Dancer in the Dark
Stream
Rent & Buy
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her young son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life becomes increasingly difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
What critics thought
Lars von Trier's musical tragedy has always divided critics sharply — admired by some for its formal daring and Björk's ferocious central performance, and despised by others as calculated emotional manipulation dressed up as art. The film's stylistic innovations were rarely in dispute; whether those innovations served a story worth telling very much was.
“It smashes down the walls of habit that surround so many movies. It returns to the wellsprings. It is a bold, reckless gesture”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“It's great to see a movie so courageous and affecting, so committed to its own differentness”
Edward Guthmann·San Francisco Chronicle
“so unrelenting in its manipulative sentimentality that, if it had been made by an American and shot in a more conventional manner, it would be seen as a bad joke”
Jonathan Foreman·New York Post
“one of the worst films, one of the worst artworks and perhaps one of the worst things in the history of the world”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
Accolades
Genres
Crime, Drama, Musical
Cast & Crew
Lars von TrierDirector
BjörkSelma Jezkova
Catherine DeneuveKathy
David MorseBill Houston
Peter StormareJeff
Joel GreyOldrich Novy
Cara SeymourLinda Houston
Jean-Marc BarrNorman
Vincent PatersonSamuel
Siobhan Fallon HoganBrenda
Željko IvanekDistrict Attorney
Udo KierDr. PorkornyBjörkComposer
Robby MüllerCinematographyDancer in the Dark
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her young son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life becomes increasingly difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
What critics thought
Lars von Trier's musical tragedy has always divided critics sharply — admired by some for its formal daring and Björk's ferocious central performance, and despised by others as calculated emotional manipulation dressed up as art. The film's stylistic innovations were rarely in dispute; whether those innovations served a story worth telling very much was.
“It smashes down the walls of habit that surround so many movies. It returns to the wellsprings. It is a bold, reckless gesture”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“It's great to see a movie so courageous and affecting, so committed to its own differentness”
Edward Guthmann·San Francisco Chronicle
“so unrelenting in its manipulative sentimentality that, if it had been made by an American and shot in a more conventional manner, it would be seen as a bad joke”
Jonathan Foreman·New York Post
“one of the worst films, one of the worst artworks and perhaps one of the worst things in the history of the world”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
Accolades
Genres
Crime, Drama, Musical
Cast & Crew
Lars von TrierDirectorBjörkSelma JezkovaCatherine DeneuveKathyDavid MorseBill HoustonPeter StormareJeffJoel GreyOldrich NovyCara SeymourLinda HoustonJean-Marc BarrNormanVincent PatersonSamuelSiobhan Fallon HoganBrendaŽeljko IvanekDistrict AttorneyUdo KierDr. PorkornyBjörkComposerRobby MüllerCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy