Dancer in the Dark

Starring: Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, Peter Stormare, David Morse
Directed By: Lars Von Trier

It's 1964 and Selma (Bjork) a low-income factory worker who is quickly going blind due to a heridtary disease is trying to save money to save her son from the same fate. She loves one thing other than her son, and that is musicals. Old style Hollywood musicals. Her factory worker friend (Deneuve) is worried for her and Jeff (Stormare) is quickly falling in love with Selma. Selma gets into a certain amount of trouble when she is mislead by her cop/landlord "friend" (Morse). Dancer in the Dark starts off a little slow, but if you give it some time you will realize that it is a suprisingly good movie. Bjork turns in a star-making performance as she moves her way into your affection. She is rounded out by a terrific ensemble cast, especially Morse who redefines the word "slimy". It was shot on digital video which gives the movie a very real and effective feel to it. Von Trier knows how to move the camera around and does so effectively, making sure you see exactly what he wants you to. I'm no fan of musicals, but the small musical numbers effectively placed in the film work very well for it and the movie succeeds on many levels. Dancer is a powerful, moving film, that will leave you stunned and reeling in it's aftermath. B+