Dancer In The Dark
Have you ever felt that drained, zombie-like feeling that lingers inside of you? The kind where you seem to just be floating along, watching the world pass you by in slow motion? While walking out of the film Dancer In the Dark, I had that exact feeling -- and for once I could not blame this sensation on hitting the sauce the night before. Judging by my symptoms, I concluded that I was experiencing one hell of an "emotional" hangover.
Directed by Lars von Trier (Breaking The Waves), Dancer In the Dark is one of the most genuinely made films the industry has seen in years. Von Trier left me dumbfounded with his ability to create the disgusting, the disappointing, the passionate, and the unexpected all in a little over two hours. Before seeing this film, be prepared to put up your defenses for the disturbing yet brilliant ride that Dancer In the Dark takes you on.
The film's initial claim to fame was that it starred Icelandic pop/rock star Bjork (Being a huge fan, I tried not to let this bias take over my viewing of the film). Like her music, Dancer In the Dark intellectually explores the complex layers of human nature.
Dancer In the Dark is very much a musical woven into a documentary-style film. The story takes places in a small factory town in the Northwest. Selma, played by Bjork, is a Czech immigrant with a somewhat kooky demeanor who has just arrived in America to start a new life. She gets a job as a factory worker in order to support her young son Gene. Struggling with barely enough money to survive on, Selma forges ahead while fighting the fact that she is quickly going blind. She makes it her mission to save up enough money so her son can have surgery to have his own eyes "fixed."
Selma gets through these trying times by expressing herself through music. Throughout the story, she works long grueling hours at a steel factory along with co-star Catherine Deneuve, who plays the witty Kathy. After work, Selma rushes to play practice where she transforms her harsh reality into a musical fantasy. She relies on her neighbors Bill (David Morse) and Linda (Cara Seymour) to look after her son while she is away. Eventually, she finds herself being slowly taken advantage of because of her child-like innocence and unbreakable trust.
In the end, Selma is brutally betrayed, setting off a chain of events that culminates in a memorable climax featuring a bone-chilling acapella performance by Bjork.
Bjork's elfin features give Selma a sort of fairy-tale/fantasy connotation. Music is the fuel that feeds her fire. She hears music through everything: trains, machines, etc. Because of this, the soundtrack for Dancer In the Dark cannot be fully appreciated until the film is seen. Selma's only escape is through music, and von Trier makes this apparent with abrupt singing and dancing scenes.
Despite the heated battles between Bjork and von Trier (she almost quit on the set several times), the two created a modern-day masterpiece. But like any film junkie would say, "don't take my word for it." You be the final critic and go rent this film. See if you're with me in that it contains just about all of the breakthrough elements rarely captured in years since the classics such as Night of the Hunter and Citizen Kane.
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You may need a couple to calm your nerves after watching some of the highly disturbing and invigorating scenes, especially the final standoff between Selma and Bill.
This film requires intellect and ATTENTION; rent this one when you and your partner want to open your minds, not your mouths. However, Jeff's infatuation with Selma does provide a little storybook romance for all of you saps out there.
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