History Film / DancerInTheDark

* TheOner: The musical numbers are a special case, using up to [[CameraTricks 100 stationary cameras]] in Technicolor, then cutting between all the footage generated. The rest of the movie is filmed with [[ArtShift blurry handheld cameras]] in the style of UsefulNotes/{{Dogme 95}}, to show how Selma is going blind and the musical numbers are what she sees in her head. The result is fascinating because you can tell all the footage of singing/dancing was taken from multiple odd angles of one single take. (under a desk, atop a railway car, etc.)

* PaintingTheMedium: The cinematography alternates between the UsefulNotes/{{Dogme 95}} style, using blurry handheld cameras to make you feel like you too are going blind, and 100 stationary cameras simultaneously shooting an uninterrupted LongTake in Technicolor, with singing and dancing (for the scenes in Selma's head).

''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical drama directed by Creator/LarsVonTrier, and starring, of all people, Icelandic singing sensation Music/{{Bjork}}.

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Björk plays Selma Ježková, a Czech immigrant to the U.S. State of [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest Washington]] in TheSixties. She lives with her son, Gene Ježek (Vladica Kostic) in a trailer home owned by town policeman Bill Houston (David Morse) and his wife Linda Houston (Cara Seymour), and works at a factory. Selma loves Hollywood musicals, and sees them at the cinema with her friend, Kathy (Creator/CatherineDeneuve). She is auditioning for the part of Maria in an adaptation (because there is no such word as "adaption") of ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'', and throughout the film, she slips into daydreams in which she imagines herself and others around her spontaneously enacting musical numbers. Co-worker Jeff (Creator/PeterStormare) pursues her romantically, [[DoggedNiceGuy to no avail]].

* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: The lawyer presents Selma with a MortonsFork: He has proof that [[spoiler:she's innocent]], but he'll only take the case if she pays him the money [[spoiler:that Bill stole]].
** Something of a TakeThat against capitalism (lampshaded by the prosecutor).

* UsefulNotes/{{Dogme 95}}: Like ''Film/BreakingTheWaves'', it's often mistaken for this, though it does adhere to some Dogme rules while ignoring others.

* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:Selma herself]], or [[MoodWhiplash mid-song]], as it were.

* MeaningfulEcho / {{Motif}}: Whenever Selma becomes frightened or frustrated, incidental sounds (pencils scratching, machines grinding) repeat in her head, and she makes a song out of that. Subverted when [[BreakTheCutie she is placed in a]] [[AndIMustScream noiseless isolation cell]].
* MeaningfulName: Possibly Gene. The fact that he has his mother's genes and therefore his mother's sickness is vital to the plot and Selma's motivations. Selma is derived from Arabic meaning "peace", which could indicate that she is ultimately at peace with her decision. Bill could be a reference to his financial troubles. And Linda means "pretty" in Spanish, which could be a reference to her looks that make her irresistible to Bill.
** It's not unlikely that Selma named her son after Gene Kelly.

* CameraTricks: Alternates between UsefulNotes/{{Dogme 95}} using blurry handheld cameras to make you feel like you too are going blind, and 100 stationary cameras simultaneously shooting an uninterrupted LongTake in Technicolor, with singing and dancing (for the scenes in Selma's head).

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Selma is executed for murdering Bill, but just before she's hanged, she learns that the operation for Gene which she spent the money that had been raised for a lawyer who could avert the sentence was succesful.]]

* JustEatGilligan: If Selma had just revealed Bill's secret [[spoiler:(and therefore tell why she had to kill him), she could've been proven innocent.]]

* ManChild: Selma (some critics have speculated that she or Jeff may have a slight mental handicap)

* LongTake: ''all'' the {{Musical}} numbers are shot as a continuous LongTake using up to [[CameraTricks 100 stationary cameras]] in Technicolor, then cuts between all the footage generated. The rest of the movie is filmed with [[ArtShift blurry handheld cameras]] in the style of UsefulNotes/{{Dogme 95}}, to show how the protagonist is going blind and the musical numbers are what she sees in her head. The result is fascinating because you can tell all the footage of singing dancing was taken from multiple odd angles of one single take. (under a desk, atop a railway car, etc.)

--> '''Selma:''' (cheerfully) Silly selma / [[HeroicSelfDeprecation you're the one to blame]].

Unbeknownst to everyone, Selma is gradually going blind [[SoapOperaDisease from a hereditary disease]], and Gene will eventually suffer the same fate unless she secures an operation for him, hence why she moved to the US. All the money she has been making at the factory is saved as a fund for the operation. When Bill steals said fund so as to hide the fact that he is broke from his wife one day, things do not end well...

''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical drama directed by Creator/LarsVonTrier, and starring, of all people, Icelandic singing sensation [[Music/{{Bjork}} Björk]].

Unbeknownst to everyone, Selma is gradually going blind [[SoapOperaDisease from a hereditary disease]], and Gene will eventually suffer the same fate unless she secures an operation for him, hence why she moved to the US. All the money she has been making at the factory is saved as a fund for the operation. When Bill steals said fund so as to hide the fact that he is broke from his wife one day, [[DownerEnding things do not]] end well...

[[{{Tearjerker}} Did we mention]] [[BetterThanItSounds/{{Film}} it's a]] {{Musical}}?

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

Björk plays Selma Ježková, a Czech immigrant to the U.S. State of [[TheOtherRainforest Washington]] in TheSixties. She lives with her son, Gene Ježek (Vladica Kostic) in a trailer home owned by town policeman Bill Houston (David Morse) and his wife Linda Houston (Cara Seymour), and works at a factory. Selma loves Hollywood musicals, and sees them at the cinema with her friend, Kathy (Creator/CatherineDeneuve). She is auditioning for the part of Maria in an adaptation (because there is no such word as "adaption") of ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'', and throughout the film, she slips into daydreams in which she imagines herself and others around her spontaneously enacting musical numbers. Co-worker Jeff (Creator/PeterStormare) pursues her romantically, [[DoggedNiceGuy to no avail]].

* MeaningfulName: Possibly Gene. The fact that he has his mother's genes and therefore his mother's sickness is vital to the plot and Selma's motivations. Selma is derived from Arabic meaning "peace", which could indicate that she is ultimately at peace with her decision. Bill could be a reference to his financial troubles. And Linda means "pretty" in Spanish, which could be a reference to her looks that make her irresistable to Bill.

* CameraTricks: Alternates between UsefulNotes/{{Dogme 95}} using blurry handheld cameras to make you feel like you, too are going blind, and 100 stationary cameras simultaneously shooting an uninterrupted LongTake in Technicolor, with singing and dancing (for the scenes in Selma's head).

* MeaningfulName: Possibly Gene. The fact that he has his mother's genes and therefore his mother's sickness is vital to the plot and Selma's motivations.

* {{Musical}}: The best musical about an innocent, impoverished woman slowly succumbing to illness and despair since ''{{Rent}}'' or ''Theatre/LesMiserables''! And it's shot with handheld realism.

Björk plays Selma Ježková, a Czech immigrant to the U.S. State of [[TheOtherRainforest Washington]] in TheSixties. She lives with her son, Gene Ježek (Vladica Kostic) in a trailer home owned by town policeman Bill Houston (David Morse) and his wife Linda Houston (Cara Seymour), and works at a factory. Selma loves Hollywood musicals, and sees them at the cinema with her friend, Kathy (Catherine Deneuve). She is auditioning for the part of Maria in an adaptation (because there is no such word as "adaption") of ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'', and throughout the film, she slips into daydreams in which she imagines herself and others around her spontaneously enacting musical numbers. Co-worker Jeff (Creator/PeterStormare) pursues her romantically, [[DoggedNiceGuy to no avail]].