'Dancer in the Dark' Review

If you have ever heard of the director Lars von Trier or his films you've probably heard stories about him from on set and just as a person in general. If you know the stories but have never seen his movies, it's quite easy to think that his movies are cold in character but deep in thought if you are willing to look past what his movies contain. That most certainly isn't the case with a lot of his work and Dancer in the Dark is no exception.

This musical drama is about a mother (Selma Jezkova played by Icelandic singer Bjork), who has slowly been going blind since she was a kid, who has moved to the USA from Czechoslovakia. She has moved to help her son get treatment for the same eye condition she is suffering from. While not working in a factory to support her and her son she has a lead role in a musical. Her time spent working and thinking about the musical bleeds into her factory job and her day dreams. She starts to get distracted and risking her job by slowing down the process and damaging machines.

People in her life include her son who some times truants from school, her friend Kathy, played by Catherine Deneuve (Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Belle de Jour) who also works at the factory and goes to see musicals with Selma. Selma and her son live in a trailer on the property of local police officer and his wife. Everyday after work a fellow worker, Jeff, wants to give Selma a lift home but is always refused. There is also a supporting character later on in the movie that is excellently played by Siobhan Fallon Hogan (the bus driver in Forrest Gump) but I don't want to spoil the movie.

You would think a man who claims that he understands Hitler (he later apologised for this remark) would never truly be able to reach his audience at an emotional level but he has several times. Antichrist and Melancholia are sure to reach out to people with depression (probably because they're part of the depression trilogy) and they are certainly not easy movies to take in. Dancer in the Dark is the third von Trier movie I've seen and this I have no doubt that he has an understanding of emotion in a story and character. Even if I have yet to see every work from von Trier, from what I know, this is probably his most accessible work for the general audience. The movie is very potent on its theme of motherhood which is far more accessible to people than depression.

Because the film is a musical you can guarantee that there will be musical numbers (duh). The first one doesn't come for about 30-40 minutes into the movie but it's worth the wait. All the numbers take place in Selma's head as she escapes into a fantasy where people break out into singing, just like the way they do in the movies she see with Kathy. Using an early form of digital cameras gives the film an already unique look but then when the numbers come along von Trier and his DoP Robby Muller changed the lens to an anamorhphic one. This makes for some of the most unique musical numbers in a film I've ever seen. The songs too don't sound like an American pop song (because Bjork is Icelandic) but it certainly adds to how von Trier thinks about the USA (more on that later).

In addition to winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Bjork was deservedly given Best Actress. The film was only given one Oscar nomination for the song "I've Seen it All" but I looked up who was nominated for Best Actress, I had to look up not only some of the films but who the actresses were. To put it simply, Bjork was snubbed of a well deserved nomination. I read that some of the other actresses accused her of "feeling rather than acting". I don't think von Trier needed and actor in this role. The style of the movie certainly wouldn't match a regular screen actors performance.

While the movie is set in the USA, Lars von Trier has never been there because of his fear of flying. Yet he still understands what's wrong with American society. That they are people who live off government and church propaganda, that they don't want to face the real issues of society, that they aren't inclusive and much more. When you watch the film the idea is very really at the heart (or brain) of a scene but it's present and important to what von Trier is trying to get across.

Like most of von Trier's films the audience has been divisive when it comes to reactions to the film. The Movie Show/At the Movies's Margaret and David (two Australian film critics) had completely opposing views on the movie. Margaret gave the film five stars while David gave it zero. If you know these critics you'll understand there scores and reasoning more. Even if you're not sure if you want to check out von Trier's work I would ask you too because then you at least say you tried but you'll be missing out an emotional gut wrenching film in the form of Dancer in the Dark.

Overall Score: 10/10

Dancer in the Dark is available on DVD & Blu-Ray

Director/Writer: Lars von Trier

Starring: Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare, Cara Seymour and Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Cinematography: Robby Muller

Editing: Molly Marlene Stensgaard and François Gédigier

Music: Bjork