Dancer in the Dark - New Line Platinum Series

Rating:
Summary: A passionately spiritual film... intense and beautiful
Review: Lars von Trier (the director) and Flannery O'Connor: A preamble

After reading an extremely wrongheaded review of her work, the Catholic author Flannery O'Connor remarked that large sements of the American population seemed to have had the moral sense of God "bred out" of them. This state of things was problematic for her, as she worked from a worldview that most of her contemporaries did not share. Consequently, her writings were often misunderstood or misinterpreted as "hopeless" and "nihilistic." Actually, O'Connor saw them as optimistic-- but hers was not the sort of optimism that holds that things will always "go right" in this world. Rather, it was born of a deep faith, grounded in a fundamentally spiritual view of life-- a view that, while being quite earthy, always treated the spiritual as the ultimate and most important reality. I consider the Danish director Lars von Trier to be her cinematic kindred spirit, equally gifted and equally misunderstood. This film is his magnum opus.

Review (proper beginning)

I don't want to give away too much. "Dancer" is probably best seen fresh, with little foreknowledge of its contents. Then, one can fully experience its power. The innovative musical artist Bjork portrays Selma, a legally blind Czech woman who comes to America in the early 1960s to procure an operation to save her son's sight (he inherited his condition from her). She works long, punishing hours in a factory, saving her money. The job is repetitive and almost unbearable, but when it becomes too much, Selma "escapes" into her imagination, visualising musical dance sequences with the people around her. These sequences are daring, and one of them, particularly (set to Bjork's "I've Seen It All"), is transcendant in its beauty.

As the film progresses, Selma's plans for her son's operation take a tragic, unforeseen turn. However, she is absolutely unwilling to compromise her wishes for her child. For her convictions, she suffers unimaginably. The last hour or so of the film is very painful. However, there IS light. There IS hope. Whether or not one sees it depends very much on one's view of life. Is this life the most important reality? Do we cram in as much self-serving pleasure as we can while we're here, and that's it? Or is there something else, which casts every one of our choices and experiences on earth in a different light? How one answers this question may determine whether one views "Dancer" as a work of artistic "sadism"-- or profound, selfless love. I opt for the latter.

To some critics, Selma is an an "unrealistic" character. No one in the real world acts as she does, they say. Here, I think those critics miss the point. Selma is that rarest of characters in modern art-- she lives IN this world, but she is not OF this world. Lars von Trier has created an incredibly moving character in her, a model of what it means to be one's "brother's keeper"-- but as most film critics don't share von Trier's spiritual aesthetics, they see her suffering as "needless" and "excessive." They miss the point that this is what Selma is willing to DO, to go through, for her child. They miss the great kindness that the guard shows to Selma (if only such kindness were more present in everyday life!). They miss the redemption beyond Selma's suffering-- the redemption that left me awestruck that this film was even RELEASED in these cynical, jaded times. The last several minutes of "Dancer" take on a truly visionary quality. Selma stares hard into the darkest moments of human existence and somehow manages to see beyond them. I, for one, will never forget this part of the film. It is otherworldly in the best, truest, and most soulful sense of the word.

Do you believe that you can only truly have something when you give it away? Do you believe that a movie can radically affect your view of what really matters in life? If so, you need to see "Dancer." If not, you still need to see "Dancer." Great, meaningful modern art is rare. Thank you, Lars von Trier, for this cinematic rarity.

Rating:
Summary: NOT a Musical
Review: Excellent acting, but one of the most depressing films ever made. It is not, repeat NOT, a musical and should not be listed in this category!

Rating:
Summary: Bjork Makes This One Worthwhile
Review: Dancer in the Dark as a stupid plot that is self-indulgent in a juvenile way, but the movie is worth watching solely for the performance of Bjork as Selma. What a pity she is not making any more movies!

Rating:
Summary: removing the blindfold
Review: cannot say enough.. the movie was beautiful with a moving soundtrack and wonderful actors.. a must see.. i swear i'm a better person for seeing this movie..

Rating:
Summary: Not for the weak at heart.
Review: I could not be considered a big fan of Bjork, and after seeing this movie, I can't say that I will be any time soon. Her music is not really my taste. But this film is a perfect example of how tragic a person's life can be. There is no redemption in this girls life. What I appreciated most about this film was the fact that it didn't resort to the "normal" hollywood ending. It deals with real life and how sometimes no matter how good of a person you are, or think you are - bad things do happen to good people and sometimes it doesn't get any better. When I start to feel that my life is bad, I will watch this film again so that I can remember that someone out there has always got it worse than me. I would recommend this movie, but only for those who appreciate a truly good film and for those looking for a good cry.

Rating:
Summary: One of the great films of our time!
Review: "Dancer in the Dark" has proven to me that Lars Von Trier is the greatest filmmaker of our time. Here is a filmmaker who is trying to do something new and original and succeeds brilliantly. Unlike many of his peers he brings something to his art, contributes to the growth and advancement of the film medium rather than working in proven conventions that have been the norm since the begining of the sound era. This film caused me to question the way we look at films. What is film as an art? Must a film have beautifully unnaturalistic shot compositions and a script that moves from A to B to C to be considered "art?" Or can art be gritty and truthful like this and Von Trier's Breaking the Waves? In time films like this will get the recognition that they deserve. Once audiences minds are opened to different styles of filmmaking other than the typical Hollywood fluff.
Dancer in the Dark has a simple dramatic story. It concerns a factory worker, from Europe, living in America in the 1960's. SHe is going blind and is secretly saving money to get her son an opperation that will prevent him from suffering from the same affliction. When the money is stolen the heroine, Selma, is forced to make a decision that sends her life spinning out of control. As her eyesight fails her Selma retreats into her mind, and her love for musicals, and the film breaks out into spectacular song & dance numbers. The song & dance scenes give the audience break from the drama, as they do for Selma in her reality, as the film heads toward its inevitable conclusion.
See Dancer in the Dark and open your mind to the many possibilties of film. There has to be more than one way to make a film. Dancer in the Dark is a start and hopfully it will open the doors for other styles of cinema.

Rating:
Summary: Money back, please.
Review: This film should never be shown in public, ever. I can't believe that there are actually people in this world that liked this film. Not only is Bjork not believeable as a human being, but she is quite possibly the most annoying actress that I have ever seen. I think that it is a reflection on contemporary society that this film was actually considered good by some. It shows me that the overall intelligence of out world hovers near that of a band of rats. Bjork could give a better performance in this film if she were a deaf mute with no arms. She'd probably be more believeable, too. I feel sorry for you people.

Rating:
Summary: A dark movie that somehow pulls you in.
Review: I found this to be a very dark but excellent movie. Bjork's sound track lulls you into her hipnotic fantasy world while you are pulled into Selma's reality. When reccomending this film to friends, I always warn them ahead of time of the power of this film (plus warn them to watch it alone). This is not a film that you want to watch with a room full of critics. It is definately best to watch it alone and have your own perspective before drawing other people in with you. Be warned that if you are a very emotional person you shouldn't see this movie! Take a deep breath and emotional check before hitting the play button.

Rating:
Summary: selma's story
Review: Its difficult to say much about this film without giving too much away. All i can say is, if you're serious about the movies you watch, give this one a try. Love it or hate it, but If Dancer in the Dark doesn't move you, you're not the kind of person i want to know.

Rating:
Summary: Tragedy
Review: Some people might not like this movie. There is kind of an "experimental" quality about it -- it is the first tragic musical, that I have ever seen, for example.

Some reviewers fault this movie for somehow being "too" tragic and unfairly manipulating the viewer's emotions.

I disagree, but have to admit that this movie affected me deeply. Selma is like a character is a classical tragedies. Her character's situation leads inexorably to the tragic outcome.

Too many recent movies have had sad things happen, like main characters and/or children dying, just for the sake of jerking tears out of viewers. "Pay it Forward" is the best example I can think of right now. That kid didn't HAVE to die. It didn't make the story any better. Wouldn't it have been more interesting if he had grown up to be a horrible person, but his idea was out there making the world a better place? Maybe not.

I cried throughout the second half of Dancer in the Dark. But even while I was repeatedly blowing my nose, I realized this wasn't the typical typical three-Kleenex movie. In the beginning, the details of Selma's life seem vaguely interesting, but by the end you can see how every element of Selma's life went into making her tragic situation. If any one of the details of her life had been different, the story wouldn't have been possible. It would have been another one of those run-of-the mill tear-jerkers.

I loved this movie!