For those wondering where all the teenagers were in Dogville, Dear Wendy is the answer. Written by Lars Von Trier (Dogville) and directed by Thomas Vinterberg (The Celebration), leaders of the Dogme 95 movement, Dear Wendy is about America's love affair with guns, and serves as a cutting criticism on American gun policy. We meet Dick, played by Billy Elliot's Jamie Bell. He is just one of many parentless kids in the town. It's the type of town Dogville would be if Dogville had any buildings in it. The adults we do meet are in a state of perpetual fear, worried about "gangs" and crime, although the town is completely devoid of both. That is, until Dick (a good kid by everyone's measure) bonds with a friend over a handgun. They soon start a group called The Daisies, composed of the town’s loser teens and their respective guns. They give the guns names (Dick's gun is Wendy) and practice shooting in old abandoned mines while dressed up like an Old West cast of Godspell. And through this pacifist gun lovers group, the kids learn confidence and more about themselves than they ever did before. A pacifist gun group sounds ridiculous, but it is easy to draw parallels with America's own violent quest for peace. It is their pacifist nature that makes them believe they are better than everyone else. It is because they do not abuse their guns that makes them the most righteous gun owners of all. Soon, they decide to take their new found power and put it to use by protecting Dick's childhood caretaker from "the gangs". This noble cause leads to complications none could imagine, although such complications are what the audience patiently waits for the entire duration of the film.

As a film about kids with guns, Dear Wendy is not as sensationalized as any American film on the same topic would be. In fact, Von Trier's and Vinterberg's depiction of America is extremely negative and disturbing. To them, America is a country of orphans, full of ideology and hypocrisy, worried about invisible enemies while real problems exist right under their noses. It is a testament to Vinterberg's skill as a director that he is able to take an inherently "feel-good" concept like "kids with guns" and take all the romance out of it. The end result is the farthest thing from a feel-good film. That's right. Dear Wendy is a feel-bad film. But then again, so are most Von Trier originals. I imagine some Americans will leave the film deeply offended, others disjointed and lost. Outside of the finale, the most disturbing performance comes from Bill Pullman, a "kind" cop who only shows his true aggressive colors when dealing with a black youth. The last time I saw a scene so uncomfortably racist was in the dinner sing-along scene in Vinterberg's brilliant The Celebration. But no matter how uncomfortable or unsettled one feels, Dear Wendy will linger in your mind long after the bloodshed ends. Those looking for a feel-good movie about guns should check out Mr. & Mrs. Smith, although good luck having any thoughts linger after that one.

- Nikita Burdein