MovieChat Forums > Dogville (2004) Discussion > Who actually wrote the English draft of ...

Who actually wrote the English draft of the narration?

posted 9 years ago by eolloe
6 replies | jump to latest

I loved the style of the writing, and John Hurt was the perfect voice actor for the narration. But I kept thinking, there's no way a native Dane with a career entirely based in the film industry could possibly have written so effectively in that style -- yet von Trier's name is the only name listed on IMDb as screenwriter. Did he actually write it all himself? Or did he write it and then have someone come polish it up to fit the style he was aiming for?

[–] Hugo-James 9 years ago

Do you mean because his first language is Danish?

[–] eolloe 9 years ago

Yes. But more than that. I think even a typical American whose first language is English would be unlikely to be able to write convincingly in that same style unless he or she were a writer.

Having said that, I did notice one particular phrasing in the film (can't remember whether it was in the narration or in the dialogue - I think it was the latter) that did not sound like native English. Sounded very peculiar, as if written by someone other than a native English speaker from one of the larger Western nations where English predominates (US, UK, Canada, and by extension Oz/NZ).

[–] Hugo-James 9 years ago

Well I don't know about American teachings, but in Europe, particularly a country like Denmark where Languages are a huge passion - it is very likely that his english would be impeccable. Given that this wasn't his first venture into English filmmaking, I have absolutely no doubt that he wrote these words solo.

I can appreciate that if you're in America, it could be difficult to imagine that. But countries for instance like Iceland? An Icelandic guy told me by the time they leave high school they usually have 3 languages under their belt.

As English is the most taught secondary language to europeans, its not martian to accept he wrote this.

Hope this is a good insight and not coming across as me trying to 'school you' etc. I read it back and it sounds bitchy, but I just can't be f'd fixing it lol.

I'm not much on rear-window ethics.

[–] ThreeSadTigers 9 years ago

Well, von Trier would've written the original text in Danish, but he had other people working on the screenplay, specifically...

Jonathan Sydenham ... script translator
E. Max Frye ... script consultant: US (as Max Fry)
Clare Saxby ... script editor

So any of those three individuals might have worked towards converting the Danish into literate English.

[–] eolloe 9 years ago

Thank you.

[–] Drooch (5333) 3 years ago

Thanks, that helps. The language is so rich and precise that I had trouble believing that someone for whom English is their second language could write such gorgeous prose. Not impossible, but unlikely. To hear that some English first-languagers were involved clears that up.