Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts about the featured films on my website and Facebook page.

‘Dogville’ is the movie we have decided to feature this month after one of your suggestions.

‘Dogville’ is the first in a supposed trilogy of films by Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier.  I saw Lars’ ‘Breaking the Waves’ years ago and responded to it in such a strong way that I told a journalist he was one of the directors I most wanted to work with. Lars apparently read the article and that is when he offered me Dogville.

It was shot on an almost bare soundstage in Sweden, in a small town called Trollhättan. When I first arrived I thought…Well, I’m here in this tiny town in rural Sweden. And it’s a little strange… everything’s a little strange, Lars in particular. But I like strange – I always have. I was really glad I went because it was great to be part of something so unpredictable and I always support directors who push the envelope. I like to be daring. I’m interested in directors who I feel are posing philosophical questions

I hope you enjoy revisiting ‘Dogville’ as much as I enjoy sharing the process of making the movie with you.

With the nation on the brink of war, a preacher’s daughter named Ada (Nicole) falls in love with a man named Inman (Jude Law). Their romance is cut short when the Civil War breaks out and Inman is called away to fight. Inman witnesses the brutalities of battle, while Ada faces harsh realities of her own. When her father dies, Ada is left to survive on her own and keep her family’s farm alive. A young woman named Ruby (Renée Zellweger) arrives just in time to teach Ada the ways of survival. Meanwhile, Inman can no longer stand to be apart from Ada and deserts the army. Traveling on foot, Inman embarks on a treacherous journey through the war-torn landscape filled with dangerous and desperate men. For both Inman and Ada, one thing keeps them going through it all – the belief that some day they will be together again.

Hello,

I’m so touched that you all are enjoying the featured movie on my website.  This month’s featured movie is “The Others”. We chose “The Others” because it was one of your suggestions on my Facebook page and because I think Alejandro Amenabar is one of the finest auteurs of our time.

Working with him was such an honor and I am so grateful to have been a part of his beautiful body of work. I have not seen this film in such a long time, but I look forward to seeing it again with you all.

So, let’s get started …

Grace (Nicole) is a mother living with her two young children (Alakina Mann and James Bentley) in a secluded mansion on the Isle of Jersey during the last days of World War II. Grace anxiously awaits the return of her husband from the war as she desperately tries to shield her children from danger. She has them living in a house shrouded in darkness, never letting in the light because the children are deathly allergic to the sun. Isolated in their dark little world – they begin to get the ominous feeling that they are not alone. Disturbing, unexplainable things begin to happen, and when a kindly trio of servants arrives to help run the household, a terrifying truth comes to light.

What did you think of “The Others”? What did you come away thinking and feeling? Were you surprised by the ending?

Initially drawn to the film’s script, Nicole decided to make “Birth” when she found out it would be directed by Jonathan Glazer. Nicole knew Glazer would approach the film in a sensitive and unique way, and she loved his previous film, “Sexy Beast.”

Nicole plays Anna, a woman who meets a boy who claims to be the reincarnation of her late husband. At first she and her family treat the boy’s claims as a joke, but then the boy reveals things only her husband could have known. Slowly, Ann begins to wonder if the boy just might be telling the truth. Soon she begins to unravel, and her life and the lives of everyone around her are changed forever. Anna is a damaged woman, but the movie is about more than a woman’s grief. It’s about love and being held under the spell of a person.

If you haven’t already, watch the film so we can discuss what other questions it raises.

“Birth” is available to rent or purchase n DVD, BLU-Ray or online at Warner Bros and Itunes.

Have you seen ”Birth?” What did you think? What questions did it raise for you?