Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Peter Stormare, Vladan
Kostic, Siobhan Fallon, Joel Gray. Written and Directed by Lars Von Triers.
Selma (Bjork) is an immigrant from Czechoslovakia who lives in rural Washington
State in a small trailer out back of the house of the local police chief Bill (Morse)
with her 12-year-old son Gene (Kostic). She works a subsistance level job at a
metalworks factory, barely making ends meets and not having enough to buy even a
used bike for Gene. On top of this, she is slowly going blind from a hereditary disease
that her son also has. Her best friend Cathy (Deneuve) knows of her creeping blindness
and tries to cover for her at work, and will explain scenes from the movie musicals
to Selma that they see at the local theatre. Movie musicals is the one positive
thing in her life - she is rehearsing with the local drama company to play Maria
in The Sound Of Music.
Despite the grinding poverty she finds herself in, she strives to save every dollar
she can scape together for an operation to fix Gene's eyes, and has managed to save
over $2000 so far. Bill, who inherited money but has seen it run out due to his
wife Linda's (Seymour) relatively lavish spending habits, is close to losing the
house and can't bring himself to tell Linda. He even tells Selma he's thought of
killing himself. Instead, he finds Selma's stash, and takes it. Selma confronts
Bill and says she must have the money back, and you just know tragedy will result.
Controversial winner of the Palme D'Or for best film at this year's Cannes Film
Festival, Dancer In The Dark has been described as a very divisive movie.
At the screening I attended in downtown Toronto, there was sporadic applause and
a very loud boo at the end. One person yelled for the booing patron to go see
some "Hollywood crap" if he didn't like the film. But it is not that simple to
explain away someone's dislike of the film and its message (although, that same
guy had earlier yelled out and appropriately labelled an overly manipulative National
Post commercial as "typical right-wing crap"). One of it's messages is a scathing
indictment of capital punishment and the chance of executing an innocent person, and
not everyone will appreciate how the film arrives there. The film is relentlessly
bleak and
often arduous viewing, consistently denying Selma any chance to improve her life,
spirally down to the the bitter and heartbreaking end. It's almost as if Von Triers
delights in dangling the possibility of hope for Selma out to viewers, and then
snatches it away every time. One example - during the trial scene when Selma refuses
to reveal the truth that would likely get her off, in a misguided sense of loyalty
to Bill and desire to sacrifice herself for her son. Von Triers is the originator
of the Dogme 95 manifesto
that swore off modern filmmaking techniques like artificial lighting, the use of
film studios and the use of quality film and stationary camera setups. While at
first the jerky hand-held camera shots, extreme close-ups and grainy film are a
bit unsettling, one gets used to it because they give the film a gritty and almost
documentary feel appropriate to the circumstances Selma finds herself in.
The musical sequences are the only scenes where he deviates from
this minimalist approach. While still using grainy film stock, he uses scores
of cameras and outstanding choreography rivalling anything from the musicals of
the 30's. While in many movies characters breaking into song in the middle of the
action feels severely hokey and forced, it works quite well here because the musical
scenes are all Selma's fantasy of how she'd like her life to be. Based on her happy
memories of older musicals she saw while in Czechoslovakia and influenced her to
come to America, everyone in them is happy, singing and dancing. But after each,
we are jarred right back to Selma's harsh life, and her life hasn't improved any.
The musical numbers Bjork wrote contain her usual ethereal, haunting music
and strongly written lyrics work very well with the themes of the film. She also
utilizes the sounds from the factory, the environment and even a train as rhythm
instruments. The song "I've Seen It All" is especially good, indicating Selma's
denial that losing her sight is of any great importance. Bjork has released versions
of seven songs from the film on a CD titled Selmasongs, featuring a beautiful
"I've Seen It All" with Radiohead's Thom Yorke, and a haunting "New World".
Bjork, in her first film and reported to have bolted from filming several times
only to be coaxed back each time by Von Triers, is put through the emotional wringer.
And she is unbelievable in the later scenes, conveying absolute fear and despondancy
with amazing intensity. As a very big fan of Bjork and her music, you might believe
me to be less than objective in my analysis. And you might be right, except that
I did not receive a vote on the Cannes festival jury who named her best actress,
and believe me, they were not kidding. From the
middle of the film to the end, she is phenominal. Her smiling and sweet Selma is
a contrast to the situation she finds herself in - she beautifully projects Selma's
child-like and naive persona not unlike the happy, wide-eyed free-spirit she projects
in many of her videos. In her dealings with others and despite her struggling
existence, she is often more worried about others, from her son's eyes problems
to Bill's lack of money. Selma even offers to pay more rent to help Bill out, but
the offer is declined by his unknowing wife. The other actors in the film, particularly
a drab and sympathetic Deneuve and the reliable Morse, are excellent in support.
This film is not for everyone's taste. It is consistently more and more depressing
and there are points near the end where the film drags in Von Trier's attempt to
show the numbing loneliness of prison life. It is often hard to watch. There are
plot contrivances and judicial inaccuracies that are sometimes annoying. The spartan
sets, filming style and downbeat story do not make for light escapist entertainment.
Yet when I left the theatre I felt exhiliarated by the intensity of what I'd seen.
If you are a fan of Bjork, go see it - you will not be disappointed in her, no matter
what you think of the film itself.
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