You don´t need eyes to seeFilm Data:
Synopsis:
Selma Jezkova is a Czech woman who migrates to the United States with her son Gene in 1964. She works day and night in a factory in rural Washington, struggling hard to make a living, and trying to save her son from the same degenerative disease she suffers from that will inevitably make him blind if she does not have surgery. They live in a mobile trailer in a property of the local sheriff Bill and her wife Linda. She has been saving money in a tiny can in her kitchen, so that her son can be operated. No one in Selma's life knows her secret: she is progressively going blind. She slips in a kind of trance or daydreaming where the individuals around her engage in a theatrical performance, similar to the fabulous Hollywood musicals she and Kathy watch at the cinema, or more likely the musicals Kathy describes to her, as Selma's eyesight is diminishing. Bill Houston, the sheriff, reveals the dark secret of his desperate financial condition to Selma, and she, in return, reveals her progressive blindness to him. Bill asks Selma for a loan, but she refuses, then, knowing she will not be able to see him, hides in a corner of Selma's kitchen and watches her put money inside the tin.
Soon Jeff and Kathy realize that Selma is going blind, as she continues to fall into daydreaming at the factory, until she breaks her machine. She is then fired from her job. When she comes home to deposit her last wages, she finds out that the tin has no money. When she goes next door to talk to Bill about this issue, she hears Linda discussing with Bill about his bringing home their safe deposit box. Selma knows Bill was completely broken; therefore, she supposes that the money in the deposit box must be hers.
Selma then decides to confront Bill, but when she does, he aims a gun at her and the two of them fight and he is wounded. Linda discovers the two of them and she assumes that Selma is trying to steal the money from them. Linda runs away to inform the police. Bill then begs Selma to take his life, telling her that was the only way she could recover her money. Selma shoots at him several times, but due to her blindness manages to only maim Bill further. In the end, she aims at the safe deposit box. In one of the scenes, Selma falls into daydreaming and imagines that Bill's corpse stands up and slow dances with her, urging her to run to freedom. She runs, and takes the money to the Institute for the Blind to pay for her son's operation before the police can take it from her.
The police catch her eventually, and she goes to trial. In spite of being accused to be a murderer and a Communist, she tells as much the truth as she can, however, she refuses to tell Bill's secret, because she had promised not to reveal it. Life turns out to be an inferno for her, but her effort to save her son from blindness is eventually rewarded.
The three films of Von Trier's trilogy, including this one, are centered on the binary life vs. death and on the relationship between love and death. In Dancer in the Dark, Selma arises as the female Christ figure, and her motherly love is the perfect example of self-sacrifice. Selma's agony in the scene in the gallows can be compared to Jesus Christ's agony and death on the cross, a sacrifice that would save mankind. In the film, Selma's refusal to escape death in order to save her son from blindness is the demonstration of her love and supreme sacrifice.
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The film also deals with the agony of immigrants in the capitalist context of the United States, and the hard work and sacrifices it entails. Selma is the classic Eastern European immigrant in the 1960's who struggles hard to make ends meet and to save money for her son's operation. Lars Von Trier portrays America as the land of dishonesty, sentimental escapism and excessive greed. The only possible solution for Selma was the self-flagellation in the name of motherly love.
Dancer in the Dark is a clear example of realism. It portrays Selma's life as it really is. There is no need for the fantastic or the abstract. She is going blind, and that is the reality that Von Trier wants to present to the viewer. Selma's illusions and delusions take the viewer to a voyage into her own reality and everyday life.
The original score of this film is one of the formal aspects that the film has been praised for. Dancer in the Dark counter argues the classic Hollywood musical. Indeed, the film is set on the early 1960's, upon the success of Robert Wise's The Sound of Music of 1965. Von Trier's critique of such American musicals relies on the innovative style of this film. Björk herself is not the classic American pop star. Her discography is based on the use of nature and everyday life sounds to make her music more realistic and attractive. In Dancer in the Dark, Von Trier enhances his mise-en-scène with sounds from the factory along with Björk's dramatic voice. However, the songs and dance scenes seem not to soothe the viewer from the sadness and despair provoked by the plot.
Dancer in the Dark is ultimately a tragic film in all dimensions. What matters the most to Von Trier is human suffering and sacrifice for a cause. The music of the film contributes to increase the already intense pain. And believe me, the last song will resound in your head for a while after watching Selma's voice silenced by the hangman's cord.
Soon Jeff and Kathy realize that Selma is going blind, as she continues to fall into daydreaming at the factory, until she breaks her machine. She is then fired from her job. When she comes home to deposit her last wages, she finds out that the tin has no money. When she goes next door to talk to Bill about this issue, she hears Linda discussing with Bill about his bringing home their safe deposit box. Selma knows Bill was completely broken; therefore, she supposes that the money in the deposit box must be hers.
Selma then decides to confront Bill, but when she does, he aims a gun at her and the two of them fight and he is wounded. Linda discovers the two of them and she assumes that Selma is trying to steal the money from them. Linda runs away to inform the police. Bill then begs Selma to take his life, telling her that was the only way she could recover her money. Selma shoots at him several times, but due to her blindness manages to only maim Bill further. In the end, she aims at the safe deposit box. In one of the scenes, Selma falls into daydreaming and imagines that Bill's corpse stands up and slow dances with her, urging her to run to freedom. She runs, and takes the money to the Institute for the Blind to pay for her son's operation before the police can take it from her.
The police catch her eventually, and she goes to trial. In spite of being accused to be a murderer and a Communist, she tells as much the truth as she can, however, she refuses to tell Bill's secret, because she had promised not to reveal it. Life turns out to be an inferno for her, but her effort to save her son from blindness is eventually rewarded.
Comment:
Bizarre would not be enough to describe Dancer in the Dark, Lars Von Trier's third film of his "Golden Heart Trilogy". Perhaps one of the most troublesome aspects of the film in terms of production is that it was entirely shot using handheld cameras with anamorphic lenses. The anamorphic cinematography technique is used to shoot a widescreen picture with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. The result is a distorted image that conforms to the etymology of the word "anamorphic" which in Greek means "formed again". Von Trier was quite aware of the results of using this technique for the sake of distorted reality he wanted to achieve on the film. The handheld cameras then become Selma's blurry eyesight, making the film difficult to watch due to the constant uneven movement of the camera and the out-of-focus scenes that simulate Selma's eyesight. There are a lot of fade-in and fade-outs all throughout the film, and a lot of cutting-on-action too.The three films of Von Trier's trilogy, including this one, are centered on the binary life vs. death and on the relationship between love and death. In Dancer in the Dark, Selma arises as the female Christ figure, and her motherly love is the perfect example of self-sacrifice. Selma's agony in the scene in the gallows can be compared to Jesus Christ's agony and death on the cross, a sacrifice that would save mankind. In the film, Selma's refusal to escape death in order to save her son from blindness is the demonstration of her love and supreme sacrifice.
The film also deals with the agony of immigrants in the capitalist context of the United States, and the hard work and sacrifices it entails. Selma is the classic Eastern European immigrant in the 1960's who struggles hard to make ends meet and to save money for her son's operation. Lars Von Trier portrays America as the land of dishonesty, sentimental escapism and excessive greed. The only possible solution for Selma was the self-flagellation in the name of motherly love.
Dancer in the Dark is a clear example of realism. It portrays Selma's life as it really is. There is no need for the fantastic or the abstract. She is going blind, and that is the reality that Von Trier wants to present to the viewer. Selma's illusions and delusions take the viewer to a voyage into her own reality and everyday life.
The original score of this film is one of the formal aspects that the film has been praised for. Dancer in the Dark counter argues the classic Hollywood musical. Indeed, the film is set on the early 1960's, upon the success of Robert Wise's The Sound of Music of 1965. Von Trier's critique of such American musicals relies on the innovative style of this film. Björk herself is not the classic American pop star. Her discography is based on the use of nature and everyday life sounds to make her music more realistic and attractive. In Dancer in the Dark, Von Trier enhances his mise-en-scène with sounds from the factory along with Björk's dramatic voice. However, the songs and dance scenes seem not to soothe the viewer from the sadness and despair provoked by the plot.
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| Gallows scene |
Dancer in the Dark is ultimately a tragic film in all dimensions. What matters the most to Von Trier is human suffering and sacrifice for a cause. The music of the film contributes to increase the already intense pain. And believe me, the last song will resound in your head for a while after watching Selma's voice silenced by the hangman's cord.
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