Rating: 
Summary: It took a European to take us to this level
Review: Von Trier has taken hits time and time again for trying to stretch the work that he does...to bring back the joy of making movies. Many people stand up and scream because he bends the so-called "rules," but why would we want him to turn out the same boring movies that we so often see from the big CA studios. Quite frankly, Dancer in the Dark is powerful, and you should see it. You don't have to take my advice. I knew nothing of the film until I stumbled across four Danes who were traveling through Kazakhstan (where I was living at the time) on their way to Tajikistan in the summer of 2001. The son of one of Von Trier's long-time friends/associates, Tom Elling (who worked on The Element of Crime, 1984, among others), was among them. He brought along camera "33" from Dancer in the Dark to document their journey. Hence, given my new friends' ties to the movie, I had every reason to want to like this movie. And I did enjoy it. Admittedly, the musical scenes sometimes feel a little awkward, with melodies pouring out from the clanking of wrenches and the turning of cranks, not to mention the bizarre moments where some of the actors sound like they're really pushing their musical abilities. But let's face it: the cast and crew were incredibly diverse, and the sights and sounds that permeate the movie were all awkward, much like the unchanging soul of the central character, a blind woman trying to operate machinery. These elements are all sharp metal pins that poke at the viewer, but Von Trier is able to pull them and focus them like an invisible magnet hidden beneath the surface of the "film." Perhaps this is why the movies' reviews seem polarized, repelling the unfortunate few. This force, centered in a director who tries seriously not to take everything too seriously, draws all of the elements towards the tragic ending. One of the most powerful aspects of the film is that you know that it's not always believable, but the emotion builds and builds. You don't really understand why you're being moved by something that is so obviously fiction. But in the end, it hits you...Von Trier hits you. You become frustrated--in a good way--by a work of fiction that happens to be set in America. What a great movie! It took a European to take us to this level. This is definitely not a movie for impatient people who hate movies that tell stories. Relax a bit. Don't expect it to give you hidden knowledge that will forever alter your life (though it revived my love of movies that actually move me); just expect it to tell a story that you will remember and feel long after you have cleared your eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: shot in the dark
Review: I really wished to love this movie. I heard it was molded on the inspiration of Dreyer`s "The passion of Joan of Arc", to my mind perhaps the greatest movie ever made. And I knew that Lars von Trier could make a film - "Breaking the waves" - not exactly likeable, but a tale that put an imprint not to be forgotten: An important statement.
I am sorry to say that I suffered through a story that seemed contrived from beginning to end. The plot did not hold together, every statement felt artsy and "made up", rather than real. What about the "heart-wrenching end"? I missed it completely. What is von Trier trying to tell us? Catherine Deneuve is a shining exception to a dismal cast. Bjørk puts in a strong performance as an artist, but not as an actor in a film , to my mind. A great actor (like Kevin Spacey) makes the character come to life, inevitable, and puts himself aside to let the character come to life. In this film, Bjørk is Bjørk, through and through. As such she is a major artist, just like on record. But at no point does her Selma become believable. What eye disease is genetic and has to be operated at an early age to save eyesight? I am sorry, but I landed, feet flat on the ground, in "wrong" camp as regards the experience of this incredibly overrated movie.
Rating:
Summary: like musicals? or björk? or the power of film? see this.
Review: When I set out to review a movie, I usually have a thousand ideas jumping at me. The fact that it took me so long to write that opening sentence should say something about "Dancer in the Dark," last year's Palme d'Or winner at the Sundance Film Festival. I'm tempted to compare "Dancer.." to the Radiohead of the movies, because it is such a challenging watch that it divided the critics and I'm willing to bet inspired loathing in a lot of audiences. I did not loathe this movie, but it's difficult to say that I loved it. It is quite simply fascinating, from every angle. Because I love musicals (and Björk, for that matter, who also took home the Best Actress award from Sundance) I brought something different to the movie, but that's not what nailed it for me. In fact, this movie at once triumphs the conventions of musicals and then turns them upside down. Nevertheless, the most heartbreakingly beautiful aspect of the movie is Björk. She (however cliché it might be) simply carries this movie on her startlingly different shoulders, vocal chords, and raw acting ability. (I am overusing parentheses, but the Icelandic diva has said that this role took such a toll on her that she will never act again.) It was ambitiously directed by the Dutch filmmaker Lars von Trier, who is a distinct presence in the movie. Some critics argued that, like Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge,") his innovations (such as cutting off people mid-sentence) ultimately distracted, but I agree with the camp that says such decisions worked to expose the fragility of each character. I have so much more to say about this movie, but it can all be summed up thus: see it. If you like musicals, see it. If you like Björk, see it. If you like Radiohead, see it. If you feel like weeping violently, see it. Hell, even if you ABHOR Björk, see this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Originality!
Review: By Lars von Trier, ('96 "Breaking the Waves") and regarded as legendary gifted filmmaker. What makes this unique controversial film like no other is the concept of a dark, sad, violent story sprinkled with fast toe stomping, high kicking, Hollywood musical numbers. It has been called a musical melodrama. It is musically happy, emotionally sad, tragically violent and contains a gripping finale. Bjork convincingly portrays Selma Jezkova with child-like innocence, hardly seeming to be a mother of a 12 year-old. Her personality is placid and sweet. The ethereal sounds of her child-like voice might require some getting used to. She can sing in a low whispery sometime squeaky breaking voice. Von Trier used the hand-held camera angles as originality, but that camera technique gives the movie an angle of a real live documentary, a style Von Trier intended. What proves even stranger in this melodrama is the way music is introduced and interspersed. Selma lives in her own world and it comes alive when the stress peaks. She escapes at the rhythmic sounds of the banging, pounding pipes against metal, and the hissing noises at the factory where she works making metal sinks. Quickly, Selma is swept into the Hollywood musicals she so loves. The kicker here is that anyone in the scene becomes part of her musical fantasy. Selma Yozkova shares a trailer home with her son Gene. Selma, going blind, works to save money for an operation that will save her son from the hereditary impending blindness. One pleasure Selma has is seeing old musicals; her friend and coworker and friend Cathy (Catherine Daneuve) often becomes the eyes for Selma. Cathy and Selma perform evenings at the community theatre studying the "Sound of Music." In Selma's fantasy world, she also believes that in musicals, "nothing dreadful ever happens." What dreadfully happens in her real world is disturbing. Here is where the series of events take a drastic turn. It is heart wrenching to see her struggle, not so much for her own life, but for the crucial operation for her son. The climax is extremely emotional. It is complex, morbid, touching, heartless, etc. See it! The movie is 2 and ½ hours, but you don't seem to notice the length. See it for its originality. .....MzRizz
Rating:
Summary: Excruciating
Review: First off let me state that I have always hated Bjork's music. However, I tried to set aside the fact that she makes my ears bleed to watch this film as it received such great reviews. I must have watched a different movie. The attempt to make the audience a "voyeur" to the action with understated acting and unsteady shots fell flat. It feels more like a high school film class project - first walk through. The lines felt read, not delivered, the camera angles are nauseating, Bjork's greasy hair and face (stop touching your face woman!) makes one want to take a shower. This felt like a Scandinavian film, but it was set in America. I could never get past my feeling that it would play better as a quirky foreign film. Those songs! Granted, most musical lyrics are pretty banal, but these take the cake. "You just did what you had to do (repeat ad nauseum)" sung by a dead man with Bjork screeching "I just did what I had to (repeat ad nauseum)" lead me to make up my own song lyrics. Most of my lyrics had to do with my wish for Bjork's slow, painful death. By halfway through I was watching the clock praying for either the end, or the aforementioned slow, painful death. But I just had to see the ending. I had heard that the end was heart wrenching and a masterpiece. People had told me that they cried harder than they had ever cried before in a movie. (GREAT!) That and I am a masochist. The only tears I shed at the end where in gratitude that it was over, and from laughing so hard. What's good about this film? Catherine Deneuve. And the fact that it could be used for Psy-Ops in making terrorists surrender and talk. If it's not considered cruel and unusual punishment under the Geneva convention.
Rating:
Summary: This is not Hollywood
Review: Bjork shines. Superbly acted & directed. Trier's film is a great criticism of capitalism and American society. WARNING: This film takes wierd turns, and then gets wierder. It's a story so tragic and beautiful that if you can't stand tear-jerkers, stay as far, far away from this film as possible. I've seen it three times and every time I leak like a seive. The hand-held camera work and rough edits are an endearing stab at avant-garde film-making, and make a nice contrast to the gorgeous music videos. Yes, the film tends to breach the limits of the melodrama cheese-o-meter at times (cue sad violins for poor, poor Selma; happy music for her fantasies) but hey, it's a musical. Isn't that the way musicals are supposed to be? Melodramatic? And isn't that the way life is supposed to be? Like a musical? To quote the Cranberries, "This is not Hollywood" people. The DVD is finely crafted, and it has three surround sound options! You can play the dance music videos all back-to-back. This alone makes it a worthy purchase hands-down. Recommended. MUSIC NOTE: Anyone looking to hear Radio Head's lead singer, Thom Yorke, sing the awesome duet "I've Seen It All" opposite Bjork on the DVD, forget it. You'll have to buy the soundtrack on CD to hear that. In the film, the actors actually sing with Bjork (or so we're led to believe) and they pale in comparison to her mighty vocal talent. In fact, the guy subbing for Thom Yorke sounds pretty monotone, which is disappointing musically, but fits his character I guess. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: This is not Hollywood
Review: Bjork shines. Superbly acted & directed. Trier's film is a great criticism of capitalism and American society. It's also a story so tragic and beautiful that if you can't stand tear-jerkers, stay far away from this film as possible. I've seen it three times and every time I leak like a seive. Yes, it breaches the melodrama cheese-o-meter in its overall scope, but hey, it's a musical people. Isn't that the way musicals are supposed to be? Isn't that the way American life is supposed to be? Like a musical? The DVD has three surround sound options and you can play the dance music videos all back-to-back which makes this a worthy purchase hands-down. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Best acting I've ever seen
Review: Let me start by saying that the plot for the movie is somewhat unbelievable and a little hokey. That, however, is made completely irrelevant due to the acting on the part of Bjork. Bjork does not play the part of Selma in Dancer in the Dark, she IS Selma. Very few performances have ever brought me to tears, but this was one of them. This is an extremely depressing movie as well. I felt like a worthless human being for several days after watching this movie. The way the movie incorporates the musical numbers is just amazing. I don't want to give away too much, but the song 107 Steps was just so mindblowingly amazing. The DVD is also loaded with special features which are really good. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Excrutiating, but not emotionally
Review: A few caveats before the review:
I had just read The God of Small Things, which is similarly infatuated/nostaligic about The Sound of Music. The Sound of Music was before my time: I do not have warm fuzzy feelings towards it: I'm sick of seeing it embedded in other fiction.
(At this point, stop reading if you don't want to know how the film will end.)
Second,as an American, I am probably reacting too emotionally to the way justice was dispensed. I am not be the best judge of what is a fair depiction of our legal system. If van Trier would have over-leapt the court room scenes, the lawyer scenes, and any interaction with the legal system, then we might have had a good movie. But he insisits on giving the Prosectution interminable minutes to make their case. On the other hand, Bjork's attorney is never shown saying anything. Bjork is put on the stand, grilled by Zeljko Ivanek as the Prosecution, with no explanation of why she is on the stand. Ivanek, a decent actor, seems to be used only because he looks like a sadist. Later Bjork gets a brand-spanking new lawyer who can get her off the hook. She cross-examines her lawyer to find where the money has come from; he cracks under the pressure, divulging the amount and thereby the source of the money. $2000 and change. When it comes to death penalty cases, $2000 will get your pulse checked to see if you are dead already; that's about it. There are, however, lawyers that take such cases pro bono. And let's see: blind young mother speaks English poorly--not an unattractive client for an attorney who has issues with the death penalty, oh no. And I submit is the only reason van Trier set the story in the United States is because the death penalty is still used here and thus Bjork can be made into an even bigger martyr. One other complaint: fiction that relies on fools not putting their money in a bank and then losing it or having it be stolen is at best unimaginative and desperate. I don't have any problem with the film technically. The jarring and the close-ups, which at times seem excessive, cumulatively have an undeniable power. The musical scenes fit well with how Selma deals with her world. I especially appreciated the opening scene of a painting being conceived, the growth and layering of colors. In short, I was very disappointed after being dazzled and shocked by Breaking the Waves. (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous moments, you won't forget this film
Review: I am most grateful to this film for having no part in the usual formula movie-making. While its plot is somewhat standard, with a predictable outcome and conflict with a character who early on confesses he is broke (and we know she is saving a wad of cash, what could be more predictable as a conflict generator), its acting and singing and color/filming are extraordinary. This film is as memorable as they come, connecting with the sky over our heads, the roads we walk on, the parking lots outside of our jobs that we trudge across. The open air filming, the lack of studio pretensions are wonderful. The high point for me was the musical interlude "I've Seen It All". It encapsulates the experience of saying goodbye to the world's gorgeous colors and sights, and to family, and to life, and Bjork's song, and the lanky actor joining her and the railroad hobos dancing, and the bright sky all converge to make a magnficent film moment that I found to be utterly breathtaking. Her life is grim and yet, the beauty of the blue sky, the world of love and families -- the heart of the film is about loss. I highly recommend getting this film. However, I do find the plot devicing clunky -- I just don't believe Selma had the self-destruction in her to overlook a loving man and the villain begging to be killed is fake, something out of a Perry Mason episode, not real. Despite its plotting flaws, Bjork is something to see. I hope she does make more films. She has an original presence, something very honest to contribute. What a shame if it's all the Brad Pitts of the world on film instead of people like Bjork whose faces are special, different, interesting to watch, whose visions and voices are a touch of magic in a mundane world. The opera of everyday life is conveyed here, and it's a great movie effort. It didn't find a wide audience because too many people need mindless entertainment, and originality frightens people. Even though its setting is the U.S., nothing about it felt American to me, not the factory, or the trees or the houses. At first, the shaky camera work annoyed me a bit, but thank goodness I let go of that prejudice and let the film tell me where it was going. It's worth the ride!
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