Rating: 
Summary: Au contraire mon Frere!!...
Review: I beg to differ with the opinion of the last reviewer! Dancer in the Dark is unlike most films you would see in regular "mainstream" cinema. The innocent character, Selma, played by Bjork, draws you straight into her story and keeps your attention. This is a wonderful story about a hard-working immigrant mother slaving her days to make a better life for her young son and daydreams mostly about musicals, which sometimes lands her in trouble. In her daydreaming, Selma has a tendency to create a musical of her own which is played out in the movie scenes as well. The diversity of the camera angles, and not using your typical still-cam, gives the viewer the perspective that you are watching Selma over her shoulder with all the trajedies, mishaps, and comedic times.Bjork plays such a wonderful role and obviously has taken the character's personality to heart as she gives an absolute stunning performance. This film deserves much more credit than the last reviewer has given. With Bjork helping in the creation of the musical score any fan would appreciate this dramatic film.
If you are someone to pull apart a film piece by piece then maybe this film will not be for you. From an artistic point of view, there are some quirky points to the film...the flow of some dialog between some characters, the distorted camera scenes...but it all makes for a stunning performance. In essence, it all works together. I wouldn't say it is a masterpiece, but it stil deserves 5 stars in ratings. Give the film a chance. Bjork will grow on you. Selma will grow on you and the film as well.
Rating:
Summary: An engulfing, painful experience -- A GREAT MOVIE!
Review: I'll forego critiquing the technical aspects of this movie (although they play a big role in my liking the film) because other reviews have successfully dissected von Trier's vision.
Instead, my review will be based on my emotional response to the movie. I reacted so strongly to this movie, and that alone should say a lot. But my reaction went deeper than the usual sobfest. I experienced total and utter sympathy with Selma's character. Selma may've been an oddball, but I could relate to her. Why is it so far-fetched that a hard-working woman would want to give all that she could to save her son from the doom that faced him and her too? It seems to me that this is the story of most people. What meaning is there in life if not for the people we love? The strange persona that Bjork lent to Selma's character only helped to immerse me in the movie. But it was more than Bjork's magnetism that made Selma. Her skillful acting made me feel like I was watching Bjork herself, just Bjork in another life or in some parallel universe. She seemed as real as life itself, and this was great because for all of Selma's whimsy, there was a tangible, warm-blooded human being under there. It's almost as if we needed Selma's larger-than-life personality to draw us in, so that we could witness the story truer to life, the story of suffering that reflected those pains deep within us. This movie shouldn't be disregarded as a tired melodrama or as Lars von Trier's attempt to simply shock or manipulate the audience. Why must we walk away from this movie, angry at the emotions it is asking us to get in touch with? These days it takes so much for a story to be interesting anymore, yet when a movie makes a solid effort at unconventional story-telling, it's criticized merely for its daring. What about the story, the message? "Dancer in the Dark" is remarkable if only for this one fact: it captures that final (and still, UNfinal) moment at the end, when Bjork is singing out her soul; a scene filmed so starkly and unsympathetically; it's trying to show that the beauty in real life's ugliest moments is ten times more beautiful than all the fantasy and make-believe we create. Selma's peace was achieved not in a moment of whimsy but in a brave and frightening moment with herself. And she found that the love in her heart was just enough to get her through the final hurdle.
Rating:
Summary: Dancer in the dark
Review: Bjork is as extroardinary in her acting as she is in her singing. This movie is really one to soak in. The movie consist of twist of reality(documentry form) and fiction. The transition between the two becomes more evident from mid-point on. The movie is quite ordinary as your watching, but, it will pull you into Selmas' surreal world. For anyone with high emotion, keep a box of kleenex next to you, because this movie will take you on a rollercoaster ride! Bjork is awesome in this movie
Rating:
Summary: An different unusual sad musical film.
Review: An immigrant factory worker (Icelandic pop singer Bjork) going slowly blind, retreats into fantasies of hollywood musicals. This is a fascination film, written & directed by Lars Von Trier (The Kingdom). An terrific score by Bjork, which is great music. An excellent performances from the cast. Unique one of a kind film is not for all taste. The film was Nominated for Best Song at the Oscars but it did Win for Best Actress:Bjork and Golden Palm:Lars Von Trier for the Cannes Film Festival. Trier did win for Independent Spirit Awards for Best Foreign Film. DVD`s has strong anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer & Superb Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and also included in DTS 5.1 Surround Sound. Good extras on this DVD. Don`t miss it. Super 35 & Digital Widescreen. Grade:A.
Rating: 
Summary: Dancer in the Dark
Review: I decided not to write about this movie until I had seen it a few times. It is very hard to know what to think after you watch this movie for the first time. So I watched it again, and again. FInally I realised that it is a good movie, in a certain sense. It is not like most movies you could think of today and it probbaly won't ever be wildly popular, yet it deserves the praise it has received so far, and to a certain extent the criticism. One of the arguments people cite against this movie is the camera work and the acting. For the camera work I agree that for a lot of my friends who I forced to watch it, the camera work was distracting. I myself didn't mind it after a while, it lends itself to the film, and Lars use of odd, sometimes uncomfortably close, slopping, angles, and shots created a certain feel. At times it seemed almost like a home movie, shaking camera's, with odd and abrupt skips in the continuity of the scenes. The Musical scenes were strange and surrealistic at times.
Many people have a problem with the musical seens themselves. They seem out of place at times, sometimes even hokey. Yet like the musicals the character Selma relished, these musical scenes served as a kind of escapism from the norm, the real hard, cold cruel world.
Bjork's acting was good, wonderful in fact when you consider how little film experience of this magitude she has. Dancer in the dark, is a good movie, that is worth seeing. It won't leave you feeling good, or even satisfied by some accounts. Like I, you may have to think about it, and view it twice, thrice etc. before you realise exactly what about the film you liked (the which is the reason it won't be wildly sucessful here), but if you take time chew on you will.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: This was definitely a heartwrenching, tragic story. Hats off to Bjork for not portraying Selma, but BECOMING Selma, for drawing out sympathy, pity, frustration, sadness, anger...but also respect for a woman moving from valley to valley, yet still managing somehow to allow her love for her son to keep her head up. One can't help but wish her life was like her musical daydreams--vibrant and beautiful. Evil wore a new face--one created from desperation, pride, and fear of rejection--in the character of Bill, who, at one point, I had to keep myself from screaming at on the TV screen. At the end of the movie, I found myself weeping, as if Selma were my friend who just got a raw deal in life. Even after the last closing credit scrolled up the screen, I was still crying. Rarely does a film touch my heart so intensely (i.e. "The Color Purple", "Steel Magnolias"). I can now add "Dancer in the Dark" to that elite class of cinematic art.
Rating: 
Summary: Excruciating....
Review: This is without a doubt the most unpleasant movie I have ever seen. The jerky filming style made me physically ill and Bjork is a horrendous actress. It feels endless and the songs are so poorly written that it you won't recognize them if you hear them again. Please spare yourself this wretched experience.
Rating:
Summary: A truly character-driven film...
Review: Dancer in the Dark is a sad, but beautiful comparison of the basic difference between strong and weak people, and the resulting tragedy when circumstances throw them together. Selma, the single-mindedly devoted mother, is as desperate for money as Bill, the police officer who is her landlord and friend. But their motivations are vastly different. Selma works long and hard, racing against her eventual blindness to earn enough money to allow her son to have a preventative operation that will save his sight. She must deny herself and her son many material things in the process, but to spare her son from the stress she faces, she resists explaining why she cannot even buy him birthday presents. Bill, on the other hand, has allowed his spoiled wife, Linda, to overspend to the point that he has exhausted his inheritance and fallen deeply into debt. Yet he lacks the strength to deny his wife in any way, or even to admit that he can no longer support her every whim. The greatest triumph in the depiction of these characters is a skillful step away from all-good/all-evil typecasting. In the beginning, Bill and Linda do some genuinely good things for Selma and her son. Bill's incomprehensible decisions are made out of a weak attempt at self-protection, not outright ill-will. And even Selma makes questionable choices (and, yes, mistakes). However, even in the worst circumstances, she is never distracted from what is important, following it through regardless of the cost. While Bill victimizes others to protect his own image, Selma protects even those who do not deserve protection by remaining true to herself and to her promises. The result is tragic, but it is the only result that could possibly be reached by these characters. The effect is beautifully accented by Bjork's natural charm and excellent musicianship, as well as a strong international cast (including Catherine Deneuve, Udo Kier, David Morse, and Joel Grey). By yanking the formula of musicals out of the entertainment realm and injecting it into a story with real conflict and pain, the result is a modern musical with incredible power.
Rating:
Summary: Another happy film from von Trier
Review: It took me two tries to get through this film because it absolutely demands your full attention.P>Von Trier blends two worlds perfectly--Selma's drab and difficult life alongside her fantasy musical world. At first I thought this was too jarring, but on second viewing it worked. The film is extremely well made and acted. There are some very difficult scenes throughout and they are acted superbly. Bjork does a tremendous job in what was surely an emotionally draining part, but everyone in the cast really does an outstanding job. I recognize the superb qualities of this film, but honestly it's not one I care for. Too tragic, and the second half of the film really was milked and dragged out to get the most boo-hoos. Strangely, I didn't cry with this film, even though I'm usually a big waterworks at films, especially tear-jerkers. The other problem I had was that Bjork's singing is not my cup of tea. I respect that she is a good song writer and that hordes of people love her quality of voice, but I really have a hard time getting into her squawks, groanings and skirting around solid tone alternating with her soaring moments. She sings from the heart, though, which is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL
Review: I loved Bjork's performance, she did an excellent job.....simply beautiful and very thoughtful. This film's a definite tear-jerker. Great music. I liked the direction, the story, and In my opinion it was well acted on all parts. A nice way to spent 141 minutes ;-)
It opens with an overture of beautiful music composed all by Bjork (of course) played against colors that shift like a kaleidoscope.
Then the movie begins we see Selma at rehearsal for her role in The Sound of Music. "I think she sings wierd" says one man.
At work she amuses herself by making music out of the noises the machines make. And daydreaming she almost risks serious injury.
She rents a trailer behind the home of a police man, and she scrimps and saves all her money doing double over -time, and little jobs like inserting bobby pins onto their display cards. All for an operation she knows her son will need.
She thinks she can hide her looming blindness but her friends around can notice.
Her landlord, the policeman is having money trouble, his wife spends freely, and he's desperate. He takes advantage of Selma, he confides his debt to her, and she tells him about her blindness. Knowing she can't see him he watches as Selma adds money to her secret hiding place. And he takes it. She has to get it back. Obviously might go over some peoples heads.. For those people sick of run-of-the-mill movies. Who can appreciate a little creativity and imagination. Who want to escape the mainstream's plethora of monotony
This is a success in my opinion.
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