"Dancer in the Dark" is one of the most difficult, depressing films I have seen. IMDB users know the main plot line, so I won't repeat it. This is a worthy film that makes important points. Some reviewers have criticized the plot as soap-opera-ish and unrealistic. I didn't find it hard to fathom. Events like these happen to people all the time.
What many reviewers have not discussed much is how 'Selma', played by Bjork, has so many obstacles in her life. Selma didn't ask for these, but has to deal with them nonetheless. She is handicapped, is in a male-dominated culture, and is an immigrant from a Communist (1964 Czech.) country. Selma is poor, a daydreamer, maddeningly principled just when she should not be, and has a dependent - a son. Yet I didn't find her situation removed from reality. The working poor of the world have a very tough life. Gary Oldman's "Nil By Mouth" is a valid comparison for lifestyles.
In this film, we see how the American system treats a poor, defenseless woman - horribly, mercilessly, unthinkingly. Among its other messages, it spoke to me as an indictment of capitalism and American culture. It illuminates in a cold light some deadly characteristics of American society: the crushing poverty many live in, the narrow-mindedness of many people, the lack of concern of companies for their workers, the government's neglect of the handicapped, an ignorance and distrust of foreigners, sexism, materialism, religious fundamentalism, and a morbid obsession with violence. One could continue for a long time. Director von Trier shows how these societal flaws twist and wreck ordinary people.
I liked the musical numbers, as they provided a welcome contrast to the relentlessly gloomy reality of Selma's situation. When Selma bursts out in song and people around her dance as well, we see the joy in her heart - which cannot be realized in real life. The dance sequences are also expertly choreographed, and I found them infinitely more expressive of the human condition that 'Matrix'-style martial arts tricks.
von Trier's style and subject matter remind me of Stanley Kubrick's. Both directors have a completely personal style which stirs great passions and divisions among viewers. They are experimental, meticulous and intense to a fault. Both are concerned with human cruelty and dehumanization. Both directors also reportedly inspire great loyalty among their actors.
I think this is a relevant film for America, and the world, today. We still have essentially all the same problems that I enumerated above in America in 2000 that we did in 1964, when this story takes place. I hope audiences can get past the abrasiveness of the hand-held camera technique. True compassion and bravery is needed to see this film, but we need that in life, anyway.
What many reviewers have not discussed much is how 'Selma', played by Bjork, has so many obstacles in her life. Selma didn't ask for these, but has to deal with them nonetheless. She is handicapped, is in a male-dominated culture, and is an immigrant from a Communist (1964 Czech.) country. Selma is poor, a daydreamer, maddeningly principled just when she should not be, and has a dependent - a son. Yet I didn't find her situation removed from reality. The working poor of the world have a very tough life. Gary Oldman's "Nil By Mouth" is a valid comparison for lifestyles.
In this film, we see how the American system treats a poor, defenseless woman - horribly, mercilessly, unthinkingly. Among its other messages, it spoke to me as an indictment of capitalism and American culture. It illuminates in a cold light some deadly characteristics of American society: the crushing poverty many live in, the narrow-mindedness of many people, the lack of concern of companies for their workers, the government's neglect of the handicapped, an ignorance and distrust of foreigners, sexism, materialism, religious fundamentalism, and a morbid obsession with violence. One could continue for a long time. Director von Trier shows how these societal flaws twist and wreck ordinary people.
I liked the musical numbers, as they provided a welcome contrast to the relentlessly gloomy reality of Selma's situation. When Selma bursts out in song and people around her dance as well, we see the joy in her heart - which cannot be realized in real life. The dance sequences are also expertly choreographed, and I found them infinitely more expressive of the human condition that 'Matrix'-style martial arts tricks.
von Trier's style and subject matter remind me of Stanley Kubrick's. Both directors have a completely personal style which stirs great passions and divisions among viewers. They are experimental, meticulous and intense to a fault. Both are concerned with human cruelty and dehumanization. Both directors also reportedly inspire great loyalty among their actors.
I think this is a relevant film for America, and the world, today. We still have essentially all the same problems that I enumerated above in America in 2000 that we did in 1964, when this story takes place. I hope audiences can get past the abrasiveness of the hand-held camera technique. True compassion and bravery is needed to see this film, but we need that in life, anyway.