dogme manifesto draws filmmakers into taking film production back to basics. It focuses concentration on the very essence of a film text; the characters and the story, instead of projecting importance on the aesthetic effects which currently cloud a large portion of Hollywood productions and Hollywood’s perceived ideology.
The ‘vows of chastity’ laid down by the Dogme brotherhood read much like a basic cookbook recipe, a recipe which von Trier undoubtedly conceptualised as one for success. Filmmakers are invited to produce a product which sees the creative use of cameras, naturally occurring lighting, locations and diagetic sounds, alongside a solid narrative in which character storylines are developed well. This allows for placing individual, directorial flair and interpretation into a film project, but that still adheres to the basic ingredients of the Dogme film recipe. Drawing upon Vinterberg’s (1999, in Kelly, 2000) previous comment, it aims to show that good, organic filmmaking is possible even when
devoid of the razzmatazz of mainstream Hollywood cinema. The successes of Festen and Italian For Beginners as two different, but equally visually interesting Danish films yields truth to Vinterberg’s statement and should assist in silencing some of the critics who propose that Dogme is a valueless cause.
References
Adams, E. (2001) Dogma 2001: A Challenge to Game Designers. [online] Available from: [accessed 27th July 2007]
Brown, R. (2002) Edinburgh University Film Society: Festen. [online] Available from: [accessed 27th July 2007]
Dogme95. (2007) Dogme95. [online] Available from: http://www.dogme95.dk/menu/menuset.htm [accessed 27th July 2007]
Internet Movie Database (IMDb). (2007) Festen. [online] Available from: [accessed 27th July 2007]
Kelly, R. (2000) The Name of this Book is Dogme95. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
Marshall, J and Werndly, A. (2002) The Language of Advertising. London: Routledge.
Matthews, P. (1999) Festen (1998). [online] Available from: [accessed 27th July 2007]
Meddings, L and Thornbury, S. (2000) What dogme feels like. [online] Available from: [accessed 27th July 2007]
Myers, G. (1994) Words in Ads. London: Edward Arnold.
Stevenson, J. (2002) Lars von Trier. London: BFI.
Riding, A. “That Search To Find Someone To Share Pasta With” The New York Times. January 13th 2002.
Roman, S. (2001) Digital Babylon: Hollywood, Indiewood & Dogme 95. Hollywood, CA: Lone Eagle Publishing Company.
Widding, A.S. (1998) Denmark. In: Solia, T., Widding, A.S and Iversen, G. (eds) Nordic National Cinemas. London: Routledge. pp. 7-31.
