Dancer in the Dark

While i watched Dancer in the dark, I had the weirdest sensation any movie has had on me, well, not totally, coz this was part of a movie marathon at home, and this one came after another despresso - Mar Adentro (reviewed). By the time the credits started rolling to Bjork's rendition of "New World", you'll literally plead with Lars Von Trier for another drowningly happy musical escapade, like the four or five in this otherwise totally depressing movie. I don't know how to talk to people about it because the film is such a personal experience that you can end up completely unhinged by someone else's response. I knew he/she might not get it and I thought to myself (rather snobbishly) "the unwashed masses do not deserve this movie!"
Completely shot in a handheld camera, Dancer in the Dark revolves around Selma (Bjork), a poor Czech immigrant working in a factory in the United States, trying her best to save money for her son's operation to cure him of a genetic eye disorder in the bloodline, which is already making Selma's eyesight get worse and worse. Technically, she is blind. Things get real slow during the first half of the movie, until her landlord-friend, out of sheer guilt and need for money, robs her off her entire life's savings. Things get worse when he asks her to shoot him. She does, and goes to jail. Still, her main priority does not remain in her own freedom, but her son's operation.The plot is a bit fantastic and decidedly in the melodrama vein but the emotions it stirs up are anything but cheap and convoluted. Selma's travails are, in fact, so painful that you long for her escape into the color saturated musical episodes within the movie as much as she herself does.
Bjork (and her music) prove to be ideal for this role and film. it's tempting to say that she is Selma but one does not become an internationally acclaimed rock star without some degree of nerve and Selma is a meek creature. Still, Iceland's musical goddess does essentially become Selma. I have not seen a performance that felt this much like reality -like existence onscreen. Bjork has always had a way with tunes that are both unsettling and comforting - gorgeous nightmares. By the time Bjork/Selma is robbed of even her ability to escape reality -breaking down to the tune of "My Favorite Things", you are broken right beside her. There's no one like Bjork...and, believe me, there's nothing like her in this film.
Its a fact that while the movie was being shot, Bjork abruptly walked off the set and failed to turn up for three days. Shooting was suspended indefinitely. She did come back however to finish this movie, but decided to quit acting because of the difficulties she faced trying to invoke the harsh emotions needed for her character.
Of course, all that said, you may not feel the same as myself about the movie. Hence my hesitation in talking about the film. Not everyone will have such a favorable reaction. There are some of you who will hate it. This breaks my heart because, for me... I was spellbound. It's a profoundly beautiful film. It is unfathomable to me that anything else will wreak such transcendent cinematic havoc for a long time to come.
I'm trying but... I think, failing to express myself. Dancer in the Dark is a visionary and magical experience. Right from the opening overture which shows gorgeous five minutes of fabric-painted frames to Selma's final tearful rendition of "My Favorite Things", the film is miraculous. One that left me totally upset. I don't know where it will take you but you really should go. You'd either love it or hate it. Nowhere in between.