Dancer in the Dark (2000)

An east European girl goes to America with her young son, expecting it to be like a Hollywood film.

Director:

Lars von Trier (as Lars Von Trier)

Writer:

Lars von Trier (as Lars Von Trier)

Stars:

Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 34 wins & 46 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Björk	...	Selma Jezkova
Catherine Deneuve	...	Kathy
David Morse	...	Bill Houston
Peter Stormare	...	Jeff
Joel Grey	...	Oldrich Novy
Cara Seymour	...	Linda Houston
Vladica Kostic	...	Gene Jezkova
Jean-Marc Barr	...	Norman
Vincent Paterson	...	Samuel
Siobhan Fallon Hogan	...	Brenda (as Siobhan Fallon)
Zeljko Ivanek	...	District Attorney
Udo Kier	...	Dr. Porkorny
Jens Albinus	...	Morty
Reathel Bean	...	Judge
Mette Berggreen	...	Receptionist

Storyline

1964 in small town Washington state. Selma Jezková, a Czechoslovakian immigrant, and her preteen son Gene live in a rented trailer owned by and on the property of married Bill and Linda Houston, he the town sheriff. Beyond Bill and Linda, Selma has a small group of friends who look out for her, including her primary confidante, Kathy, with who she works, and Jeff who wants to be her boyfriend. Jeff regularly waits outside Selma's workplace long before the end of her shift to drive her home, despite she always refusing in not wanting to lead him on. Her primary job is working on the Anderson Tool factory assembly line, but she does whatever she can to earn money. What only Kathy knows among Selma's friends is that she is slowly going blind, her medical condition being genetic. Selma is barely able to see, just enough to do her job. Her primary reason for moving to the US and for working all the time is to earn enough money for an operation for Gene when he turns thirteen, he who ...

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Plot Keywords:

czech immigrant | tragedy | singing | daydream | dancing | 

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Taglines:

In a world of shadows, she found the light of life.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Country:

Denmark Germany Netherlands Italy USA UK France Sweden Finland Iceland Argentina Norway Taiwan Belgium

Language:

English German Czech

Release Date:

6 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bailarina en la oscuridad

Filming Locations:

Arlington, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$91,612, 24 September 2000

Gross USA:

$4,184,036

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,031,879

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zentropa Entertainments, Trust Film Svenska, Film i Väst

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although this film is advertised as a musical, the first musical number doesn't appear until 40 minutes into the film. Only a total of 6 musical numbers occur in the 140 minute runtime.

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Goofs

When Bill tells Selma he has no money, Selma's hair repeatedly switches from being over her ears to being tucked behind them.

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Quotes

Selma: In a musical, nothing dreadful ever happens.

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Alternate Versions

The original European version had the overture played in dimmed lighting before the curtains opened on the screen. However, Fine Line Features president Mark Ordesky informed director Lars von Trier that such an opening was unfeasible in U.S. theaters, since most American theaters don't have curtains and have electronic projection booths overseen by inexperienced staffers. Thus, von Trier filmed a visual accompaniment to go along with the overture in the U.S. release: a collage of paintings by Per Kirkeby, the artist/husband of producer Vibeke Windeløv.

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Connections

Featured in Filmbyen, la nouvelle Mecque du cinéma? (2007)

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Soundtracks

Next to Last Song
Written by Björk, Sjón Sigurdsson & Lars von Trier
Performed by Björk
Published by Universal Music & Copyright Control

User Reviews

I've fallen in love.

This felt so real. When I watch films these days, I am always watching them with a critical eye for technicality or acting. This film brought me into it's world, the magical world of bjork. Even the musical parts drew me in, because they were so oddly out of place.

I've seen people complaining about Bjork's acting... I honestly haven't felt this emotional over an actors performance in years. And I've seen hundreds of movies this year alone. She made me fall in love, She was innocent, destroyed by the greed of human nature. Honestly, All technical problems aside. I mean the grain was awful, It looks like it was shot with a mini dv camera, and Von trier probably should have hired a camera operator.

This was easily one of my top 10 films I've seen this year.