New Film Exposes US's Gun Culture - "Dear Wendy" - Page 2

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - New Film Exposes US's Gun Culture - "Dear Wendy" (Page 2 of 2)

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:33:15 AM EDT

[#1]

Well, that's a much more interesting and sensational film than one which would be based on reality;

Dick is a young boy. His father owns guns. Dick's father takes him hunting ducks during season.

Dick grows up and goes to school. When he's old enough he buys his own guns. Dick goes to the shooting range once in a while, tries to go hunting when he can get the time and keeps a pistol or a shotgun loaded at home for protection.

Dick meets Jane. Dick and Jane get married. Dick teaches Jane to shoot. They make babies. Dick buys a safe and keeps his guns in there. Once Dick and Janes babies get old enough Dick repeats the story with Dicky Jr. and little Janey.

See, reality is much too boring.

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:36:46 AM EDT

[#2]

I guess I need to cross "Independence Day" off the purchase list. Bill Pullman is in this heap of trash.

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:38:33 AM EDT

[#3]

Dear Wendy is a highly original, witty and dark satire on US political hypocrisy and gun culture. It brings together the formidable talents of director Thomas Vinterberg (Festen) and writer/director Lars Von Trier (Dogville).

An 18 year old loner Dick, who is played brilliantly by Jamie Bell, lives in an impoverished mining village in the US.

He buys a pearl handled toy pistol as a birthday present but he soon discovers it’s a real gun firing real bullets. Presumably he got it from the gunshop's TOY GUN SECTION? Gimmie a f'n break...

To Dick, the gun has a life of its own, so he calls it Wendy. But he’s an avowed pacifist and has no intention of using it for sinister ends. Of all the inanimate objects capable of being used for harm, guns are the only ones give sole responsibility for their misuse. Big surprise here...

He begins to recruit fellow misfits into his secret society called the Dandies. They dress in highly theatrical garb. Each member has their own gun. It’s granted a name and invested with its own personality by its owner. Gun ownership is a cult affecting only a few imbalanced members of society, right?

On the fringes of the town among derelict buildings they set about steeping themselves in the science of ballistics and the physical effects of bullets. Their favourite innocent pleasure is shooting practice. Whats wrong with that?

Dick delights in the fact that he can shoot accurately at a target when blindfolded. The Dandies rule is, “Never draw your weapons.” Yeah, thats realistic. I try to shoot targes blindfolded 3 times a DAY. And it should be "never draw your weapons unless you're at a carwash or fending off a pitbull. Or defeating a dynamic entry of your house...

But this rule is to be severely tested. The Dandies call shooting their gun “loving”. They may feel impelled to “love” soon. Its "compelled" you moron.

Despite evidence to the contrary, the Dandies view their small world, a village square, as a fearsome place where citizens can’t walk freely. Actually I think he meant "can."

Then one day, Dick’s gang shepherds his elderly, feeble black foster mother across the square to have a cup of coffee with her friend. As a result, his much vaunted pacifism may have to undergo a rethink.

The realism of the film is slightly unhinged. It has a slow start but the pace soon picks up, accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack from The Zombies. It’s a thought provoking and acerbic parable that taunts and exposes the defenders of gun culture in the US. Translation: Unrealistic portrayal of a society by a jealous, whiny little man with no inkling of the real world. Oh yeah and its got trendy (shitty) music.

It works on many levels and also skewers the hypocrisy of humanitarian intervention.

As Vinterberg notes, “pacifists with weapons is what most of the Western world consider themselves”. The alternative being simply "victims".

They never plan to use them but use them they will. Yeah, so you better leave us the fuck alone.

As trigger-happy coppers stalk our streets, can there be a more timely drama in these dangerous and difficult times? Yeah, maybe a movie version of what that bomber in Britain would have done if the cops who shot him had been armed with strong phrases instead of guns.

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:49:22 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Quoted:

Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains. - Winston Churchill

I was a conservative by the fourth grade. Don't punish me for being ahead of the curve.

Sorry! There are always exceptions to the rule.

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:52:17 AM EDT

[#5]

Squatdog is the man.

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:52:48 AM EDT

[#6]

As Vinterberg notes, “pacifists with weapons is what most of the Western world consider themselves”.

Buwhahahahaha. Now that's funny.

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:55:59 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

He buys a pearl handled toy pistol as a birthday present but he soon discovers it’s a real gun firing real bullets. Presumably he got it from the gunshop's TOY GUN SECTION? Gimmie a f'n break...

Hey, don't laugh. There was a British anti-toy gun group that ran TV spots a year or so ago where children were playing with toy guns and one kid had a real gun and shot somebody on accident.

Yeah, I don't make any sense of it either. Do toy guns turn into real guns? I though the British had already done away with most real guns, doing away with the toy guns would eliminate the possiblity that someone might have a real gun (which were already gone). Or something.

I don't know... it doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me. But then again I'm not a fucking retard.

Posted: 8/3/2005 11:56:55 AM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
I see that the UK has a firm grasp of
American society.

Excuse me, I need to head down to the
saloon to get my jug of wiskey with 'XXX'
written on the side.

Pay attention!!! It's a DANISH FILM!!!

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:02:06 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Quoted:

He buys a pearl handled toy pistol as a birthday present but he soon discovers it’s a real gun firing real bullets. Presumably he got it from the gunshop's TOY GUN SECTION? Gimmie a f'n break...

Hey, don't laugh. There was a British anti-toy gun group that ran TV spots a year or so ago where children were playing with toy guns and one kid had a real gun and shot somebody on accident.

Yeah, I don't make any sense of it either. Do toy guns turn into real guns? I though the British had already done away with most real guns, doing away with the toy guns would eliminate the possiblity that someone might have a real gun (which were already gone). Or something.

I don't know... it doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me. But then again I'm not a fucking retard.

Mothers Against Guns.

"Gun culture is on the increase in Britain, with replica guns becoming more prevalent than ever. Police found 72% of the firearms seized by the Metropolitan Police under last year's Operation Trident were imitations, air weapons, blank firers or starter pistols that had been converted, modified or upgraded to fire bullets.

Replica guns are often more dangerous as they do not fire as accurately as normal guns. Mothers Against Guns are campaigning for a complete ban on the sale of replica weapons.

The campaign is endorsed by Toby Harris, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, who said, 'Over the last few years London has experienced a huge surge in gun crime which is part of the escalation of a gun culture in London. Young people are more willing to carry firearms and replica handguns than they used to without recognising the danger that they pose to themselves and innocent passers by.

'This is a serious issue for our police force who are increasingly dealing with gun crime and violence on a daily basis. We must make it harder for people to obtain and convert replicas into deadly weapons. That is why I fully support the call for a total ban of replica handguns and why I was the first signatory to the Mothers Against Guns petition.'"

I'm not sure which is more upsetting... that an organization like this exists, or that they're people out there that belive this shit.

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:02:18 PM EDT

[#10]

From SUNDANCE Festival site: http://festival.sundance.org/2005/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=6184

DEAR WENDY

http://www.dearwendy.dk

Denmark/Germany/France/United Kingdom, 2004, 100 Minutes, color

Director:
Thomas Vinterberg
Screenwriter:
Lars von Trier

Thomas Vinterberg returns to Sundance (It's All About Love screened in 2003) with a brand-new vision that succeeds both viscerally and intellectually. Imaginatively merging genres into a highly atmospheric love story between a boy and his gun, Vinterberg, along with screenwriter Lars von Trier, concocts a riveting allegory about the corruptible power of man's deadly invention.

Dick, an 18-year-old loner, lives in a blue-collar American mining town. When he happens upon a small handgun one day, he finds himself strangely drawn to it, despite his fervent pacifist views. Together with his newfound partner, he soon convinces the other young outcasts in the town to join him in a secret club he calls The Dandies, a club based on the principles of pacifism and guns. Despite their firm belief in the most important Dandy rule of all--never draw your weapon--the club members soon find themselves in a predicament where they realize that rules are made to be broken.

Dear Wendy possesses such creative audacity, such a flow of ideas and provocative observations that it will both challenge and satisfy you. At turns adventurous, playful, theatrical, and serious, this inspired combination of biting commentary and cinematic reverie is such a singular vision that every frame bursts with imagery and ideas. With splendid cinematography inspired by Edward Curtis's controversial American Indian photographs, Vinterberg lushly creates a world lost in time but poignantly relative today.— Trevor Groth

Executive Producers : Peter Aalbæk Jensen, Peter Garde, Birgitte Hald, Bo Ehrhardt
Producer : Sisse Graum Jørgensen
Coproducer : Marie Gade
Cinematographer : Anthony Dod Mantle
Editor : Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
Cast : Jamie Bell, Bill Pullman, Michael Angarano, Danso Gordon, Novella Nelson, Chris Owen, Alison Pill, Mark Webber

www.imdb.com/title/tt0342272

Screening Times
Saturday , Jan 22 3:00 PM Eccles Theatre DEARW22CA
Sunday , Jan 23 11:30 AM Library Center Theatre DEARW23LD
Monday , Jan 24 6:00 PM Trolley Square Cinemas A, SLC DEARW24TE

Director(s) Bios
Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Vinterberg's graduation film from the National Film School of Denmark, Last Call, was nominated for an Oscar in 1994. He founded Dogme 95 with colleague Lars von Trier in 1995 to reject the conventions of modern filmmaking and directed The Celebration based on that credo. The film earned Special du Jury recognition at Cannes and both the Los Angeles Film Critics Award and New York Film Critics Award for best foreign film of 1998, among others. Dear Wendy is Vinterberg's second English-language feature; It's All About Love screened at Sundance in 2003.

Film Contact

Trust Film Sales ApS

Filmbyen 12
Avedore,
Denmark

45 36 86 87 07
[email protected]

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:03:36 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I see that the UK has a firm grasp of
American society.

Excuse me, I need to head down to the
saloon to get my jug of wiskey with 'XXX'
written on the side.

Pay attention!!! It's a DANISH FILM!!!

Whatever ain't all of yuns the same anywho?

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:04:31 PM EDT

[#12]

.

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:19:41 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Dear Wendy,

Your owner is a fuckwit.

Dear Wendy the Film,

Your writer, director, and producers are all fuckwits, pardon my language.

No, on second thought, don't pardon it.

Come on. Tell us how you really feel. Don't hold back.

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:21:28 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I see that the UK has a firm grasp of
American society.

Excuse me, I need to head down to the
saloon to get my jug of wiskey with 'XXX'
written on the side.

Pay attention!!! It's a DANISH FILM!!!

Whatever ain't all of yuns the same anywho?

Nope, we speak ENGLISH, they speak some foreign gibberish!

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:23:05 PM EDT

[#15]

tagged until September

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:24:34 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I see that the UK has a firm grasp of
American society.

Excuse me, I need to head down to the
saloon to get my jug of wiskey with 'XXX'
written on the side.

Pay attention!!! It's a DANISH FILM!!!

Whatever ain't all of yuns the same anywho?

Nope, we speak ENGLISH, they speak some foreign gibberish!

-- Well bugger me. Now sod off!

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:25:24 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:

He buys a pearl handled toy pistol as a birthday present but he soon discovers it’s a real gun firing real bullets. Presumably he got it from the gunshop's TOY GUN SECTION? Gimmie a f'n break...

Hey, don't laugh. There was a British anti-toy gun group that ran TV spots a year or so ago where children were playing with toy guns and one kid had a real gun and shot somebody on accident.

Yeah, I don't make any sense of it either. Do toy guns turn into real guns? I though the British had already done away with most real guns, doing away with the toy guns would eliminate the possiblity that someone might have a real gun (which were already gone). Or something.

I don't know... it doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me. But then again I'm not a fucking retard.

Mothers Against Guns.

Hey, MothersAgainstGuns has an 8mb MPG file on their site. Too bad none of us know how to right click and save-as...

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:33:43 PM EDT

[#18]

tag

Posted: 8/3/2005 12:39:10 PM EDT

[#19]

after seeing the trailer it reminds me that I still have to go pick up 2 or 3 more ak-47´s and another 10,000 rounds of ammo.Thank you dear wendy.

Posted: 8/3/2005 4:31:03 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:

He buys a pearl handled toy pistol as a birthday present but he soon discovers it’s a real gun firing real bullets. Presumably he got it from the gunshop's TOY GUN SECTION? Gimmie a f'n break...

Hey, don't laugh. There was a British anti-toy gun group that ran TV spots a year or so ago where children were playing with toy guns and one kid had a real gun and shot somebody on accident.

Yeah, I don't make any sense of it either. Do toy guns turn into real guns? I though the British had already done away with most real guns, doing away with the toy guns would eliminate the possiblity that someone might have a real gun (which were already gone). Or something.

I don't know... it doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me. But then again I'm not a fucking retard.

Mothers Against Guns.

Hey, MothersAgainstGuns has an 8mb MPG file on their site. Too bad none of us know how to right click and save-as...

Actually, I got an evil idea.

I'm considering registering gunownersagainstmothers.org. What do you think? How many of you people think that mothers are dangerous and should be banned?

ETA: Mothers are more dangerous and just as likely to transform into a real gun as a replica or toy gun is. Mothers should be banned, for the children.

Posted: 8/3/2005 4:50:09 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
As Vinterberg notes, “pacifists with weapons is what most of the Western world consider themselves”.

Buwhahahahaha. Now that's funny.

Yeah, si vis pacem, para bellum comes to mind. If liberals are so damn intelligent, you would think they would know and understand the meaning of that phrase.

Posted: 8/3/2005 5:04:46 PM EDT

[#22]

Dmanit streetfighter, you fucked up man. You revealed arfcom.

Posted: 8/3/2005 5:08:03 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
Dmanit streetfighter, you fucked up man. You revealed arfcom.

All hands, brace for incoming!

Posted: 8/3/2005 5:10:25 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
after seeing the trailer it reminds me that I still have to go pick up 2 or 3 more ak-47´s and another 10,000 rounds of ammo.Thank you dear wendy.

WTF? Build your own, makes 'em even more pissed off because you can build it yourself

.

Ben

Posted: 8/3/2005 5:11:14 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
Dear Wendy exposes the US’s gun culture
The new film Dear Wendy explores the rotten heart of the US, writes Stephen Philip
Socialist Worker Online (UK)
August 6th edition

Dear Wendy is a highly original, witty and dark satire on US political hypocrisy and gun culture. It brings together the formidable talents of director Thomas Vinterberg (Festen) and writer/director Lars Von Trier (Dogville).

An 18 year old loner Dick, who is played brilliantly by Jamie Bell, lives in an impoverished mining village in the US.

He buys a pearl handled toy pistol as a birthday present but he soon discovers it’s a real gun firing real bullets.

To Dick, the gun has a life of its own, so he calls it Wendy. But he’s an avowed pacifist and has no intention of using it for sinister ends.

He begins to recruit fellow misfits into his secret society called the Dandies. They dress in highly theatrical garb. Each member has their own gun. It’s granted a name and invested with its own personality by its owner.

On the fringes of the town among derelict buildings they set about steeping themselves in the science of ballistics and the physical effects of bullets. Their favourite innocent pleasure is shooting practice.

Dick delights in the fact that he can shoot accurately at a target when blindfolded. The Dandies rule is, “Never draw your weapons.”

But this rule is to be severely tested. The Dandies call shooting their gun “loving”. They may feel impelled to “love” soon.

Despite evidence to the contrary, the Dandies view their small world, a village square, as a fearsome place where citizens can’t walk freely.

Then one day, Dick’s gang shepherds his elderly, feeble black foster mother across the square to have a cup of coffee with her friend. As a result, his much vaunted pacifism may have to undergo a rethink.

The realism of the film is slightly unhinged. It has a slow start but the pace soon picks up, accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack from The Zombies. It’s a thought provoking and acerbic parable that taunts and exposes the defenders of gun culture in the US.

It works on many levels and also skewers the hypocrisy of humanitarian intervention.

As Vinterberg notes, “pacifists with weapons is what most of the Western world consider themselves”.

They never plan to use them but use them they will.

As trigger-happy coppers stalk our streets, can there be a more timely drama in these dangerous and difficult times?

Film's web site - www.dearwendy.dk

www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=7022

I kept waiting for "this is the time on Sprockets when we dance".

Euroqueers

Posted: 8/3/2005 5:11:42 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I see that the UK has a firm grasp of
American society.

Excuse me, I need to head down to the
saloon to get my jug of wiskey with 'XXX'
written on the side.

Pay attention!!! It's a DANISH FILM!!!

Paging DK-Prof! Paging DK-Prof!

Commentary, please....

[slaps head]

Oh, that's right- he's still on honeymoon with his gorgeous bride.

Posted: 8/3/2005 5:26:38 PM EDT

[#27]

Wow, what an ingenious plot! Which Toys R Us can I head over to pick up one of these guns?

Posted: 8/4/2005 4:49:29 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I see that the Danes has a firm grasp of
American society.

Excuse me, I need to head down to the
saloon to get my jug of wiskey with 'XXX'
written on the side.

Pay attention!!! It's a DANISH FILM!!!

Fixed: Sorry, Vito!

I made a terrible assumption based on the
fact that it was being touted by the UK
chapter of the SWP.

Posted: 8/4/2005 4:59:50 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Looks more like this movie is a remake of "The Little Rascals"

I really don't like to gay bash but that looks like the most homo fantasy version of 'Firefly' one could imagine.

It is like 'Firefly' with Boy George.

Posted: 8/4/2005 5:06:35 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
I really don't like to gay bash but that looks like the most homo fantasy version of 'Firefly' one could imagine.

FireFly is what I thought of when I
saw that, too. It is a college drama class
version of of it.

That chick looks hot, tho.

Posted: 8/4/2005 5:14:58 PM EDT

[#31]

The movie is on BitTorrent.

I want to get a closer look at the dame.

Posted: 9/13/2005 8:37:24 PM EDT

[#32]

Check out the website. It has clips from the main cast learning how to operate their various firearms, as well as going to the shooting range to get some actual trigger time. The movie looks like it'll be way out there, but the cast actually looks like they may be on their way to the light side.

Posted: 9/13/2005 9:14:54 PM EDT

[#33]

imitations, air weapons, blank firers or starter pistols that had been converted, modified or upgraded to fire bullets.

[sarcasm]Sure...[/sarcasm]

[Judy Tenudo] It could happen! [/Judy Tenudo]

Posted: 9/15/2005 5:46:40 PM EDT

[#34]

FUCK WENDY AND THIS GAY ASS WEAK SHIT! I am going to see a real movie, I am going to see SERENITY!

Posted: 9/15/2005 8:35:27 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
FUCK WENDY AND THIS GAY ASS WEAK SHIT! I am going to see a real movie, I am going to see SERENITY!

Gorram right on Serenity. I'll probably rent Dear Wendy, however. I like fucked up movies.

Posted: 9/15/2005 9:33:35 PM EDT

[#36]

I really think that Euros think we don't think we'll ever use our guns. Personally that's the whole point. If you are going to carry a gun then you had damn well be willing to use it. If I was a pacifist who thought I would never use it then why the fuck would I carry it?

Posted: 9/15/2005 10:09:19 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

He begins to recruit fellow misfits into his secret society called the Dandies. They dress in highly theatrical garb.

On the fringes of the town among derelict buildings they set about steeping themselves in the science of ballistics and the physical effects of bullets. Their favourite innocent pleasure is shooting practice.

Despite evidence to the contrary, the Dandies view their small world, a village square, as a fearsome place where citizens can’t walk freely.

Wow. It's like a little snapshot of my own IDPA club!

www.socialistworker.co.uk/graphics/2005/1962/dear_wendy.jpg

Looks like the "dandies" never took up the practice of trigger discipline.

Although that Mauser c96 is looking particularly sexy.

Posted: 9/15/2005 10:21:26 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:
I see that the UK has a firm grasp of
American society.

Man they pegged us just like Kubrick nailed them with "A Clockwork Orange."

I mean in the UK they really do walk around in their undies and call each other "Droogies" right?