Dogma (film)

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Movie
German title dogma
Original title dogma
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1999
length 120 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
JMK 14
Rod
Director Kevin Smith
script Kevin Smith
production Kevin Smith,
Scott Mosier
music Howard Shore ,
Alanis Morissette
camera Robert Yeoman
cut Scott Mosier ,
Kevin Smith
occupation

Dogma is a fantasy satire from director Kevin Smith from the year 1999 and the continuation of New Jersey Films . In his film, Kevin Smith deals with the dogmatics of the one-god religions , especially Christianity, and the institutionalization of this religion.

action

After the two angels Loki and Bartleby fell into the disgrace of God thousands of years ago and have been banished from heaven to Wisconsin for eternity by him , they now want to return home. A newspaper article leaked to them by the angel of death Azrael shows a possible way forward , because a cardinal from New Jersey offers all Catholics a general indulgence for the forgiveness of all sins on the occasion of the centenary of his church as soon as they enter this church. Loki and Bartleby hope to return to heaven this way. However, this would refute the infallibility of God and all existence would be destroyed.

Since God has not returned in human form from a skee ball excursion (in German dubbing: mini golf ), the personified voice of God, the angel Metatron , must convince the only surviving descendant of Jesus' parents , Bethany, that she must stop both angels. Bethany receives support from the dark-skinned 13th Apostle Rufus, who complains that he is not mentioned in the Bible because of his skin color, the two prophets Jay and Silent Bob and the muse Serendipity , who can inspire others but works as a stripper herself , because she suffers from writer's block as a writer .

On their odyssey to New Jersey, Bethany and her companions have to deal with a hell-demon, the Golgathan , who was created from the excrement of crucified criminals. Both him and Azrael can take out the divine friends. Meanwhile, Loki and Bartleby act as avenging angels and kill an unfaithful husband and the board members of the production company of an animated series, as they allegedly created an idol with their most popular product, a golden calf, and committed a number of other grave sins.

By the time Bethany and her companions arrive at the church, Bartleby has already caused a bloodbath, while Loki has now doubts. Bartleby eventually kills his comrade Loki and appears invincible, but then Bethany discovers where God is: He is trapped in the body of a comatose man whom Azrael's assistants hunted down (as shown at the beginning of the film). Bethany turns off the machines that hold the coma patient between life and death and thus frees God from mortal shell. In doing so, however, she is killed as a martyr by the rising power of God.

Immediately afterwards God appears in front of the church in the form of a woman and stops Bartleby. She kills him by her voice. When Silent Bob brings the dead Bethany to the church, God brings her back to life. In the end, Metatron informs the overjoyed Bethany that she is pregnant and will have a daughter who is waiting for great tasks.

background

  • There are several references to other films. For example in the scene when Bartleby shows up in front of the church and interrupts the ceremony, he is approached by a police officer named McGee, who is supposed to arrest him. Bartleby replies, “Mr Mc Gee, don't piss me off. They won't like it when I'm upset. ”This scene alludes to the series The Incredible Hulk . Another example is the scene in which Metatron explains towards the end of the film that God is able to bring the fatally injured Bethany back to life and says, “Apply and polish.” This is a reference to the film Karate Kid and shortly afterwards he explains her healing to Bethany himself with the words: "She has the technology, she can make you better, stronger and faster" from the opening credits of the 6 million dollar man . In the dialogue are u. a. The Piano , Con Air and various films by John Hughes mentioned, such as The Breakfast Club and Kevin - Alone at Home .
  • Dogma is the fourth film in the eight-work New Jersey series penned by director Kevin Smith . Some of the films are loosely based on one another. Each also features the heroes Jay and Silent Bob , who were originally just two of the customers in the movie Clerks . Kevin Smith himself is the performer of Silent Bob. In Dogma , they are given a stronger presence for the first time.
  • After Loki shot the man in the coach, he sings the song Run's House by the hip-hop band Run-DMC
  • The role of God was originally supposed to play Holly Hunter , but she canceled, as did Emma Thompson , who became pregnant. Eventually Alanis Morissette took over the role.
  • The role of Bethany was only to be played by Smith's ex-girlfriend, Joey Lauren Adams . Alanis Morissette was once intended for this, but then embodied God.
  • Albert Brooks was supposed to play Cardinal Glick.
  • At a cost of $ 10 million, the film grossed $ 30 million.
  • The only words Silent Bob utters in this movie are "No Ticket" (a quote from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ) after he threw Loki and Bartleby off the moving train, and "Thank you" after Rufus' remark about his silence. This is a quote from the silent Indian: One flew over the cuckoo's nest .
  • In the credits you can find the announcement “Jay and Silent Bob will return in Clerks 2 - Hardly Clerkin ”.
  • When Kevin Smith heard that a Christian group wanted to demonstrate in front of a cinema against what they believed to be a blasphemous film, he and a friend made a poster that read "Dogma is Dogshit", stood by the group and demonstrated against his own film. A local television reporter even recognized him, but when asked about it, he denied it.

Reviews

“A half-baked mixture of clever to silly, partly also tasteless gags, vulgar admixtures in the dialogues up to countless cinematic references and allusions to theological questions. The film draws its effect more from the superficial gag fireworks than from the few approaches to serious discussion of the question of God and the meaning of life. "

- Lexicon of international film

"[A] pious-frivolous ascension burlesque that doesn't shy away from comparison with Buñuel's pilgrim farce" The Milky Way "."

- The mirror

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dogma on boxofficemojo.com (English), accessed on November 2, 2011
  2. ↑ News article Kevin Smith Protests Dogma , News 12 New Jersey, November 12, 1999 on YouTube
  3. ↑ Kevin protests 'Dogma' on Kevin Smith's production company View Askew website, November 13, 1999
  4. ↑ Dogma. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. ↑ Cinema in brief: Dogma . In: Der Spiegel . No. 16 , 2000, pp. 218 ( online ).