This film is absolutely vile. I have been a Lars Van Trier fan from the start, but he has finally gone completely off the rails. No doubt about it: the U.S. was founded on and continues to perpetuate racial supremacy, and despite the 13th Amendment, the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act, this country still reeks of the badges of slavery and often appears to be a plantation. But, Lars Von Trier has not crafted an interesting, intelligent, coherent, or even entertaining film based on this. The acting is horrible, the script is wooden, and he already used those staging tricks in DOGVILLE. This film wallows in the worst kind of anti-Americanism without offering any solution other than hopelessness, without any real critique, and that all of this is perpetrated by a White, European director is even all the more obnoxious. He has essentialized his Black actors here to the coarsest of stereotypes, and despite the contempt shown for them, saves his worst for his female lead. Without giving anything away, I believe that her treatment demonstrates once and for all what many critics and women have said about Lars all along: he hates women. What ultimately could have been an interesting film with a nifty premise just doesn't work. It was a major disappointment for me, and probably will be to most people who see it. If the point was to provoke, then it succeeds. If there is any other point, then it fails. There is also, perhaps, a parable here about U.S. (and Danish) involvement in Iraq. Which also doesn't work. Ultimately, this is no Brectian discourse as one reviwer has suggested. Brecht was, afterall, a humanist and a teacher.… Expand

I don't know whether you have to be European to like this movie, but Trier has made it all about acting and story. I guess a lot of people have problems with that. And by the way : it's not only about America!

Just like Dogville another thought-provoking, intelligent film by von Trier. Maybe not quite the masterpiece Dogville was but pretty close anyway. Howard is a revelation and has no problem filling Kidman's footsteps (can you say that, my english isn't very good). The one thing I didn't care about were Grace's sexual fantasis, I didn't really get what von Trier was trying to say there. But overall I thought this was one of the best movie of last year.… Expand

this guy has admittedly never even set foot in the US! then he makes a series of anti-US films. go figure.

Even wittier and more precise than Dogville.

I ve seen it once, but i was just as taken back as when i saw dogville. Von Trier is a genius who uses allegory of slavery to portray the events going on in the world right now. Using the past to present current events, is highly affective with the actors all on top of their games. As is the cinematography and the setting, which takes place on a stage. Every problem that comes with grace taking over the plantaion reflects the past and present of policies by USA that affect the world. Questions of exporting democracy and institutions like the world bank arise in the middle as the film. i can go on and on about layers and layers of issues. The dark humor of von trier is at its best and the i cant wait for the next one in the trilogy.… Expand

I have seen this film on the Russian DVD released months ago. Quite simply it is a masterpiece, nearly as brilliant as its predessessor and one of its director's greatest accomplishments.

A fantastic film - it's just got the low mark because the US critics so far covered can't handle a depiction of America that is less than flattering (yet are happy to watch US films which mock/patronise other countries). Von Trier can occasionally be childish but here his premise and politics are spot on. Great.

Best film ever? Maybe. Best direction ever? Maybe. Incredible masterpiece? No doubt about it!

An amazing and important film. However, I don't think it's quite as brilliant as Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves or Dogville.

To my surprise, not at all as heavy-handed as I'd been led to believe by even my favorite critics, perhaps because the cruelty, ignorance, and betrayals portrayed do not seem at all out of date to me. Howard's performance, awkward at first, settles down nicely amidst the film's gracefully executed Brechtian conceits.

This film is as literary as any great play, as stylized as any great music video and (next to Bamboozled) does more to raise and answer questions of racial politics than any film in the last ten years. Only von Trier could make this film because he has no investment in America or in being American. The film posits theories about the plight of African-Americans that are too controversial and frightening for any US-born filmmaker to address let alone conceive. The film effectively argues that slavery and its unresolved aftermath has poisoned America to its core. At the same time it deftly handles issues of human nature and politics and the points at which the two intersect. The ending of the film -- and for those who've seen it, you know the moment I'm talking about -- actually provoked a theater-wide gasp. A low-metacritic score should be a badge of honor for this film: it is just too remarkable too be widely viewed and celebrated.… Expand

Political and/or philosophical issues raised by the film are subject to many interpretations. The bottom line is that Manderlay is an intriguing movie masterfully directed (although not as good as Trier's early films (1984-1991)) that aims to a somewhat suspected audience. Whether you agree with Trier's perspective on thingsor not you have to accept that he has the nerve and, definetly, the skill to make his point.… Expand

Nice idea that feels routinely filmed and edited. There's not one single shot that equals Grace's arrival in Dogville, her bloody farewell or any other shot from Dogville.

This is an excellent movie. The fact that it is a serious, biting, playfully cruel film that uses a Brechtian alienation style to further its criticism of the United States to a quiet intellectual firestorm may be too much for most moviegoers (or critics) to handle. The problem is that none of these critics here are the type of people who enjoy extremely unconventional films. When they see something like MANDERLAY, they cannot get past the ideas the film is trying to convey. Yes, its about slavery, its a criticism of the United States, and it is unrealistic in its portrayal of American people. Of course its unrealistic; movies always are. What they can't seem to appreciate is the entertainment value of this film: its yet another deranged sociological experiment conducted on a barren soundstage that is well written, exceptionally well acted, and quite a lot of fun if you don't get bogged down in its message. Many critics point to von Trier's prankster attitude when levelling his targets (and they seem perturbed by it) but its this same sense of extremely dark fun that makes his movies compulsively watchable. The thrill of watching a microcosm of the most powerful society on Earth go through hardship, then success, then even crueller hardship with the intricate, loving, illuminating and sometimes brilliant detail of excellent minimalist literature is thrilling in its own quiet way. Seeing the human drama of these warped, ideologically charged events portrayed here with shocking subtlety and power by the top-notch cast adds more the layers of interest and connection. If this film was a play, no doubt it would get much more positive reviews than it has. Come to think of it, its purposely stripped-down setting makes it a little like theatre, with an omnipresent audience. And rest assured this film has all the elements of good theatre. Certainly not everybody likes (or can appreciate) good theatre, especially film critics, but if you can, or are interested in something different that will provoke both thought and emotion, see the more twisted (and consequently slightly more effective) DOGVILLE first, and then pull up a chair and prepare to be assaulted by the cool venom of this second installment. And rest assured, any film that will provoke a 15 year old such as myself to write this long a review will surely not bore you if you are inclined to watch movies more intelligent than CLICK or X-MEN III.… Expand

This is a truly fascinating and powerful film that examines closely the horrors of the human condition. The movie focuses on the impossible task of aligning two sets of people with different ideals. Neither side is portrayed as being better, smarter, or less manipulative here. Everyone is a bit of fraud and everyone is pursuing their own personal agenda. More importantly, by the end of the film we come to feel the hopelessness of these circumstances. It turns out that neither set of ideals is good enough to protect us from ourselves. To call this movie pretentious and anti-American is just a means of easy dismissal. Anyone interested in a gutsy and insightful movie that does not oversimplify circumstances or idealize the travesties of America past and present will truly be enthralled in this stunning piece of art.… Expand

Probably the most thought-provoking film of the year-- Lars Von Trier seems to have his finger on the pulse of American society and the ugly reality of racism that stuburnly coexists with high faluntin' liberal ideas. I am not sure I agree with what seems to be the film's central premise--that left to their own devices, slaves will return to enslavement--after all, "you" (American Whites) created "us" (African Americans) This is a dim view of the enslaved that denies them humanity. However, I do think it lays bare one important idea--that white supremacy is no more noble when practiced by a well-meaning liberal than when practiced by a race-baiting conservative. Both are equally dangerous, with potentially deadly consequences.… Expand