Dancer in the Dark

2000 "You don't need eyes to see."
7.9| 2h20m| R| en| More Info
Released: 06 October 2000 Released
Producted By: WDR
Country: Sweden
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life's troubles - even if just for a moment - by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

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Reviews

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Kirpianuscus her performance. her dance. her manner to use the details of the role for give a delicate, cruel, dramatic story about innocence, about clash with a strange universe and the end of dream. a film far to be comfortable. not only for the clear mark of director but for a rare form of honesty who has the gift to ignore the genres. story of a woman from East who hopes become happy . and the way for define the new world. one of films who are not exactly dark or bitter or dramatic or cruel. but only a question to the viewer. about choices and decisions. about status of the other. about dreams and about limits of gestures. about loneness and about value of life. about beauty. and about truth. about importance of refuges. a film for powerful memories. and not real comfortable answers.
SnoopyStyle It's 1964 Washington State. Selma Ježková (Björk) and her son Gene are immigrants from Czechoslovakia. She's losing her eyesight and only her friend from the factory Kathy (Catherine Deneuve) notices. It's genetics and she's saving money to pay for surgery for Gene. She rents a trailer from policeman Bill Houston (David Morse) and his wife Linda (Cara Seymour). Her creeping blindness is causing problems at work as well as performing 'The Sound of Music' with the local theater group.This has the shaky Digital camera work of the documentary style. When Selma has her musical daydreams, the camera stops shaking and the lighting becomes brighter. I find the style a little tiresome after awhile and the running time is a little beyond my endurance. I do like Björk's quirky little performance. The music fits well with her and the story. I don't like the style but I really appreciate the attempt at something different.
Tom Butler The emphasis of this film is on the last word of the title ... dark. But in spite of being a dark film, it contains some of the most tender moments found in any movie I have seen. You have to be in the right mood to enjoy this film. A mood where you don't mind having your gut twisted by scenes of incredible sadness.This is yet another "Dogma '95" film from Danish director Lars von Trier ("Breaking the Waves" & "The Idiots"). He seems to be the only proponent of this minimalist creed of filmmaking that is able to make it work. The story, set in a small town in the '60s, concerns an immigrant woman who is going blind. She will do anything to earn enough money for the operation that will save her son from the same fate. Her only joy in life is a love of musicals. With a local acting group she is practicing to star in "The Sound of Music", but it is her vivid imagination that gives her the most pleasure ... and gets her into the most trouble. As this painful tale progresses from one seemingly inevitable step to the next, both the main character and the audience are sucked into an emotional whirlpool from which there is no escape. Don't see this film unless you are secure enough in your own emotions to withstand the shock.
Python Hyena Dancer in the Dark (2000): Dir: Lars Von Triers / Cast: Bjork, David Morse, Catherine Deneuve, Peter Stormare, Joel Grey: Disturbing yet brilliant film about endurance through tragedy or one's venture into uncertainty. Ultimately it deals with a woman threatened with blindness but her love for Hollywood musicals keeps her going. Pop diva Bjork stars as a single mother who works at a press factory and she has been stashing money away for an operation to prevent her from losing his sight. Her landlord is a cop who is having financial difficulties and steals her money. She confronts him but he forces her to kill him thus leading to a disturbing battle in court. Hardly pleasant but director Lars Von Triers brilliantly uses musicals to express emotion. Bjork delivers a powerful performance full of emotion as she goes through unfortunate lengths for the good of her son. David Morse is excellent as her landlord whose financial greed leads to his only real regard. Catherine Deneuve plays Bjork's friend from the factory who races to ensure that Bjork receives positive news with regards to her son's operation. Peter Stormare is another friend who supports her in this dire state. Joel Grey also appears, which is a staple for musicals, and seems to support what Bjork represents in her passion for musicals. Theme regards injustice and freedom as her mind takes flight in the joyous presence of song. Score: 8 / 10