Dancer in the DarkWhat use has song for sight? Dancer in the Dark is an experimental drama and musical starring experimental singer and composer, Björk, as Selma Ježková, a Czech immigrant in America--specifically Washington state--in the year 1964. Selma is rapidly losing her eyesight due to a degenerative genetic condition, one which she anticipates will soon afflict her son, Gene Ježek (Vladica Kostic). She has scrimped and saved over two thousand dollars to finance an operation--not for her, but for Gene. However, as her sight fades, her fortunes fail as swiftly, including her imprisonment for the killing of her neighbor and landlord, town policeman Bill Houston (David Morse).
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Dancer in the Dark is a tale of a mother's sacrifices for her child. Selma works exhausting hours in a factory, taking work home with her for extra pay, and lives a frugal life in a trailer on the property of Bill and his wife, Linda (Cara Seymour), who are friendly with her, and watch Gene while Selma works. What she can save she keeps stashed away in a cookie tin filled with loose bills; her only indulgence is to participate in a local theater group, playing Maria in a rendition of "The Sound of Music". Selma's pleasure is music--she hears it in the sounds of industry, from the machines in her factory to the train rolling by--even to the sounds of pencils scribbling. It is implied that she came to America from communist Czechoslovakia because she loved the music of Hollywood musicals, and because a favorite performer of hers, Oldřich Nový (Joel Grey), went ahead of her, like an ambassador to the "new world". But Selma, as optimistic as she is, must have come to realize just how hard life in the United States really is, so she retreats into her fantasies of music and daydreams. She wistfully wishes for a life of song and dance, and not the drudgery and perpetual dourness that is her reality--a sorrow compounded by the impending blindness threatening to overtake her. Her companionship with her friends--including Bill and Linda, as well as her co-worker Kathy (Catherine Deneuve), and a man who pines for Selma named Jeff (Peter Stormare)--presents a life which while fiscally impoverished, is rich in love and camaraderie.
One night, Bill comes to confess his problems to Selma, claiming that he is on the brink of bankruptcy, hoping she can loan him some money. Her confession that she is saving for Gene--and accidental revelation of her cookie tin filled with money--leads him to steal her savings, which in turn leads to the fatal encounter with her erstwhile friend. Bill represents the cynical perception of the "American Dream"; even his last name, "Houston", is evocative of America, and by association, its ideals. He blames his wife for spending more than he can make, but there is little evidence to support this allegation. Rather, Bill is the one who is avaricious and deceitful, and is likely the one either living beyond his means, or compelled to acquire even more than he has. Selma, on the other hand, casually mentions to her boss, Norman (Jean-Marc Barr), that life was better under communism, a dangerous sentiment in an era in the midst of a cold war. Selma is not political, but the perceptions of others about her as an outsider influences the attitudes of those who immediately presume the worst about her. Her story--and the trial which follows the killing--is reminiscent of the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, motivated at least in part by her communist roots.
Written and directed by Lars von Trier, Dancer in the Dark resembles a documentary, similar to other films in his "Golden Heart Trilogy", like Breaking the Waves, another tale of sacrifices made for love. The film is shot with digital video, which further amplifies this effect, and is at least in part adherent to an avant-garde filmmaking style he helped to pioneer, referred to as "Dogme 95". The most notable change in style emerges when Selma is taken by one of her fantasies, at which point the editing is more appropriately like that of a Hollywood musical, with rapid cuts and fast-moving camerawork and choreography, creating a hybrid style. Jeff comments to Selma that he never cared much for musicals, because it didn't make sense that people would just suddenly start breaking out into song and dance since he never does. In Selma's dreams, however, the world is more rich for it, a fantastic pageant of color and life, oversaturated and glowing with vibrancy. The music and daydreams are crucial for Selma's sanity; they are a means for her to cope with the predominance of so many things being taken from her in her life: her sight, her money, her job--only the music remains. It is no coincidence that "The Sound of Music" is the featured musical in which Selma is interested in playing the lead; the sound of music is the beat of her heart which keeps her going.
Recommended for: Fans of an eclectic--if often sorrowful--musical, and for fans of Björk, who composed the music for Dancer in the Dark. It also happens to be a period piece about conflicting American values of obsessive acquisition versus a mother's values for the welfare of her child, and disillusionment with the American Dream.
One night, Bill comes to confess his problems to Selma, claiming that he is on the brink of bankruptcy, hoping she can loan him some money. Her confession that she is saving for Gene--and accidental revelation of her cookie tin filled with money--leads him to steal her savings, which in turn leads to the fatal encounter with her erstwhile friend. Bill represents the cynical perception of the "American Dream"; even his last name, "Houston", is evocative of America, and by association, its ideals. He blames his wife for spending more than he can make, but there is little evidence to support this allegation. Rather, Bill is the one who is avaricious and deceitful, and is likely the one either living beyond his means, or compelled to acquire even more than he has. Selma, on the other hand, casually mentions to her boss, Norman (Jean-Marc Barr), that life was better under communism, a dangerous sentiment in an era in the midst of a cold war. Selma is not political, but the perceptions of others about her as an outsider influences the attitudes of those who immediately presume the worst about her. Her story--and the trial which follows the killing--is reminiscent of the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, motivated at least in part by her communist roots.
Written and directed by Lars von Trier, Dancer in the Dark resembles a documentary, similar to other films in his "Golden Heart Trilogy", like Breaking the Waves, another tale of sacrifices made for love. The film is shot with digital video, which further amplifies this effect, and is at least in part adherent to an avant-garde filmmaking style he helped to pioneer, referred to as "Dogme 95". The most notable change in style emerges when Selma is taken by one of her fantasies, at which point the editing is more appropriately like that of a Hollywood musical, with rapid cuts and fast-moving camerawork and choreography, creating a hybrid style. Jeff comments to Selma that he never cared much for musicals, because it didn't make sense that people would just suddenly start breaking out into song and dance since he never does. In Selma's dreams, however, the world is more rich for it, a fantastic pageant of color and life, oversaturated and glowing with vibrancy. The music and daydreams are crucial for Selma's sanity; they are a means for her to cope with the predominance of so many things being taken from her in her life: her sight, her money, her job--only the music remains. It is no coincidence that "The Sound of Music" is the featured musical in which Selma is interested in playing the lead; the sound of music is the beat of her heart which keeps her going.
Recommended for: Fans of an eclectic--if often sorrowful--musical, and for fans of Björk, who composed the music for Dancer in the Dark. It also happens to be a period piece about conflicting American values of obsessive acquisition versus a mother's values for the welfare of her child, and disillusionment with the American Dream.