A manifesto that shook the world of movies

Introduction. What is the purpose of a film? Do films benefit from new technologies like CGI - or are they corrupted by them? Should films create an illusion or reveal the truth? Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier takes on these questions in his 1995 manifesto Dogme 95 👇

Lars von Trier co-wrote this with another Danish director, Thomas Vinterberg. They distributed this manifesto as red pamphlets at film festivals. Their manifesto had ten rules labelled Vows Of Chastity - they were aimed at stripping films of pretentious post-production.

The manifesto argues that what we see in films today is an "elevation of cosmetics to God." These cosmetics are CGI, elaborate technical modifications, and so on. The manifesto states that "the last grains of truth" are being washed away in "the deadly embrace of sensation."

Dogme 95: "Discipline is the answer… we must put our films into uniform, because the individual film will be decadent by definition!" Movies today create an "illusion of pathos and an illusion of love." But how will Dogme 95 films show the reality of the human experience?

Films have become "decadent" factories that churn out pleasing and palatable illusions. The individual artists' freedom has given us nothing but a demonstration of his "free choice of trickery." To show the truth, Dogme 95 will focus on story, theme, and performance above all.

Dogme 95: "My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations. Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY." A few of these vows👇

To not use artificial "props and sets" alien to the shoot location. To not produce sound "apart from the images." To not use "optical work and filters." To not use "superficial action" to distract the audience. To forgo "special lighting."

Movies are lost in "a technological storm." Dogme 95 filmmakers made films like Festen, The Idiots, and The King Is Alive to push against the trend. As CGI films continue to become billion dollar franchises, did the Dogma 95 message fall on deaf ears?

Bottom line. Every manifesto sets out to change the world; very few succeed. But Dogma 95 is nevertheless a provocative and thoughtful challenge to film-makers. It argues that a movie must put a human truth at its center, craft a story around it, and trim all distractions away.