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Movies / On DVD / Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark

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Dancer in the Dark (1999)

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68 %
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Reviews Counted: 109

Fresh: 74

Rotten:35

Average Rating: 6.7/10

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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] some violence

Runtime: 2 hrs 21 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Sep 23, 2000 Wide

Box Office: $891,547

Synopsis: The final installment in Lars von Trier's Golden Heart trilogy (which includes BREAKING THE WAVES and THE IDIOTS), DANCER IN THE DARK takes the director's original blend of heightened... The final installment in Lars von Trier's Golden Heart trilogy (which includes BREAKING THE WAVES and THE IDIOTS), DANCER IN THE DARK takes the director's original blend of heightened pseudorealism, fabricated melodrama, and the priciples of the Dogme 95 genre to a dangerously intense level. The story concerns Selma (Björk), a Czech immigrant living in 1964 Washington State with her 12-year-old son, Gene (Vladan Kostic). On the verge of blindness, Selma spends her days working in a factory, as well as performing other odd jobs, in order to save up enough money to pay for an operation that will cure Gene of the same disease. To pass the time, Selma fantasizes that her own life is a musical, one in which her friends join her in sweeping song-and-dance routines. After her neighbor Bill (David Morse) discovers Selma's hidden savings and steals them from her, she is forced to perform an act of salvation that will condemn her forever. As the innocent Selma, Björk is one of the most fragile and heartbreaking presences the screen has ever seen. Her unbearably moving performance is enough to keep the viewer mesmerized throughout, even amid the story gaps and inconsistencies. Featuring compassionate supporting turns by Catherine Deneuve and Peter Stormare, DANCER IN THE DARK is an unrelenting gut punch that will have sympathetic audiences quivering with uncontrollable emotion. [More]

Starring: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Marc Barr, David Morse

Starring: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Marc Barr, David Morse, Stellan Skarsgaard, Peter Stormare, Udo Kier, Cara Seymour

Director: Lars von Trier

Director: Lars von Trier
Screenwriter: Lars von Trier
Producer: Vibeke Windelov
Studio: Fine Line Features

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Mar 20, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Dancer in the Dark

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/12/09
Derek Elley
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

It is not pleasing to watch, by any conceivable definition of that word.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
09/12/07
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Even without the musical numbers, von Trier has given us a compelling story with original characters.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/29/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
04/27/07
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
10/01/05
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies
N/R

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Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

I was devastated by it. What bothers me is this: It is the easiest thing in the world to do... move people by destroying something beautiful.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Critical Eye | comment Comment
01/24/04
Mark Freeman
Critical Eye

Von Trier is vicious when it comes to milking the melodrama.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/05/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly

Though flawed, Dancer in the Dark is a worthy addition to the filmography of Mr. von Trier.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
02/07/03
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
01/10/03
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

The songs are all written and performed flawlessly by Bjork. And not only can the pixie goddess sing and dance, she can also act.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Tom Meek
Film Threat

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.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
12/02/02
Peter Matthews
Sight and Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
 
 
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