Bjork Video:

Editorial Review:
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

Dancer in the Dark Reviews:
Hardest Movie You Will Ever Love
2009-11-23 - Bjorks stunning and real feeling performance as a mother slowly going blind while working day and night to save enough money to save her son from the same fate is heartrending and remarkable. The movie is shot from a number of stationary cameras rather than cameras following the action. This creates an affect that allows the viewer to feel more like they are eves dropping on someone else. An amazing film with and ending that makes you want to cry for a year. Fantastic.

eclectic
2009-10-10 - Amazing emotional acting by Bjork. You need to understand the eclecticism of Bjork to full enjoy this beautiful movie.

Have to like Bjork's singing to love
2009-10-01 - I rented this movie at the library based on reviews posted here. I have to say.....you have to REALLY like Bjork's music to entirely enjoy the film. I found her acting to be incredible, and the story had me riveted, but the musical numbers? Just couldn't get through them. I actually fast-forwarded after the first two. They were just too bizarre for me. Everything else about this film was amazing and I would still recommend seeing it, just be prepared for ALOT of musical numbers in Bjork's style of singing.

wow!
2008-12-22 - Extremely powerful and emotional. Raw. Truly original and like nothing I have ever seen before. I watched this movie for the first time while at a friends house with a group of friends, it broke my heart so many times, by the end I couldn't control my tears. I had to get up and leave the room to burst into tears... Didn't want anyone seeing me crying. But upon returning to their living room, I found I wasn't the only one with wet eyes.... Bjork put on a performance like no other.

a keeper
2008-11-22 - Amazing film! Haunting memories for months.

Not for the mainstream movie goer.