Osmosis Iron An "odd" masterpiece. Von Trier's offbeat musical is beautiful without being overly happy or bright.. Heartbreaking story full of memorable moments both bitter and sweet. Emotional powerhouse.. Björk is amazing in this!

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.

William O. Tyler The film fades from black and opens like eyesight coming into focus for the first time. As fine art continues to fade in and out, a motif evocative of bursted capillaries takes over. This is Dancer in the Dark, a film by Lars Von Trier about Selma, a foreign immigrant woman in 1960s Washington State who loves movie musicals but is slowly going blind. The film is a musical itself, but a very unconventional one. It's not the glamorous romp that Selma sees on the big screen. Instead, it's a rough around the edges look at escapism and perceived Americana that showcases the contrast of how we use sight, sound and imagination to get through our everyday lives.Most of the movie looks more like a documentary, very much like real life. It's so unpolished that it seems like improv, like everything is being made up on the fly or that the camera is just capturing these real, personal events. Of course as the story continues you know that everything is indeed planned and once you get to the first musical number, which doesn't happen until nearly 40 minutes in, everything is actually specifically choreographed. While these real life moments were filmed with what seems to be a single hand-held camera, the musical moments become dreamlike and are shot with over 100 digital cameras placed around the location to catch every move from every angle. This footage was then edited to give a sense of stability within Selma's mind, standing out from her otherwise rocky life. It's quite ingenious.The cast is filled with actors' actors that each bring truth to their characters no matter how big or small the role is. Veteran actress Catherine Denueve is abrasive but supportive as Selma's friend and coworker, Peter Stormare is sympathetic as a man after Selma's affection and David Morse really pushes the film to new points as Selma's neighbor and landlord. Cara Seymour, Siobhan Fallon, Udo Kier, Stellan Skarsgård, Vladica Kostic and Joel Grey are all also in smaller roles, though still as equally important to the film. Icelandic singer Björk, who has a limited experience with acting, stars as Selma herself and brings veracity, sincerity and an incredibly raw experience to the character.Selma struggles between being a woman of her word, holding her ground and simultaneously feeling helpless. She's dealing with her own personal burdens, being a single mother trying to give her son a future he can see, and the burdens given to her by others, being a friend in a position where she doesn't have much of a choice to make. Many might question why Selma doesn't take the easy road through her situation, but that's just the point. She is so innocent and her moral convictions are so strong that she never even feels the need to. It might seem like an unrealistic decision to make, but it's only as unrealistic as any other movie musical, just in the opposite direction.Dancer in the Dark completes Von Trier's Golden Hearts Trilogy of films in which the heroine remains naive despite her experiences. It should also be noted that the Danish director's view of vintage America is a view from afar as the director has very rarely if ever even been to America and the film was shot in Denmark. The portrayal here of small town American living and the American justice system are skewed and exaggerated, a bit simple but still unsurprising. It's a heartbreaking and unsettling film that you will assuredly not clap for at the end, as you might a usual musical, despite whether you appreciate it or not.

Tom Butler The emphasis of this film is on the last word of the title ... dark. But in spite of being a dark film, it contains some of the most tender moments found in any movie I have seen. You have to be in the right mood to enjoy this film. A mood where you don't mind having your gut twisted by scenes of incredible sadness.This is yet another "Dogma '95" film from Danish director Lars von Trier ("Breaking the Waves" & "The Idiots"). He seems to be the only proponent of this minimalist creed of filmmaking that is able to make it work. The story, set in a small town in the '60s, concerns an immigrant woman who is going blind. She will do anything to earn enough money for the operation that will save her son from the same fate. Her only joy in life is a love of musicals. With a local acting group she is practicing to star in "The Sound of Music", but it is her vivid imagination that gives her the most pleasure ... and gets her into the most trouble. As this painful tale progresses from one seemingly inevitable step to the next, both the main character and the audience are sucked into an emotional whirlpool from which there is no escape. Don't see this film unless you are secure enough in your own emotions to withstand the shock.