Dancer in the Dark

06 October 2023

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Very strange movie. So is Björk. Since everything was filmed purely under her, it turned out to be in general a large clip of her, mainly because of the author’s, but in my opinion completely broken inserts of the musical. I was able to believe in the emotional series of the film, in the acting, but at the same time I absolutely did not believe in the event series, in the logic of what is happening. This is all artificial, fake, conveniently thrown at the feet of Björk, so that she was as comfortable as possible to reveal her acting talent. Simple as 5 kopecks tear-squeezing story, built on banal pity. I'm sentimental, but I can't turn off logic. So here are the points:

- The Czech is played by an Icelandic. I don't believe it! She's literally a different race. Czechs and especially Icelanders, especially women, have very noticeable differences. Björk, like most Icelandic women, is narrow-eyed, though of course not Asian. She just had to play Icelandic or half-breed from the Soviet republics.

It is claimed that from a progressive form of blindness, which is caused genetically, you can simply have surgery. At the same time, it should be done strictly at a certain age, and you should not worry before that. And all this in the middle of the 20th century. I even asked the AI to rate its plausibility, and it couldn't say anything concrete.

- All the drama is built around the fact that a poor, unhappy, almost blind woman, an unmarried immigrant working for her son, found herself in an absolutely hopeless situation and died for nothing. But that's not really true. Her situation was not a dead end, she had many decisions at different stages of history. She could have kept the money in a real bank, not in a bank in the kitchen, and she would have received interest. She could agree to the policeman’s condition, although dishonest, but still temporary – six months before the operation, and he needed the money only for a month. She could tell the whole truth to his wife, she was not a villain and acted so solely because no one saw fit to tell her the truth. Björk could also lay down a police officer at work. She could tell the whole town who stole her. And even when she was in prison, she could agree to pay a lawyer, and then demand compensation from the state for the unjust sentence and use the money to treat her son. There was so much that could be done. But she was just going to die. Step by step. You. So I didn't feel sorry for her at the end.

- In this film, two people had the so-called will to die, the defeatist syndrome, when they do not commit suicide directly, but do everything to end badly. The heroine can still be understood - she did not want to live because of blindness. But the policeman begged him to kill him simply because he went into debt and couldn't buy his wife a sofa! He's the most ridiculous and improbable villain I've ever seen. The author did not understand the psychology of despair he wanted to portray. So, the policeman was depressed from the fact that he was broke and could not confess to this wife, because he was afraid of losing her, so he went on robbery, but all these are the actions of a person who somehow struggles for his happiness, does not want to lose it, that is, wants to live. When he finds a solution, he immediately begs to kill him. But the man who goes to death, no longer need to hold his wife! He asked to kill him, but in such a way as to frame the heroine. Why would he do that if he didn't hate her, only despair? Is it to leave his wife a widow, but with a sofa bought with blood money taken from a blind boy? This is an absolutely artificial situation. But here it is the main plot point.

- The film lasts more than 2 hours, but the plot in it, as it often happens, for 15 minutes.

Overall, he left a certain impression. But not what the author intended. All this reminded me of Zvyagintsev’s films about hopeless poverty, injustice and depression, but his plots work, you really believe in them, and here – stupid characters just got what they were going to.

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30 June 2012

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Now for the movie itself. There remains a complex aftertaste, a heartbreaking story, it is almost impossible to say whether the assessment is positive in the end or negative, but not neutral either.

Chic, gorgeous, luxurious cast... Impressively thought out, skillfully drawn and honed Character characters ...

The manner of amateur shooting inherent to Lars, the jumping camera, the frightening naturalistic nature of the situation, minimalism and the full reality of what is happening, creating a stunning effect of presence, as if you watch all this, standing very close, slightly on the sidelines, and you even hear the breath of the actors, you feel their emotions, you smell them ...

Clear boundaries between reality and dreams.

And a piercingly tragic, soul-tormenting story at the heart of the plot, capable of touching even the most skeptical person ...

I’m not a fan of Björk, I don’t understand her music, so I’m not biased here. So, the best candidate for the role of Selma is simply not found, there is some dreamy mystery in her, some special, incomprehensible for most essence, a small and strange girl-woman “not of this world” with a strong inner core and boundless charisma... She's ready to applaud standing up!

And the rest of the cast is selected just perfectly to the last extra, the game catches, you can see that the director is demanding in achieving his corporate style.

The musical component of the film creates a certain special shade, I came to myself a little during these pauses, resting from the shocking naturalism of the plot, and what is the lyrics, what deep meaning in the words! Delight... Yes, and choreographic productions I liked, I love gesture elements, they emphasize and enhance the effect of the lyrics.

Well, while writing, I decided on the color of the review, I liked it, although, of course, in relation to such a sad story, this word is inappropriate. But still.

And despite all the sadness of the plot and more than a sad finale, the results of the viewing are the most optimistic and rosy.

I want to live, I want to create, I want to love, I want to breathe fully, I want to appreciate every moment, I want to take care of the heart of gold and not allow it to suddenly be clouded by the litigations of this world or spoiled under the influence of life’s rehearsals.

I want to take an example from this woman who, despite her catastrophic myopia, could unmistakably distinguish in each person only the best and the good, who stubbornly did not notice the unpleasant in her life and focused only on the good, who carried love in herself all her life and did not forget to give it to others, who adored musicals without seeing them, she felt them with her golden heart, who laid herself on the sacrificial altar for the sake of her own person and even under pain of death did not betray this promise.

Thoughts are swarming in my head, emotions are overflowing my chest, so I am provided with a warm-up for the next week. And for that I want to say thank you to Mr. von Trier.

10 out of 10

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