Dancer in the Dark

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Dancer in the Dark

R,

2000,

2h 20m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

69%

120 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

50,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

120 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Selma is a Czech immigrant, a single mother working in a factory in rural America. Her salvation is passion for music, specifically, the all-singing, all-dancing numbers found in classic Hollywood musicals. Selma harbors a sad secret: she is losing her eyesight and her son Gene stands to suffer the same fate if she can't put away enough money to secure him an operation. When a desperate neighbor falsely accuses Selma of stealing his savings, the drama of her life escalates to a tragic finale.

Critics Consensus

Dancer in Dark can be grim, dull, and difficult to watch, but even so, it has a powerful and moving performance from Bjork and is something quite new and visionary.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Mar 7, 2018

Dancer is like no other movie around. Shot in bleached-out video colors in rough, hand-held style, the film is at once aggressively modern and deliberately, melodramatically, old-fashioned.

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Peter Matthews

Sight & Sound

Dec 2, 2002

The situations that writer-director Lars von Trier serves up here might be embarrassingly florid, but the coupling of his manipulative skills and Björk's showy intensity results in a movie with the force of an emotional bulldozer.

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Mar 19, 2002

2.5/4

At least Dancer in the Dark is bad in a complicated way.

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Theo Estes

The Spool

Oct 8, 2020

Dancer in the Dark critiques the relentless optimism of mid-century movie musicals, but it also puts the American cultural narrative under the microscope.

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Jul 25, 2020

4/5

Björk plays Selma, a Czech immigrant suffering from a degenerative eye disorder. It's a rare, hereditary disease, and it'll steal her sight but not the song in her heart.

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Aug 5, 2019

4/4

A sweeping denunciation of the myth of the American dream-the idealized America put forth by escapist Hollywood fare.

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Draco S

Oct 9, 2018

Didn't enjoy it. The whole thing rang false. But I've never been a fan of Lars Von Trier.

Rey R

Oct 3, 2018

A highly strange film and quite difficult for any evaluation; one should be very cautious in trying to say anything definite about the film. Bjork's performance is undoubtedly outstanding but everything else is of dubious quality, the film is prone to macabre and really weird, edging with pervert, sense of humor.

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Hermione S

Sep 12, 2018

Yet another audience torture session from Danish director Lars von Trier (quite possibly the most misogynistic director of all time). Every single female character is a half-wit with seemingly questionable motivations. Its ONLY redeeming qualities are the Catherine Deneuve / Bjork pairing and the spectacular music. The misery just seeps off the screen and infects the audience.

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Draco R

Mar 18, 2018

A brilliant masterpiece that pushes the viewer to their breaking point by savagely criticizing Hollywood pandering, deconstructing cinema, and showing with heartbreaking sincerity the horrific reality of American society now and probably forever.

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Leia W

Feb 28, 2018

I never thought that reviewing this movie was as devastating as seeing it for the first time. It's amazing how perfect Bjork is in Selma's role.

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Theodore G

Feb 24, 2018

1001 movies to see before you die.

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Lars von Trier

Director

Björk

Selma Jezkova

Catherine Deneuve

Kathy

David Morse

Bill

Cara Seymour

Linda

Peter Stormare

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Synopsis

Selma is a Czech immigrant, a single mother working in a factory in rural America. Her salvation is passion for music, specifically, the all-singing, all-dancing numbers found in classic Hollywood musicals. Selma harbors a sad secret: she is losing her eyesight and her son Gene stands to suffer the same fate if she can't put away enough money to secure him an operation. When a desperate neighbor falsely accuses Selma of stealing his savings, the drama of her life escalates to a tragic finale.

Director: Lars von Trier
Producer: Peter Aalbæk Jensen, Vibeke Windeløv
Screenwriter: Lars von Trier
Distributor: Fine Line Features
Production Co: Trust Film Svenska, Pain Unlimited GmbH Filmproduktion, France 3 Cinéma, arte France Cinéma, Zentropa Entertainment France, Zentropa Entertainment, Slot Machine
Rating: R (Some Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 6, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.2M
Runtime: 2h 20m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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