Rating: 
Summary: Powerful
Review: I can't honestly say that I loved this film...I don't even know if I liked it...but I do know that it deserves the 5 star rating for making me cry harder than I have ever cried before, and lingering in my mind days afterward...Bjork is exceptional, she plays Selma like no one else can, and I'm sure NO ONE could have done a better job than her, she is magnificent and truly makes you feel for her character...the film does overstay its welcome by a good half hour, but it is so emotional and so powerful that I didn't really care,I felt myself sympathizing for Selma and hoping everything would work out for her...this is not an easy film to watch and it definitely IS NOT for all tastes, I wouldnt be surprised if so many people hate this movie...its slow and it is recorded by a hand held camera, not to mention the fact that its a musical...but the characters are so richly drawn, the musical numbers so well choreographed, and the performances an absolute powerhouse, that this film really is a masterpiece, never have I loved a character so much as I loved Selma...what she goes through for her son is an inspiration, but one cannot help but turn away from all that happens to her...this is a painful film, but an absolute rewarding one...
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: Powerful, original, engrossing.
Review: I've finally seen a movie by rebel danish director Lars von Trier, whose movies famously you either love or hate - and i don't know whether i love or hate it! One thing i'm certain of: this is a powerful, engrossing viewing experience. I couldn't turn the movie off from sheer curiosity at what was about to happen. In the first fifteen minutes i was transfixed, but baffled as to the purpose of this movie, but as soon as Selma (Bjork) tells us that she is going blind, and that she adores nothing more in the world than musicals, i was completely drawn in by Dancer in the Dark. I think the seemingly rough way von Trier tells this story is what makes it so fascinating. Nicole Kidman, speaking about Dogville, said that you always feel von Trier right there with you because he is always operating the camera. By so doing, he is able to hand-craft a particular character for the camera, who becomes like an extra character looking on to the events in the movie, whose eyes the audience look through. The "reality" world in Dancer in the Dark feels just like reality, the hardness of which Selma loves to escape from by imagining she is in a musical. To give you an idea of the kind of profundity to be found in Dancer, here is my favourite speech in the movie: Selma: "Isn't that annoying when they do the last song in the films though... Because you just know when it goes really big, and the camera goes out of the roof, you just know its gonna end? I used to cheat on that when i was a little girl back in Czeckeslovakia. I would leave the cinema just after the next to last song was over - and the film would go on forever."
Rating:
Summary: don't watch with any expectations
Review: First of all, I can't even believe this film was made and distributed to so many theaters. Don't get me wrong-- I think it may be one of the best movies I have ever seen, but it is SO much different than anything else I can hardly believe someone picked it up to produce and distribute. The movie doesn't know if it is a documentary, drama or musical, but somehow it pulls off being all three. The story is that of a Czech immigrant who works and exists only to pay for a surgery to correct in her son a genetic disease that will eventually render him blind. The acting in the entire film is flawless and it is cast perfectly. The camera angles and visuals were stunning and the soundtrack (by Bjork) is enchanting. I must disagree with other reviewers on a couple of points. The first being that this is a "predictable story" of a character "too weak-willed to defend herself from the forces of 'darkness' enveloping her miserable life". The will of Selma is incredible. Out of guilt from bringing her son into the world, knowing he will inherit the same blinding disease she has, and pure love Selma dedicates her life to saving money to pay for the surgery. She sacrifices everything save occasional viewings of musicals which provide her the sanity she needs to continue. Even when put to the ultimate test- death- she continues. The second point is that there are no happy scenes. Completely false. The sheer beauty of Selma's mission and the musicals she produces in her head define love and happiness respectively. The end of the movie (I won't spoil it for you) is sad but at the same time happy in that Bjork has found her piece after being wronged in so many ways. The first 20 minutes are painfuly slow, but everything comes together. Wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but if you are a fan of "art" films or Indies, definately watch it.
Rating:
Summary: I've seen it all.. I have seen the dark... I've seen the..
Review: .. light.. in one little spark.. If you want to see an interesting musical, see this. I can't imagine you being a Bjork fan and having not seen this yet. One, Bjork is Amazing. Two, I've never seen a musical like this ever. I've never seen a film, that if you pay attention to and lose yourself in, will bring you so close to the experience of committing a murder. Afterwards, the part where she is delerious and starts daydreaming again.. wow. And the very end is so intense. I love the end. I couldn't believe Bjork was such a wonderful actress. I was so surprised. Blown away. This is one of my favorite movies. The kind you can watch over and over again and keep getting more from it. I love watching this over again. It is so intense; both amazingly realistic and highly fantastic. True to life and art. Very original. If you haven't seen it, see it. Unless musicals bug you. Though it's only part musical. The rest is filmed almost as if you are watching a documentary.. like observing friends going about thier daily life.. until it gets crazy. Pay attention. I Love this movie. The guy from Radiohead is in it too. And a bunch of other amazing people. I love the scene where the machines become music. I can relate well (in the sense of having an overactive imagination that likes to run off with me).
Rating:
Summary: Bjork is good
Review: Lars von Trier again makes us feel bad. Many people find this kind of emotional manipulation very hard to deal with but then I don't think this bothers von Trier. Set in a small Northwest town in the sixties Selma (Bjork) in a young Czech immigrant who is burning the candle at both ends in order to make enough money to save her son from the hereditary blindness which she is cursed with. ... . The narrative is improbable but easy to follow and makes for some good drama. The whole movie is shot on DV and is mostly a colorless, handheld and dreary looking ordeal but, the song and dance numbers are filmed with many cameras and are a wash with oversaturated color as Selma disappears into her dream world of the hollywood musical. I've read where Bjorks music in the film is criticized but I would guess that any fan of Bjorks music would be pleased with the film score. Of course von Trier films are not for everyone but he and Bjork have done a good job at opening themselves to each others audiences, although rumors has it the relationship suffered. A nice bonus on the DVD is the 100 cameras documentary about how the dance scenes are filmed.
Rating:
Summary: A complex & devastating work of art
Review: There is so much pain going on in "Dancer in the Dark," it's almost impossible to begin to explain. But one thing that I can say is that it was one of the most original and nostalgic (in its fallback on being a musical) and devastating movies I've ever seen. Believe me, only the truly perceptive and seeking filmgoers will understand and appreciate the film's message. However, one thing that was a little distracting (yet, also, I think it added to the rawness of film and its subject matter) was the shaky camera work close-ups. At times, you'll want to spring for the bottle of asprin to overcome an oncoming headache via watching the film, but restrain. Just finish the movie. If the headache is still there, then you've experienced "Dancer in the Dark." The last 10 minutes of this movie is probably the most riveting, suspenseful and adrenaline-pumping movie sequence I've ever seen. Bjork's voice, facial expressions and inner emotion bleed through her body in a way that is both unsettling and undeniably powerful. I must say that I'm no Bjork music fan, but the songs in the film did touch me. They were so radical, so inventive, so simple and bizarre, if you will, that it's almost impossible to not simply appreciate them for being so outlandish. But nonetheless, the movie is really about suffering. You can draw many symbolisms to Selma's (Bjork) lonely, simple and heartbreaking character, one being almost christological. (that may be a stretch, but it's valid if you look closely at the film, what Selma's purpose was and how she was "wrongly" accused in a sense and then attempted to be put to death) Either way though, it still is a pretty amazing movie. I can't believe I wrote this much. Movies that make me want to write this much about them are truly unique. "Dancer in the Dark" is one of the precious few. Devastatingly powerful and unflinchingly raw. See it. (all of it)
Rating:
Summary: baffling. beautiful. unsettling.
Review: I could write a novella of a review, as so many have with respect to this film. There are many complex and interdependent themes, each magnificent in scope. One that (at first glance) that I see underplayed among these reviews, however, is the one of selfless love, of true loss of the ego-self. That said, as much as there is to gain from it, I cannot view _Dancer in the Dark_ again soon. I admire and seek out unorthodox--even disturbing--elements in film, but this one had me in a place of extreme mental strain.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been a masterpiece, But...
Review: After watching the first 40 mins of this film you feel as though you are about to witness filmmaking history... depressing musicals have been done before, (check out classical russian cinema)... but this was totally different, intentionally eclectic, blurry/shaky camera, as if we are seeing through Selma's bad vision or her mind's eye... i was thinking, this is brilliant!... BUT THEN THE COURT SCENE begins... and then the film begins to push the limits in which a viewer can suspend his/her disbelief... if you want the details of why this is, there are about 50 reviews on this board addressing that very issue... Being a lawyer, i can tell you this scene frustrated me to no end, but you don't need to be a lawyer to know how inplausable it was... "Did you kill him?" ..."yeah"..."why did you kill the man who robbed and framed you and almost shot you in the back?"... "he asked me to"... "Why did he do that"..."he asked me not to tell you"..."ok, well then, does the jury have a verdict...? what a surprise, death by hanging..." WHY DOES HER BEHAVIOR FRUSTRATE US SO MUCH?
1) She, herself (the protaganist), does not seem to want to survive, nor to defend herself... and WE want her to live... not only for her child, but because she was innocent... I KNOW she was trying to sacfrifice herself for her child... she'll die so her son can get an operation....Yes, that is what the director intended, but if that were the case, then as a director you need to eliminate all plausable possibilities for a positive resolution... she had options to give her son the operation, win her court case and for a "happily ever after resolution"... but of course she takes NONE OF THEM, but rather does everything to get herself executed... but acts like she doesn't want to die... CONCLUSION: I really don't know what the last quote means that the director put up on the screen at the end of the film... "They say it's the last song. They don't know us, you see. It's only the last song if we let it be." BUT, based on how disconcerting the whole court scene was and the aftermath thereof, it almost seems like the director was telling us that you shouldn't loose hope and life is precious and is worth living no matter how awful life is... THEN WHY THE HECK DO YOU MAKE US LIKE THE MAIN CHARACTER SO MUCH AND THEN SHOW US HOW STUPID AND CRAZY SHE WAS TO ENGINEER HER OWN EXECUTION.... Find something better to do on a friday night...
Rating:
Summary: One of the best I've seen
Review: This movie is one of the only films in the world that i would consider buying on DVD. The movie is dark and amazing, as much so as Bjork's music. It is hard to watch at times, but is not gratuitous in any sense of the word. The music is great, the movie is great, and it's definitely worth seeing.
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