Directed by Lars von Trier2000
Cast: Bjork,Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare, Cara Seymour, Joel Grey, Vincent Paterson, Vladica Kostic, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, Zeljko Ivanek
Masterpiece or masquerade? Lars von Trier's digicam musical split the critics in two when it debuted at Cannes in 2000. There were those who saw it as a cynical shock-opera from a manipulative charlatan, others wept openly at its scenes of raw emotion and heart-rending intensity. There is, however, no in-between. Dancer in the Dark is that rarest of creatures, a film that dares to push viewers to the limits of their feelings.
In her first and most probably last screen performance (she has foresworn acting after her bruising on-set rows with von Trier), brittle Icelandic chanteuse Björk plays Selma, a Czech immigrant living in a folksy American small town with her young son, Gene. Selma is going blind and so will Gene if she does not arrange an important operation for him. To cover the expense, Selma works every hour she can, cheating on her eye tests so she can keep working at the local factory long after her vision has become too unreliable to work safely. She sublets a house from a local cop, Bill (David Morse), and his wife, Linda (Cara Seymour). When nearly bankrupt Bill asks Selma for a loan, she refuses, but he later returns and steals the money, which she demands back in a furious confrontation. In the ensuing melee, Bill is fatally shot and Selma is arrested and put on trial. Will justice prevail?
Von Trier's passionate, provocative film runs all our emotional resources dry with suspense, giving us occasional flashes into Selma's gold heart and mind with superb song-and-dance numbers she conjures to banish the nightmare (Björk also wrote the score). At some two-and-a-half hours, it's not for lightweights, but anyone bored with today's smug, "ironic" cinema will relish this as an astonishing assault on the senses and a stark reminder of von Trier's uncompromising talent. --Damon Wise
Awards:
2000 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress
2000 Cannes International Film Festival Best Actress
2000 Cannes Film Festival Palme D'or
2000 Cannes International Film Festival Palme d'Or
2000 Cannes Film Festival Best Female Performance
2000 European Film Awards People's Choice Award: Best Actress
2000 European Film Academy Best European Actress
2000 European Film Awards Best European Actress
2000 European Film Awards People's Choice Award Best Director
2000 European Film Academy Best European Film
2000 European Film Awards Best European Film
2000 Jameson People's Choice Award Best European Director
2000 Jameson People's Choice Award Best European Actress
2000 Independent Spirit Award Best Foreign Film
2000 National Board of ReviewBest Musical Performance
2000 National Board of Review
1 comment:
a movie i loved which had the ability to change some points of view in my life. i've watched the movie some years ago but its emotionality and the impressions are still on my mind.
and of course the music's just so great. lars von trier is a sensitive film- but also moviemaker with an eye for unique sounds and characters.
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