Dogville was in the Rocky Mountains in the US of A.
Up here where the road came to its definiteve end near the entrance to the old, abandoned silver mine.
The residents of Dogville were good, honest folks and they liked their township.
And while a sentimental soul from the East Coast had once dubbed their main street ELM STREET,
though no elm tree had ever cast its shadow in Dogville,
they saw no reason to change anything.
Most of the buildings were pretty wretched; more like shacks; frankly.
The house in which Tome lived was the best, though,
and in good times might almost have passed for presentable.
That afternoon the radio was playing softly,
for in his dotage Thomas Edison Senior had developed a weakness for music of the lighter kind.
[Radio Presenter] Ladies and Gentlemen... the President of the United States...
Tom, do me a favor, will you? The radio!?
Just because the music's over and you might risk hearing something useful?
I thought that's why we have the radio...
Well, I need a rest, as you know.
Mock me if you like.
[Narrator] Tom's father had been a doctor and now received a modest pension,
so it was no great disaster for Tom to drift about not doing anything in particular.
Tom was a writer. ...at any rate by his own lights.
Oh, his output as committed to paper was so far limited to the words "great" and "small",
followed by question mark,
but nevertheless meticulously archived in one of his many bureau drawers.
'Bye, Dad.
Evenin' Master Tom.
Good evening, Master Olivia.
Don't forget about the meeting tomorrow.
Noooo
[Narrator] In order to postpone the time at which he would have to put pen to pater in earnest,
Tom had now come up with a series of meetings on moral rearmament
with which he felt obliged to benefit the town.
- Hi, kids. - Hi, Tom.
Good evening Chuck.
Will we see you at the meeting tomorrow?
Well, I could do without your lectures.
You know Vera.
Wouldn't give me moment's peace till I said yes.
Who gave Moses that bone? It's still got meat on it.
Jason did.
Jason gave that mutt a bone with meat on it?
When did we last see meat?
Next time you waste good food, I'll take your knife away.
I would know it was you give'n meat to eat.
Moses was meant to be hungry! To keep watch.
Keep watch in Dogville?
What's there to steal?
These are wicked time, Tom Edison.
Soon there'll be folks by with even less than us.
[Narrator] Indeed..Tom was busy enough, even though, formally speaking,
not yet busy with writing per se.
And if a body found it hard to grasp what profession he was busy at,
he'd merely reply "mining".
For although he did not blast his way through rock,
he blasted through what was even harder...
namely, the human soul... right into where it glistered!
- Hey, Martha. - Hello, Tom.
Listen, they're all comin', so you just have those benches ready.
Yes, they're ready.
Oh, but Tom, I repeat, if you need to use my organ
I got to get special permission from the regional director, Tom.
Martha, and I repeat, we don't need the organ.
We can be spiritual without singing or reading from the Bible.
It's almost seven. Don't forget your bell now.
I imagine that'll do Ma Ginger.
I don't think it's good for the soil with all the raking and hoeing.
It's the soil that gave life to us all.
Don't give me any of your lip, Thomas Edison Jr.
I'll hoe as I darn well please!
Yeah, and spoil the whole thing! I agree with Tom.
Yeah, well he likes eating my pies, don't you?
Well they're tasty. No doubt about it.
Yeah. So when it comes to hoeing, who's right, Tom, you or me?
I'm not so sure it's that simple.
He's got you there Ginger.
You can not resist, can you, Gloria?
Hey, Ben, I'll get the doors!
I'll be fine, Tom.
Any news from the freight industry?
Is everything going to hell there too?
Don't poke fun at the freight industry.
[Narrator] It was seven o'clock precisely, as Martha chimed the hour,
and Tom was due to play checkers with his childhood friend Bill Henson.
Bill was dumb and knew it.
Far too dumb to qualify as an engineer, he was certainly sure of that.
After listening for a while to the piledriver down the valley that Ben insisted was working on the foundation of a new penitentiary,
Tom headed for the Henson home in order to inflict upon Bill
yet another humiliating defeat at checkers.
Some folks might say the opportunity to meet Bill's older sister, Liz, was more of a draw than the checkerboard,
and they might be right.
It was a fact that in the Henson home lay another horizon.
A horizon just as alluring as the one beyond the valley.
A horizon bound by Liz Henson's luscious curves.
- No one's getting it? - A sweet, painful, seductive abyss.
- Hey, Liz. - Hey, Tom.
Must you come by every single day? Huh!?
It'd be a lot more fun if someone interesting appeared for a change.
You know I really am so lonesome in this town.
The moment my fiancee writes that he's gotten that job in Bolder, I'm off.
Then the whole lot of you will have to find some other girls' skirts to peek up.
Is.. uh.. Bill in?
Well, isn't he always?
He studies and I help out with the glasses.
Even though everybody knows that I'm the clever one.
- Hey, Mrs. Henson. - Good evening, Tom.
Checkers time, Bill ol' Buddy.
Was that..??
You didn't hear the bell?
[Narrator] As usual Bill tried to fake his way around actually playing.
He had not yet fully comprehend this meeting business, he claimed.
Maybe you should just let them be?
I don't think so... I... I...
What if they're just fine as they are?
You think they're fine? I don't think so.
I think there is a lot this country has forgotten.
I just try and refresh folk's memory by way of illustration.
So... so the illustration for tomorrow?
mmmh.. I don't know.
See if the people of Dogville have a problem with the acceptance.
What they really need is something for them to accept,
something tangible, like a gift.
Why in the heck would someone up and give us a gift?
I don't know.
I might have to do some thinking.
Wait, wait, .. the ... we're missing a piece.
We won't be able to play.
My mind is sharp tonight.
'Night, Bill.
[Narrator] Despite considerable effort on his part to prolong things,
Tom had achieved the triumph at the checkerboard pretty quickly.
It had started to rain and the wind had become a regular gale
when Tom strolled home through Elm Street.
If Tom were to prove that the citizens of Dogville had a problem receiving in his lecture in the next day
he sorely lacked an illustration, a gift.
Bill might have been right.
It hadn't exactly rained gifts on this particular township.
There was no doubt in his mind.
They were gun shots.
The pile driver in the marshes didn't sound like that at all.
The shots had come from down in the valley,
or perhaps from Canyon Road some place in the direction of Georgetown.
He listened for more shots for ages. But they were not repeated.
A tad disappointed, Tom sat down on the old lady's bench to think,
to hang onto the feeling of danger for a moment.
But it wasn't long before his thoughts were back on his favorite subjects again,
and in the midst of the storm they metamorphosed into articles and novels and great gatherings
that'd listen in silence to Tom after the publication of yet another volume that scourged and purged the human soul.
And he saw men, and among them even other writers,
throw their arms round one another as, through his words, life had opened up for them anew.
It hadn't been easy.
But by his diligence and application to narrative and drama his message had gotten through,
and asked about his technique he would have to say but one word:
"illustration".
Tom could have spent another half hour or more on the bench,
but another unusual noise roused him.
It was Moses barking.
Oh, that wasn't unusual in itself, but it was the way he barked that was new.
His barking was not loud, but more of a snarl,
as if the danger was quite close at hand and not merely a passing raccoon or fox.
as if the dog were standing face to face with a force to be taken seriously.
Hey, Lady! I wouldn't go up there if I were you.
I know the mountain well, I doubt if I'd get away with my life.
It's a very nasty drop.
Is there another way?
Yeah.
Where?
Back down the way you came from. Back down to Georgetown.
Why do you need to get out of the mountain?
Did you have anything to do with those gunshots?
Help me, help me please.
You can hide in the mine, in there!
Hey, where's this road headed to?
No where. It's a dead end.
If you want to pass, turn around, go back by way of Georgetown.
This place... uh.. it's called Dogville.
Dogville? Well it figures, it's a stupid name if I ever heard one.
Hey, we're looking for somebody...
Oh, really, who might that be?
My boss wants to talk to ya.
- Young man. - Yes, sir.
I'm looking for a girl. She may have made her way to your town in her confusion.
I don't want any harm to come to her. You see, she's very precious to me.
Well sir, uh.. nobody's been through Dogville recently.
Moses would have barked. He's very suspicious of strangers.
Ah ha.. That's very wise Moses.
Please take my card and if perhaps.. uh.. you see a stranger,
give me a call.
I am in a position to offer a considerable reward.
Yes sir. Thank you.
uh.. say was it you that fired those shots?
Well they're gone. You want to come out now?
You want a cup of coffee before you go mountain-climbing?
That would be nice.
[Narrator] The beautiful fugitive's name was Grace.
She hadn't chosen Dogville from a map or sought out the township for a visit,
yet Tom felt right away that she belonged.
Shall I take the bone?
[Narrator] She could have kept her vulnerability to herself,
but she had elected to give herself up to him at random.
As.. yes.. a gift.
"Generous, very generous", thought Tom.
You want to eat? You must be hungry?
I can't.
I don't deserve that bread!
I stole that bone. I haven't stolen anything before.
So now, now I have to punish myself.
I was raised to be arrogant, so I had to teach myself these things.
Well, it may be best for your education...
Grace, in this town in these times...
it is very impolite not to eat what's set before you.
I'm so sorry.
Who were the men in the car? Why would they want to hurt you?
The man in the back of the car, he's the boss. I saw his face.
He gave me his telephone number, told me to call if I saw you.
I'm sure he'd offered you a big reward if you told him where I was.
Yeah.
Where's your family?
I don't have a family.
All I had was a father...
but those gangsters took him away from me.
What if I said you could stay here?
Here?
But even if you meant it, it's impossible.
It's very small town, I have to hide. People will ask questions.
Well, it might not matter. Not if they all wanted to help you too.
Are you saying that everybody in this town is like you?
They're good people. You know, they're honest people.
They've all been in need themselves.
They might well turn you down, but...
I think it would be worth the trouble to ask.
But I got nothing to offer them in return.
No, I think you have plenty to offer Dogville.
[Narrator] To call the mood of the audience at Tom's morale lecture in the mission house the next day,
"enthusiastic" would have been going to far, but they had come.
And Tom had launched himself fearlessly into his endeavor to illustrate the human problem:
To receive.
The subject was obvious, but quite dreadfully ill-considered by this young man.
To compensate for his lack of preparation Tom made diligent use of his technique
of lashing out somewhat haphazardly in all directions.
His father peered around covertly to gauge the mood,
and sensing that the assembly was not entirely happy with this rather direct criticism,
he decided to forestall any protest.
Now I'm sure that you wish us well, Tom,
but um.. of any town, I believe this one has a very fine sense of community.
Living side by side we all know one another.
I'm a pretty fair judge of character myself.
Honestly, Tom, you've done it again.
Made us come here to listen to a lot of nonsense.
What do you think you are, some kind of philosopher?
Observant, that's what I am.
Lazy, I would say. We shovel snow together.
We shovel snow together?
Yeah.
Every household clears their own front walk.
Yeah, I gotta allow that Tom's right on that. If roads don't get cleared properly...
I'm sorry Tom, you're going to have to come up with something better than that.
But the whole country would be better served with a greater attitude of openness and accenpance.
You're suggesting that we all wouldn't help out if someone needed help.
No, that's not the point. That's not the point.
We care for human beings up here.
We would probably never find out.
Since nobody seems to want to admit that there's a problem,
let me illustrate.
Now I'm not going to use something that's already happened.
I'm going to use something that's just about to happen.
[Narrator] And, after providing a quick summary of the events of the previous evening to the astonished people of Dogville,
Tom went down to the mine to retrieve the fugitive from her hideaway.
Allow me to introduce Grace. Grace, these are the citizens of Dogville.
- Hello. - Hello.
Tom has told us about your predicament, Miss.
I really don't want to put any of you in jeopardy.
Why don't you just go to the police?
They can take care of gangsters! It's their job.
I, I don't know if that's such a good idea. The transportation business would uh...
Ben!
These men, they have powerful connections, even with the police.
Do you think we should give sanctuary to a fugitive?
A fugitive that gangsters wanna get a hold of. That would put us in pretty pickle.
Easy, Claire... think of your asthma.
Dogville is a good place to hide, that's for certain.
Exactly. The only way up here is Canyon Road.
That could easily be watched by Ma Ginger's -excuse me-nosey cousin who lives only yards from the turn off.
She has a telephone. Martha, you could ring the bell,
tell the town if people were coming.
But Tom, I chime the hours, what if people get confused with all the ringing?
Come now, Martha. Surely we can use our old bell to save a life, if need be.
Why should we?
Because we care, Chuck. We care for other human beings.
No, that ain't what I mean.
How do we know that this woman is telling us the truth?
Maybe these gangsters did shoot at her, but that don't make her somebody to be trusted.
He is right. Why would you trust me?
I trust you!
Tom, we're not gangsters.
We mind our own business we don't ask nothin' from nobody.
So at last you admit it!
If only there were some way, we wouldn't doubt the young lady's word.
some way to know her..
Then I think we would all ignore the risk.
But there is a way! You said it yourself.
By living side by side with her.
Dad, you are such a fine judge of character.
How long would it take a good man like you to unmask her?
A week? Maybe two?
Surely we can offer her two weeks.
And if after that time so much as one man cries out 'BE GONE!'
I promise I'll happily send her packing herself.
Well, if Master Tom thinks this is right for us, and for the community,
then that will do for me. He might be young, but his heart is right.
And I've known his heart for as long las it's been beating.
[Narrator] No more words were spoken at the town meeting in the mission house.
But it had been decided, they all felt, that the fugitive would be given two weeks.
And they would all be able to look at themselves in the mirror and know
that they had done what they could, indeed, and perhaps more than most people would have done.
So that very afternoon Tom took Grace on a stroll down Elm Street to introduce her to the town "he loved".
Well, this is where Olivia and June live.
June is a cripple... They live here as a token of my dad's broadmindedness.
Chuck and Vera have seven children and they hate each other.
Next door we have the Hensons. They make a living from grinding edges off cheap glasses to try to make them look expensive.
And here we have Jack McKay. Now, Jack McKay is blind and the whole town knows it.
But he thinks he can hide it by never leaving his house.
In the old stable Ben keeps his truck.
He drinks and he visits the whorehouse once a month and he is ashamed of it.
Martha she runs the mission house until the new preacher comes which will just never happen.
That leaves Ma Ginger and Gloria. They run this really expensive store,
where they exploit the fact that nobody leaves town.
Used to leave to go vote, but since they put on the registration fee,
about a day's wage for these people, they don't feel the democratic need any more.
Those awful figurines say more about the people in this town, than many words.
If this is the town that you love, then you really have a strange way of showing it.
All I see, is a beautiful little town in the midst of magnificent mountains.
A place where people have hopes and dreams even under the hardest conditions.
And seven figurines that are not awful at all.
[Narrator] Calling Dogville beautiful was original at least.
Grace was just casting one more look at the figurines she herself would have dismissed as tasteless a few days earlier,
when she suddenly sensed what would best have been described as a tiny change of light over Dogville.
They are keeping an eye on you.
If you love them already, they might need a little persuading.
You've got two weeks to get them to accept you.
You make it sound like we are playing a game.
It is. We are. Isn't saving your life worth a little game?
What do you want me to do?
Do you mind physical labour?
No!
Dogville has offered you two weeks.
now you offer them...
[Narrator] The next day was a beautiful day in Dogville.
The tender leaves on Ma Ginger's goosberry bushes were unfurling
despite wise Tom's misgivings as regards her gardening methods.
But more than that, this first day of spring had also benn picked to be Grace's first ever day of work.
The day in which she was to set off around Dogville and ofeer herself one hour per household per day.
Excuse me.
I would like to offer you my help.. if there is anything that you need?
Yeah.. A carburetor that don't leak..
alright here, let me take that.
Maybe I could help around your home?
I don't really have a home. Just the garage.
I'm in the freight business. The road is my home!
I'm ready. Good morning!
Miss Olivia has got a home.
She is looking to help out in somebody's home.
A cleanin' lady for a cleanin' lady?
You be talkin' nonsense, Mister Ben!
Have a good day!
Alright. See ya later on!
[Narrator] And off Ben went to Georgetown with the weekly shipment of glasses
that Mr. Henson had so laboriously cleansed with his polisher of any trace of their cheap manufacture.
So Grace turned into the alley which went by the exotic name, Glunen Street
to knock on the door of the blind, but only too vain, man.
Yes?
Good morning, Mr. McKay. My name is Grace.
I was wondering if there is anything I can do for you?
Oh, that's very kind of you, Grace, but...
I was thinking that perhaps because of the situation that you are in...
What situation am I in?
Hmm... You are.. on your own.
Oh, I have been on my own for so long.
Anything that you might need?
I'm sorry!
Have you ever noticed the wooden spire on the roof of the mission house?
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, it points a shadow at Ginger's grocery store,
right at the O in OPEN on the sign in the window.
Maybe it is telling people that it is time to go shopping for supper.
Goodbye, Mr. McKay.
Bye, Grace!
[Narrator] Grace's interview with Jack McKay proved sadly symptomatic of the attitude in Dogville.
Reserved but friendly, not without curiosity.
Only Jack had expressed his "no" consicely and precisely:
Martha needed a monologue almost an hour long to arrive at the same conclusion.
Oh my goodness... I, I, I'd have to think of work for you to do,
because I have barely enough work myself.
[Narrator] So not very much later Grace had ended up next to Ma Ginger's gooseberry bushes
in a mood that was not particularly good.
She could not tell a gooseberry bush from a cactus,
but the meticulous order in the yard appealed to her,
such as the metal chains placed there in order to shield the second and third bushes,
lest anybody decided to make use of the deplorably time-honored shortcut to the old lady's bency.
Grace pulled herself together and headed towards the store.
Hello!
Hello. We don't need any help here either. I told that to Tom.
Wow, it doesn't matter anyway, because there is nothing I can do.
I have never worked a day in my life, so.
You know, if you put some aloe on those hands of yours they'll be better by morning.
It's the wood shavings. I really do hate them.
But I do believe I'll take your advice.
Your hands are surely the most alabaster hands I've ever seen.
Here comes Tom, how lucky we are.
Hi, all. Grace.. how is all going?
- Not very well, I'm afraid. - Really?
No. Nobody needs any help.
Well, I thought that might be the case.
His plan to make everybody like me has run into a few problems
because nobody wants me to work for them.
I would really like to offer something in return.
You're all running a terrible risk having me here.
I mean, I am willing to learn.
There must be someone who needs help. Mr. McKay's sight is not good.
Yes, I went to Mr. McKay. I went to Martha and to Chuck and Vera's,
and nobody seems to need any help.
They all think everyone else needs something, and not themselves.
Funny, that's exactly what Tom said. I supposed he's pleased.
Just to prove him wrong, maybe you can lend a hand here.
But Ginger, there really isn't anything we need done.
Perhaps there's something you don't need done?
Anything we don't need done?
Something.. something that you would like done, but that you don't think is necessay.
What on earth would that be?
Maybe... maybe the gooseberry bushes.
The gooseberries are just fine, thank you very much.
No. Not yours. The ones that planted themselves in the tall grass.
We don't grow anything there.
Exactly. A bit of tiding up.
Who knows, those bushes might one day bear fruit.
Yeah. That's true! Who knows..
All right, girl.
Those alabaster hands of yours are hereby engaged to weed the wild gooseberry bushes.
Thank you!
Around.. like this, you see.
Anything to close them... just be careful, that's all.
[Narrator] After a few of the wild little gooseberry bushes had given up the ghost
in the care of Grace's as yet unpracticed alabaster hands,
things began looking up with the weeding and the town.
In fact it turned out there were not so few things that the other townsfold of Dogville didn't need doing either.
As Ben had no home, Grace's domestic experiments were absolutely things he didn't need,
but he put up with them anyhow, appearing with astonishing punctuality when the act of domesticity had been completed,
no matter how unpredictable business hours in the freight industry might otherwise have been.
Olivia didn't need anyone to help June to the toilet while she was at work,
as hitherto they had coped splendidly with Olivia's excellent diaper arrangement.
If Jack McKay had needed a partner for conversation he would surely have gone out and gotten one for himself in the town.
So it was not out of need that he allowed Grace to sit with him in his dark parlor
with the dramatic drapes on one wall for lengthy discussions regarding the underestimated qualities of the light on the East Coast.
As Martha wouldn't dream of burdening the parish with wear and tear of the pedals and bellows,
while waiting for the new priest to be appointed, she practiced without a note ever leaving the organ,
and was therefore not really in need of anyone to turn her pages.
And God knows that Mr. and Mrs. Henson's son did not need any help with his books,
and that the family had taken Grace for her own sake.
And although Liz's hands had improved through Grace's good counsel,
Thomas Edison was a doctor and of indisputable health and he did not need care,
or help with the pills from the medicine closet with its many secrets.
Actually Chuck was the only one "not yet hooked", as Tom put it.
Hooked? You sound so arrogant! Arrogance is the worst thing!
He doesn't like me.
And he has every right to feel that way.
Yeah. Listen! Luckily I have prepared a Trojan horse.
A what?
Trojan horse. We can get in by way of Vera.
There is this.. lecture tomorrow in Georgetown, given by some professor.
Some intellectual thing.
But not so intellectual he can't tour the provinces with it, anyway, the point is,
Vera she would do anything to go, but she's got no one to mind Achilles while she is gone.
She trusts the girls mastering their iambs and pentameters, but not with the little one.
So this is where you come in. I said that you could watch him tomorrow afternoon.
Now, I will try and stall her on her way home and with a bit of luck, Chuck'll get back before she does
and you can use the time and all your charm to try and win him over.
I'll happily mind Achilles if Vera will let me.
But if he doesn't like me he doesn't like me.
[Narrator] Tom really was enchanted by this unusual, mysterious creature.
And even though she did not satisfy his curiosity by saying anything about her past
so as not to put anyone in danger, she still fitted Tom's mission to educate Dogville on the subject of acceptance like a glove.
Tom felt content.
Grace had been dangling over the edge, and he had been the one to pull her back onto the path.
It gave him a fine sensation of mastery, new for him in terms of the opposite sex,
and his feelings unleashed the best in his burgeoning love.
Hello. This is Dahlia, Olympia, Diana, Athena, Pandora, Jason, Achilles.
Your children are lovely.
They are good kids. And I love them.
Please don't say any such nice things about the kids. I cry too easily.
Both in sorrow and in joy.
- Hey, Vera. - Oh, hi!
- Shall we go? - I'm ready.
Thanks for leaving the map out.
I'd a plum forgot it, I'm sure. How did you know I was going that far?
The last time I saw the thermos, it was on the doorstep and the map was beside it,
so I just thought, when I saw the thermos this time and no map, but...
You are a sweet girl, Grace.
Sweet as Miss Laura.
Who's Miss Laura?
You gave yourself again, Ben.
I think Miss Laura is what Ovid might call a Maenad.
Oh, don't be ashamed, Ben.
We all have the right to make the most of our lives.
I'm sure that those ladies in those houses they bring a lot of joy to a lot of men.
Ain't nothing I'm proud of. It really ain't.
I know what you are doing here.
You do?
You want people to like you, so you don't have to go away.
You are very smart.
Yes, I like it here in Dogville.
Do you want me to read to you? About the Cyclops?
I don't like the Cyclops.
Two eyes are pretties, like yours.
If you want my Ma to like you, and let you stay. You'll just have to be nice to me.
Maybe you should help me clean up instead.
Ma says I don't have to work, 'cept in my head.
Oh, but what about if I ask you, please?
Ok.
What are you doing here?
Didn't I tell you we don't need no help from you?
Ma asked her to mind me and Achilles.
Quiet! Get out! The lot of you.
The same nonsense!
They'd have done just great in Antiquity, no doubt.
How is it going otherwise, with the fooling act?
I wasn't trying to fool anyone?
I mean Dogville. Has it got you fooled yet?
I thought you were implying that I was trying to exploit the town.
Wishful thinking.
This town is rotten from the inside out,
and I wouldn't miss it, if it fell into the gorge tomorrow.
I see no charm here, but you seem to.
Admit it you've fallen for Dogville.
The trees, the mountains, the simple folk.
And if all that ain't got you fooled yet, I bet the cinnamon has.
That damned cinnamon in those gooseberry pies.
Dogville has everything that you ever dreamed of in the big city.
You are worse than Tom. How do you know what I dreamed of?
You're from the city yourself, aren't you?
That was a long time ago.
I am not that stupid anymore, I found out that people are the same all over.
Greedy as animals.
In a small town they're just a bit less successful.
Feed 'em enough they'll eat till their bellies burst.
That's why you wanted to get rid of me...
because you can't stand that I remind you of what it was you came here to find.
I'm telling you for the last time to get out of my home.
Moses don't like you. And I don't like you.
The kids are going crazy enough from their ma's teachin'.
Thank you, Grace!
[Narrator] The two seeks had passed far too quickly. Grace had enjoyed herself.
All she could say was that she was fond of them all,
including the folk who had greeted her with reluctance and hostility.
Even though she might not have won everybody over completely or even half way, as Tom put it,
She cared for Dogville and she had shown the town her face, her true face.
But was that enough?
During Jack McKay's long lecture that evening she had found herself in a heart-searching mood.
Whether heart-searching or concern for her future was the cause,
the result was that the otherwise so lovable Grace indulged in a pretty shady piece of provocation.
So you agree that the windows of St. Bridget's, at the first time you saw them, didn't live up to their reputation.
I don't think it is the position of the church itself.
Maybe it's the light in Los Angeles and the mosaic glass in those windows they kind of collide,
I remember thinking that.
I think we've talked long enough about the way we remembering seeing things.
Don't you?
Why don't we talk about something that we can see right now?
There is not much to see around here. Wretched town.
Why don't we talk about the view?
I don't go out much. The sun and my skin.
Yesterday I was walking in Chuck's apple trees.
If you go right up to the edge of the cliff you just manage to peer round Ben's garage
and you get a view of your house from the side facing the gorge.
I didn't realize that there was windows behind there.
Huge windows. There must be a wonderful view.
Would you mind if I opened them?
You're no fool, Miss Grace. You're no fool.
You probably see that those curtains are hard to open.
Sorry!
And obviously concluded that it's because they're not used very often.
But the view's good, entrancing even.
So, ask me, why a man who loves the light hang these heavy curtains?
Yes, I'm blind.
Not weak sighted, not myopic: blind.
So please go and let me be that on my own.
Is Switzerland they call it the Alpengulen.
That's the light that reflects from the highest peaks
after the sun goes down behind the mountains.
But now it's gone.
[Narrator] It was in complete silence that the people of Dogville turned up for the meeting at the mission house
two weeks to the day since the beautiful fugitive had come to town.
Grace was standing beside Tom, watching them convene,
and knew inside herself that this might well be the last time she would see these now so familiar faces.
She had at least two of them against her, and even one would have been too many.
Welcome good people of Dogville.
Two weeks.... two weeks have passed and it is time for your verdict.
Is it right that she should be here while we talk?
Well, Mrs. Henson, when Grace first came she made no attempt to hide her weakness from us.
So I think it is only right we be as open with her, tell her to her face if we want her to leave.
No, Mrs. Henson is right.
Nobody should be prevented from speaking their mind out of politeness.
I'll wait at the mine.
And if the vote says that I should leave, then I'll take the path across the mountains, while it's still light.
And the things I've borrowed, if you could, return them to everybody.
Of course!
Nobody has to see me before I go.
Martha, if you will just ring the bell then I'll understand.
I don't ... how do... am I gonna ring the bell?
Just ring it for every vote that lets me stay.
I will count. And if it doesn't reach fifteen, then I'll leave.
Tom is anxious to speak in her behalf, but I think he's had his allotted time.
We know his view. We respect it. And now he must respect ours.
[Narrator] Grace pulled her bundle out from under the bureau to change into her own clothes,
only to discover that somebody had been in it and left a loaf of bread.
Next to it was a folded sheet of paper.
It was a map Tom had drawn.
He had known where the bundle was and had put it there.
It showed the path across the mountain.
And all the dangerous spots were furnished with witty horrific little sketches.
But there was more.
Several people had the same idea. They had eased gifts into the bundle for her.
Jason's beloved little penknife lay there, all polished and shiny.
And a pie from Ma Ginger and Gloria. And some clothing and matches, and a hymnal.
Grace opened it at number 18, where Martha always had trouble with fingering.
And between the pages lay a dollar bill Martha alone could not have afforded it.
Grace had friends in Dogville. That was for sure.
Whether they were few or many did not matter a jot.
Grace had bared her throat to the town and it had responded with a great gift:
with friends.
No gangster could deprive her of this meeting with the township, no matter how many guns in the world.
And should the strokes of the bell did not reach 15, she knew now that she meant something to the town
and that her stay had been of significance.
Not much, perhaps, but nevertheless, a trace she had left.
And the first in her young life in which she took pride.
Grace stiffened as the bell began its toll.
Fourteen. Grace counted.
So McKay must have voted for her after all, and if so, why not Chuck, too?
Everyone?
- Chuck! - Chuck!
Everyone.
I think they like you here.
[Narrator] The period of spring and early summer proved a happy one for Grace.
Martha rang the hours, conducting her through the day.
So she could serve as eyes for McKay, a mother for Ben,
friend for Vera, and brains for Bill...
And one day it had occurred to Grace to tread the pedals herself so to get Martha to agree
to play a couple of paper notes, just to empty the bellows naturally
so that they wouldn't be left under pressure and thus be spoiled.
And now they had tacitly agreed that as long as it was Grace who trode the pedals,
Martha could play without feeling any guilt.
To Tom's pop, the old doctor, who imagined he had a new ailment every single day
and was thus increasingly addicted to the simpler coordination tests from his medical school days,
she had to be severe, telling him that there was nothing wrong with him.
And now, since the town had agreed that everyone was to give according to his abilities
she received wages, not much, but enough to save up for the first of the tiny china figurines
from the row of seven that had stood for so long gathering dust in the window of the store.
And she dreamed that in time she would be able to acquire them all.
Slowly those alabaster hands turned into a pair of hands that could have belonged to anyone in any little rural community.
And three weeks later she triumphantly moved into a place Tom and Ben had secretly restored,
namely the old mill, which had once held the town's ore crusher,
but of which only the heavy flywheel now remained.
Thanks.
That's what I am talking about with the freight industry.
Miss Laura had thrown that out, it was no use to anybody.
A good thing, in the wrong place. But with my truck... You know.
You shouldn't poke fun at the freight industry, that's all.
No, you're right, Ben. They shouldn't.
Grace!
What?
I just had to tell you that I had a really selfish reason for voting to keep you in Dogville.
What was it?
It was such a relief when you turned up and you were the one all the men had eyes for.
You know, Tom and them. I've had to put up with it for so long..
Frankly, I just didn't have the energy for it anymore.
They'll always have eyes for you, Liz.
You know that.. They will. You are beautiful.
Thank you.
[Narrator] The very latest development, now that summer was at its peak,
was that Grace had been given leave to help Chuck in the orchard.
And every day at 5, once their work was done, she could appreciate that actually McKay was right;
the shadow of the spire did indeed point at Ma Ginger's store.
But today the tower did not only announce that it was time to go shopping but also,
by a signal which nobody despite Martha's initial concern could have confused with the ringing of the hours,
a warning that somebody was approaching via Canyon Road from Georgetown.
For the first time in living memory law enforcers had come to Dogville!
Evenin' sir.
Is this the whole place?
- There's a town hall? - No.
I got me a notice to paste up.
We got the mission house. That do you?
Sure.
What'd she do?
Missing! That's all it says. I guess somebody's been missing her.
Heard tell she was last seen around here.
We've putting these things all over the county.
And if somebody sees her, they ought to go to the police?
I guess that's the idea.
These men were never gonna give in easily.
Now these posters they hang all over in the county.
which means nobody suspects she's right here with us.
But it was a policeman, Tom. Isn't it a duty to respond to the police?
I mean, legally speaking. I'm sorry, I just.. when I get upset.
She's just a missing person. She hasn't done anything. He even said so.
I think you should vote again.
Why? We can't resort to plebiscites time and time again.
Come on. Who's really got cold feet because of her picture on a piece of paper?
[Narrator] The 4th of July came with the huge clouds of seeds from some remote meadow gracefully floating down Elm Street in the early evening.
Today was a day for celebration. Nobody was to worry about the hard times.
And Grace could stop at Ma Ginger's window quite content:
to ascertain that only two of the little china figurines remained, and were thus the only two
she had not yet been able to save up enough to purchase.
- It looks great, girls.. - Uh-huh..
Grace, could you put in a couple of hours with me in the orchard again today?
It's really nice down there with the sunshine!
Chuck, it's the fourth of July! What are you talking about sunshine for?
Have you turned into a romantic like me?
We're gonna have fun.
And in the winter we'll all starve...
Even Ben's taking the day off.
- Hi! - Hi, Tom!
Grace, you've got a moment?
Now?
Yeah. I've got something interesting to tell you.
Well, it has to be quick.
I've got so much going on in my head...
That must be very tiring for you!
I think I've done a pretty good analysis of the folks in this town
and I think I understand them in a meaningful way.
But when I come to decipher you, I get absolutely nowhere.
You know Liz... Liz is easy to read.
And there was some attraction between us,
but as I can see right through her,
intellectually I mean, I can see right through her,
my desire is purely of a physical nature.
But with you, it's more... it's more complicated.
What are you trying to say?
No, I should get it clear in my head first.
Are you trying to say that ...
you're in love with me?
No, I wouldn't.. love is... It's not... It's a big word...
Yeah.
That's good!
because ...
I think that I am in love with you, too.
Very interesting, isn't it?
I mean it's interesting in a psychological...
Did they call you? I think they are calling you.
I didn't hear them.
No.
You should probably get back anyway.
I will see you at the wedding. Next celebration..
This year I didn't bring any notes with me.
Because I'm not gonna pretend I can read them.
Which brings me to a point. A point I wanna make.
And that point is you, Grace.
Yes. You have made Dogville a wonderful place to live in.
As a matter of fact, somebody tells me they ran into grumpy old Chuck down the street
and he was actually smiling.
Well, I've never seen your smile, Grace, but I will bet you I could describe it.
Because it obviously has every color that's reflected from the shiniest prism in the world.
You probably have a face to match that. Does she have a face to match that, Tom?
- Yes, sir. - Hmm..? - Yes, sir.
I bet she does. We are proud to have you among us.
And we thank you for showing us who you are.
Here to you, Grace.
Stay with us as long as you damn please.
A police car has just been seen in town and it has just made the turn up Canyon Road!
So he will be here any minute.
Shall I ring the bell?
No, Martha. Grace probably heard.
We'll get rid of 'em quickly.
Don't worry.
Should have been celebrating myself, if this hadn't come up.
Have to change this missing person notice.
It's that lady again.
That's why she disappeared.
She's wanted in connection with some bank robberies on the West Coast.
When did these robberies take place?
Last couple of weeks.
You don't get much news up here, do you?
My dad's radio only plays music.
Well, all know is that they say she's dangerous,
and that anyone with any information about her had better call us pronto.
That's the law.
Two weeks! Can't be our girl, Tom.
No, she's been here all the time.
Right!
She couldn't have done what they are accusing her of.
No, that's true, Tom, you are right.
Still it's an unpleasant business just the same.
[Narrator] Grace was the same and so was the town.
That the gangsters had fixed to have charges made against Grace in their effort to neuralize her came as no surprise.
But everything had changed a little yet again.
I'm telling you, you have exactly the same kind of little lump in exactly the same spot on the other side of your back.
Really!
I can only assume that it belongs on your body, but you're the doctor, so...
Well, it's very unlikely, don't you think? that a cancer would develop in such precise symmetry.
- Mr. Edison, please. We've been over this so many times. - Anything is possible.
I think you have to accept the fact that you are an exceptionally healthy elderly gentleman.
I'm gonna rest just the same.
I'll see you in the morning.
I hope so.
What? What did they say?
Well, they couldn't really argue that anything had changed.
But by not telling the police they felt they were committing a crime themselves.
- I think I should leave. - No..
Enough is enough.
I suggested the opposite.
You did?
From a business perspective, ...
from a business perspective, your presence in Dogville has become more costly.
Because it's more dangerous for them to have you here,
not that they don't want you,
since they feel there should be some counterbalance,
some quid pro quo.
That sound like words that the gangsters would use...
There is also more of an incentive if you don't wanna stay.
See, with all those wanted posters hanging around the place, I can hardly think of anywhere else you could hide.
So what's the counterbalance that you suggested?
They wanted you to work longer hours, but instead what I proposed is
that you just pay a visit to folks twice a day now.
That way it would seem that you're willing to contribute more, without actually lengthening your day too much.
It's just a way of heading off any unpleasantness.
Well, it sounds a little peculiar and difficult to put into practice.
That's what I thought.
Martha she said she would ring her bell every half hour,
so you could keep track of your new schedule.
Then, they are all willing to let me stay?
No. See, Mrs. Henson she also thought we should cut your pay.
Merely a symbolic gesture. You see... the word dangerous on that poster worried her.
I'm willing to do whatever it takes. If I have to work harder, longer hours for less pay,
then I'm willing to do that. Of course, I am.
I just wanna be sure that they wouldn't prefer that I left town.
Of course not.
You think this is for the best?
I know it is.
I have to get some sleep. My days are gonna be much busier now.
Sorry.
Tom, I just need to know something...
you know the card that the man in the car gave you...
Yeah.
Did you show it to anyone?
Come on, Grace! I burned it first thing.
I've been so silly. Of course you did.
It's alright.
No, it's not alright. I hate it for you to see me like this.
I can't bare that I'm doubting you.
I'm sorry. Good night.
[Narrator] Everybody was really against any changes to Grace's working conditions at all
when the subjuct occasionally came up in conversation.
Oh, Ben had declared in sympathy that he wouldn't accept any more work than before,
and Grace was grateful for that,
even if he was a bit drunk when he said so.
Busy minute became busy hours, and busy hours became busy days.
and irrespective of whether they thought the idea of increasing Grace's services had any fairness and justification to it or not,
it didn't seem to make anyone any happier.
More to the contrary.
Grace, oh.. You have to be more careful.
Liz wasn't very careful either, but she didn't break our glasses.
I think you need to understand that Mr. Henson works very hard to grind off any traces of moulds.
and it makes the glass weak. I thought you knew that.
It won't happen again. Of course, I'll pay for it.
No, of course not. You don't have to pay us for it. We'll get over it.
[Narrator] And off she went to keep her appointment with Chuck to free the last tree trunks from the grass
in order to keep the ever busy mice away.
She was in a hurry and took the shortcut between the gooseberry bushes,
only to be brought up by a shout.
- Grace! - Yes!
Oh, I didn't see that you just raked the path. I'm sorry.
It isn't that I've just raked it.
The idea is that people can pass around the bushes completely.
I prefer it that way, as you should know.
I thought that these chains were put up to make a path between the bushes.
They were put up there to protect the bushes.
It is not supposed to be a pathway.
But everyone goes this way.
Dear, that's right. They have been living here for years.
You haven't been here that long.
Are you saying, that I am less entitled to use the shortcut because I haven't always lived here?
No, of course not.
No, I just thought it pleased you to be here, that's all.
Go on. Go on, it's alright.
I'll see you this afternoon..
and I'll rake those bushes like they've never been raked before, I promise.