Dancer in the Dark
2000 Directed by Lars von Trier
Synopsis
You don't need eyes to see.
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life's troubles - even if just for a moment - by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
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Studios
Fine Line Features Zentropa Entertainments Film i Väst Blind Spot Pictures Oy France 3 Cinéma Danmarks Radio (DR) Arte France Cinéma Angel films Canal+ Constantin Film Produktion TV 1000 Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep (VPRO) Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) Yleisradio (YLE) Memfis Film Sveriges Television (SVT) Film4
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70/100
Revisited for a Scenic Routes column that addresses my major reservation, viz. the musical numbers. Otherwise I pretty much stand by my original Time Out New York review, so here it is. Regarding (3) in the first paragraph, it does make me sad that Von Trier happened to shoot this during that brief window when DV cameras were uniformly awful—Björk's total commitment deserved better resolution.
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Formally audacious and unapologetically melodramatic, Lars von Trier's latest film—winner of the Palme d'or at Cannes; selected as the opening-night attraction for this year's New York Film Festival—invites ridicule with such reckless fervor that I wouldn't be surprised to discover that it was made on a dare. Let's quickly enumerate the potentially disastrous…
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"one of the worst films, one of the worst artworks and perhaps one of the worst things in the history of the world."
The above quote is from one Peter Bradshaw who works at The Guaradian. I haven't been able to find out where this quote originated from, so I have no context in which to judge this quote. I did read Bradshaw's full review though, and it seems that his problems with the film stem from the fact that he thinks the movie is overly melodramatic to a ridiculous level. I have never disagreed with someone's opinion as much as I do Bradshaw's
If I know anything about myself, I know that I absolutely hate melodrama. Now Dancer in…
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Never fails to break my heart. Dancer in the Dark is a tremendous feat of filmmaking with Lars von Trier yet again proving that he's a cinematic maverick never ceasing to challenge or intrigue the audience.
Von Trier films have always been labelled "depressing" but I find this film his most hopeful. Yes, Björk's Selma is a representation of all the good that is possible in the world and even though she suffers a horrible fate, you can't deny that in some way Von Trier is telling us that in all the shit that people create and cause, sometimes the smallest ounce of good rises above it all. Some critics have called it anti-American, which is a criticism that is…
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Like a repeated punch in the gut, with a slap in the face for good measure.
Hold Me.
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I've been having a really good day today so I decided to watch this again. This film should be called "Buzz Killington: the film." I love it but hate it for how depressing it it. Bjork is brilliant in this but man it's a downer.
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I delayed in seeing this for a long time because I found The Idiots so unpalatable and so unrewarding, though I've enjoyed most of the other von Trier films I've seen. My primary thought whilst watching this is that it succeeds in doing much of what French film in the 50s and 60s failed to do; it's a European view of America via Hollywood crime films and musicals, but the difference from Godard and Demy is that this film actually works. It's a perverse yet perfect view of how America might seem to a foreigner, a sort of distillation of Americana that's occasionally reminiscent of Lynch, Coens, or Cassavetes without ever seeming derivative. It's far too weird to be seriously…
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...that's it? Really?
What a piece of manipulative, ignorant, pretentious bullshit. Two stars for the performance from Björk and an excellent ending. If only the rest of the movie was any good.
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[Seen in 2000, not sure when, neglected to date stamp back then]
An entertaining epic of top drawer improvisational direction that mixes martyrdom and musical into a revoltingly exciting reflection on the healing powers of fantasy. Full of strong performances, especially singer Bjork, who is at once innocently reserved and ecstatically passionate.
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Lars von Trier is an interesting filmmaker despite what you might think of his movies.
I understand why the musical parts are in the movie but at the same time it's also the element that least worked for me, although it is fitting and really pays off the ending.
Furthermore Björk is excellent and the movie really does a great job in making you care and feel bad for her and also making you despise another character.
It's not an easy movie to sit through, but deserves to be given a chance!
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Apparently, von Trier used something like 100 cameras to film the dance sequences, and the thing that I got from how he shot them was,"Wow, von Trier really seems to hate dancing."
I could writer a short paper on how camera placement defines the director's engagement in dance, but I'm drowning in work right now.
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Bjork in "good at being weird in front of cameras" shocker.
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Until very recently, I considered this to be my least favorite movie ever. This thing just absolutely infuriated me, and it's only really for one reason: it drove me up the wall that Bjork simply doesn't tell anyone that she's going freakin' BLIND. It's completely irrational behavior, and it made me despise her character. What made me so angry is that the movie continues to very clearly try to elicit sympathy for her, but I have zero sympathy for someone who acts so selfishly and without reason. Argh, just hearing the name of this one makes my blood boil, quite frankly.
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Manipulative crap.
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I've been having a really good day today so I decided to watch this again. This film should be called "Buzz Killington: the film." I love it but hate it for how depressing it it. Bjork is brilliant in this but man it's a downer.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.