Artur Machado From Lars Von Trier with Björk in the lead role. This is the most boring movie I have ever seen: very bad and shaky direction from unbelievable angles, depressing story of an already worn out formula, the horrible music of Björk that every time there was a musical segment it felt like an endless torture, her totally insipid representation... I did not even regretted that she died at the end. Even more depressing is the fact that this is an idea of Lars Von Trier that I even had in some consideration but this is very amateur.

afrodome Ah yes, Dancer in the Dark. I was so thrilled to watch this movie years ago. Hearing so many wonderful things about it, how it's a sad yet beautiful tour de force that will make you shed a few tears, and the fact that the unconventional Von Trier was the mastermind behind the film, I was very excited to watch this. Well, enthusiasm turned to indignation about an hour in. It reminded me of that one friend at house parties would put on Tom Waits to put everyone in a bad mood. The room would get quiet and bleak and my friend would bust out laughing. It was pretty funny, but for Lars to make an adult musical and attempt to make it a visceral tragedy is in poor taste (even for Von Trier). I can't get emotional over a movie's that's completely insincere. The musical-in-the-mind sub-theme of the movie was beautiful. Bjork is a unique personality and a very talented singer and she really shines in the movie and it was cool to see some of her 'headspace' portrayed on screen. The nihilism in the movie, however, was just an overreach in Lars' attempt to get people to shed tears. Kind of tasteless. I was shocked with how much I disliked it after I was blown away by Melancholia: a Von Trier film that I encourage any 'film geek' to check out.

lyrafowlpotter This is a very unique film on many levels. It is a musical, but certainly not your typical musical. It is by far, the absolute most depressing film I have ever seen, and I actually generally enjoy depressing films, this one definitely took the cake for me. The songs are joyous up until the very end, and the performance by Bjork is beyond outstanding, she absolutely should have won the Oscar that year for her song, and I maintain she should have been nominated for best actress, she would have kicked Julia Roberts butt in the lead actress category. It is a shame Bjork will never act again, but after this movie, I wouldn't act again either. I hated everyone in this movie so much except for Bjork, her son, and her friend at work. Everyone else was condemnable, and it was beyond me when the final 1/3 of the film unfolds, it was already a very depressing film, and the final third officially made it the most depressing film, without any sort of hope at all, period. It is true, that somehow there is joy in her mind which plays out in the songs in her head, which we see on screen, just as we have throughout the film, but this is far and away the best film to watch if you need a reminder of why your life is not that bad. Even though I will never watch this again, I still think it is worth watching once, if only for Bjork's performance and the wonderful songs and performances of them. The film is well-done and the acting is good all around, the camera work is nice, the songs are great, and the film has a very gritty quality to it. I did love the tenacity of the main character, even though things are so dire, and they are not looking any better. A movie that is hard to recommend, but worth watching, if you can stomach films that are depressing beyond anything you have probably seen before, the only other film I felt comes close is "Requiem for a Dream" in terms of depression.God Bless ~Amy

oxy milk Lars Von Trier's "Dancer In The Dark" is set in an isolated working class milieu, where we follow Selma (Björk), a Czech immigrant who's eye sight gradually deteriorates throughout the film. In the first 20 minutes, we instantly understand our protagonist's primary interests and ambitions: Gene (her son) and music. These two things carry her forthwith throughout the film, music especially, even when the odds gradually go against her. Dancer In The Dark is a story of betrayal and injustice, themes that were explored in Trier's previous film "Breaking The Waves". Selma's viscera manifests in her determination to sacrifice for what she loves, namely her son, so much show that she was willing to sacrifice her own life to ensure that the congenital eye disease that will inevitably effect her son will be cured with the money she saved. Despite the atrocities our protagonist witnesses, she maintains a sense of elation through her affinity with music. Riddled throughout the film are elaborate dance scenes which play out like musical dance numbers. Unfortunately, the songs aren't great and are tedious. They abruptly get in the way of the scenes that are taking place. The dance numbers and songs end up being the film's weakest point, excluding the song before 107 steps (which unfortunately is not on the official soundtrack for the film), in which our protagonists finds peace in singing to the sound of hymns coming from a church. This scene, aside from the last scene, is possibly the most powerful scene in the entire film. The jerky camera that is experienced for a great deal of the film is kept extremely still, and the audience is allowed to see our protagonist's emotional ascent from sorrow to euphoria. I can't say this for all the songs unfortunately. Like my aforesaid remarks, they are tedious and feel like left overs from Björk's debut record. Despite my gripes with the song, they do serve another purpose other than just killing time. As the atrocities of the film only worsen, the audience, like Selma, are just longing for the next musical dance number to appear to escape from the trauma, and thus these songs are effectively used as a comforting tool to distract the audience from remembering that even more atrocities await. This applies to Björk's character as well--a mere distraction. While acknowledging this, these songs last way too long and aren't enjoyable enough to justify their length. Speaking of the camera, the cinematography is consistently good despite the camera that jerks around on more than one occasion. It's not as bad as a Michael Bay film, however the awkward editing (which is most likely an artistic decision on Von Trier's part) becomes distracting at points. All the performances are generally well done, namely Björk's and Catherine Deneuve's. However, these actors don't shine until the latter half of the film. In the first 20 minutes, the jagged editing are especially present and Björk scolding Gene was especially laughable, however this is redeemed by her fantastic performance for the last 40-50 minutes or so. The final scene is a grotesque and agonizing scene, as the audience suffers as much as our protagonist. We see our beloved protagonist struggle for survival, find peace, and then meet their inevitable doom. This film may not live up to Von Trier's other masterpieces (Riget/Kingdom, Breaking The Waves, and Europa come to mind.) However, this film remains as a powerful naturalistic drama. This film isn't hard to like, alas it is hard to love.Rating: 7.5/10