I wish that there were categories of movies the way that there are categories for paintings. If that were the case, this film would be considered an "expressionist". Here is a feeling. A raw emotion, uncut. A piece of artwork not limited by the details of thick dialogue and lengthy plot and character development. It is a slice of humankind's emotion pie, in the shape of an immigrant woman, a martyr, from Czechoslovakia in 1964.

Not everyone appreciates the famous painting by Munch, "The Scream". Some people find it trite, some people find it childlike or humorous. But some people know what the figure in this painting feels. They know it with all of themselves. They feel it in their spine and in the hair on the back of their necks standing on end. They don't need an elaborate detail of the bridge the figure is standing on, or to see how many fingers are on each of his hands that are grasping his head in a desperate scream. The art gets the message across in a simple, beautiful way.

Dancer in the Dark doesn't really remind me much of "The Scream". Well, maybe my reaction to the last scene of the movie, but little else. I am simply using it as an example of artistic expression, and of how I find it to be unfair to compare an artsy movie like this to "Jurassic Park", or any other movie that is simply not in the same genre.

This film, by director Lars von Trier, breaks many molds. It is a musical, but not the "Grease" variety. It is a drama, but one with a simple story and characters we can't really relate to. It is the story of a woman with a genetic disease that is causing her to go blind, and will eventually cause her son to lose his sight as well. She is in a foreign land, without family or many friends, caught in a desperate fight to make the money she needs to save her son's vision.

The woman's name is Selma, played by musician Bjork, who won the 2000 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Female Performance in this film. The film also took the Palm D'Or, or top award, in last years festival. Selma works in a bleak factory, laboring long hours to earn the money she needs. Her best friend is Kathy (beautifully played by Catherine Deneuve) and she is pursued by her sweet and gentle co-worker Jeff (Peter Stormare).

The film is set in a small town in Washington State where Selma lives in a trailer with her son, Gene, outside the home of Bill (David Morse) and Linda (Cara Seymour). Bill is a policeman who came into some inheritance money which his wife seems to exist solely for. She loves to shop, loves that they are "rich" and loves to talk about it.

Selma has little in common with these people, but she is always nice and polite. They take care of her son while she's at work and they attempt to socialize with Selma and Gene on certain occasions, though they always make it quite clear that they fall into a different social stratas.

There isn't much going on in the movie other than the audience watching Selma work her two jobs (the factory and carding bobby pins on the side) while she's slowly going blind, and getting to know this life that she lives. She loves musicals. This is 1964, so the movies are all in the glamorous, huge-production musical style, and Selma gets lost in this fantasy world. She hears the music in all the sounds around her, and finds joy in a local community theatre where she is cast as Maria in "The Sound of Music."

The plot doesn't thicken until Bill decides one night to confide in Selma that he wanted to kill himself because he is out of money and is afraid to tell his wife for fear she will leave him. He asks Selma not to tell his secret and she solemnly agrees, as well as telling Bill her secret. Selma's secret is of course that she is going blind and is saving money for Gene's operation. Gene isn't aware of his condition and Selma demands it be kept under wraps so that the stress of knowing doesn't make his sight worse.

What happens next breaks your heart. Bill takes Selma's money. Selma wants it back. Bill demands and begs for her to kill him. She's blind, and so misses. She finally succeeds. She gets her money to the eye doctor for Gene's operation. She is caught by the police and sentenced to death. She is hanged. (I warned you that I was going to give the plot away!)

These are all the technicalities of what this story is made of. This woman, her plight, the setting, Bill and Linda, etc. It is not what the movie is about, however. It is the story of a gross miscarriage of justice. It is the story of a martyr. Her cause: truth, loyalty, making it in America, saving her only son. Basically, morality. Goodness. Yes, she killed him. But who are the bad guys?

Bill and Linda represent that portion of society that care only about wealth and status. They have no morals. The court system is obviously biased against this immigrant woman who supports communism and refuses to give up her secret that she promised Bill she wouldn't tell. The world is harsh and cold in this woman's reality. Selma is good and beautiful in this world. And she must pay for it, with nothing less than her life.

This is a film about how the "American Dream" is false. All wrapped up in a package teaming with elements from that very dream, the musical song-and-dance numbers. This is a bizarre and intriguing film.

Bjork wrote all the music for this film, with von Trier composing the lyrics, and it is amazing. It doesn't sound all that different from Bjork's previous work since she has always had a knack for incorporating different sound elements into her songs. But it is different. It does have a distinct "Musical" sound. Especially the duet Selma sings with Jeff. The music is fascinating. It draws and keeps my attention even when I hear it without the film.

Many complain that the hand-held camera technique is annoying and distracting. I honestly did not agree. Maybe if I was sitting too close to the screen I might have noticed something, but as it was I did not. In fact, I had heard that I would be motion sick, so I was prepared for that and was surprised that it wasn't that bad. I think the way this movie was filmed was important to the telling of the story. It feels more real because of it. It feels like a documentary.

The colors being sort of washed out give it the same feel, and actually serve two purposes. They again give the film a more authentic feel since it is supposed to be 1964 and we wouldn't expect to see perfect quality film from that era, but they also provide the sharp contrast between the depressing, unbearably bleak existence of "real life" and the bright colors of the digital cameras used to film the fantasy dance sequences.

This film leaves you with questions and frustrations. It makes you so angry that such injustice could possibly exist. Yes, this is fiction, but is this story unimaginable? Definitely not.

But it is beautiful at the same time. It is a touching story of a woman's sacrifice for truth and for her beloved son. She is what people don't know how to be anymore in today's society often times. She cares about something more than her own life. She is selfless. That's quite a story in itself.

This story left me thinking for days, and has created for me a resurgence of interest in Bjork, who is just absolutely amazing in this film. Even if you don't appreciate this film, you will be awed by her performance. If you want to see it, I would highly suggest seeing it in a theatre. I'm not sure you would get the same emotionally-wrenching reaction sitting at home. Though you will want to find a theater with comfortable seats--you will be there for 134 minutes!

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age