There is something very fundamental that shouldn't go wrong in a film, and that is the so-called "suspension of disbelief". When you sit watching a film and can't keep yourself from thinking that it's all just a film with actors saying their lines on a film set, then it's obviously gone wrong. And that's the very thing that happens to "Dear Wendy". It's a cleverly thought-out, well conceived plan, but it doesn't come to life. The characters feel two-dimensional all the way through, I didn't care for any of them, so I just kept watching from the outside, which felt a bit like looking at fish in an aquarium. Furthermore, the story is painfully predictable - once people take a gun in their hands, it's always an easy guess to tell what will happen in the end, and so it does. Cinematography and everything is good as usual, but cinematography and everything never made a boring film good. "Festen" was such a great, deep, human film - where did the guy go who made it?

I saw this movie with my art major girlfriend, who loved the film, and visually, I can't disagree. The soundtrack is also eerie, and holds to the dusty ambiance that seems to cover every shot, but ultimately, it never really succeeded in terms of breaking the characters out of their archetypes and enlivening them with unique and humanizing dialog.The whole time I saw this movie, I thought I'd seen it before. And I had, and in an equally as disappointing form: "The Beach." The fact that Dick begins the movie writing a letter that turns out to be to his gun is a stunningly creative introduction, but when the movie turns from that obsession and begins concentrating on the secret society of the group and their rebellion, via their guns, it all goes sour. The first cut of the film that comes from their later action sequence is completely unnecessary; anyone can see the conflict coming from a mile away. The "perversion" of the group's innocence by Sebastian's reality-tempered attitudes are all too typically applied to a young black man, and the only one in the county, and hence, the plot goes crashing to the ground as yet another inescapable fall from paradise.Whatever Kubrick-reaching attempts of psychedelic grandeur that the director tries to conjure up never manage to hit home through the potentially interesting lens of the group's fascination with guns, nor do they provide an experience that has not been seen 100 times before, because of the focus on trippy nouveau montages instead of the characters' individual depth.Ultimately, the attraction of the gun to Dick is that he feels more powerful, more self-assured carrying it. This is the same rationale that people use to sell penis-enhancing chemicals, and I don't buy either.

once in a life time, a movie comes along that makes you sob so unevenly that you have a slight attack of asthma. this movie is not one of them. however, this movie has so many high points that i completely glad i did not break down because otherwise i wouldn't have seen its amazing conclusion i loved its self contained setting, its amazing soundtrack (provided by The Zombies), and most of all its amazing philosophy. i, too, am a pacifist and now i, too, really want a gun. i think that i would buy a German war pistol and i would name it Edgar. This movie was a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-awesome! I seriously recommend taking a short amount of time out of your day to watch it.

"Dear Wendy" is about a group of young losers, who develop strength and backbone from carrying and firing guns. However their proclaimed pacifistic approach to gun control isn't shared with the rest of the small mining community… From the beginning the movie's message is quite clear. Written by USA critic Lars Von Trier, the movie conveys a negative opinion of American gun laws. Regrettably this message precedes the credibility of the movie's plot and characters. No matter how hard the actors struggle, they remain mere stage props.None of the actors are major stars. Best known is probably Bill Pullman who some will remember from "Independence Day" and "Lost Highway". However all roles are cast fittingly and the performances are satisfactory.Another point of criticism is the constant voice-over that explains everything you're watching. The voice-over is reasonably justified; still the best scenes in the movie are the few that are allowed to stand on their own.The splendid pale pictures are done by Anthony Dod Mantle, who worked on both Thomas Vinterberg and Lars Von Trier's latest movies ("It's All About Love" and "Dogville"). Sadly this excellent cinematography is the best part of the movie."Dear Wendy" touches an interesting and relevant topic. Still that doesn't make the movie an artistic success. It's more like pretty propaganda.