Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Dancer in the Dark

Everybody remembers Bjork, and the awful, awful swan dress. She was a red carpet bomb, though definitely memorable, which I guess you could argue is more important. However, I had never, ever heard of this movie, and did not know that was why she was at the Oscars. In fact, since I knew Bjork was a foreign artist, I assumed that this was a foreign language film when I first heard of it.

The actual film was... interesting, to say the least. For me, there were three main aspects that stood out: the cinematography, the story, and the music.

First, the cinematography. Since Von Trier was part of the Dogma 95 movement, I could see where the more naturalistic style of filming would come in (even though this film is not quite a Dogma 95 film). Part of me was really intrigued by the style. It made the film more personal; it made me sympathize more with Selma, feel more for her plight. The way it was filmed, I felt as though I was watching one long home movie about the Selma's life. Even when Von Trier would move the camera to follow the action, it was done in such a way that it felt as though I was standing there, and my head was turning to follow the action. However, by the end of the film, I was a little bit irritated by the style. It may sound a little "Hollywood" of me, but why watch something for entertainment if its quality is so low? I mean, I can respect that its very avant-garde, and that it does contribute to the viewing of the film, but by the end I was a little bit tired of it.

Another thing about the cinematography is that it changes from "real" life to "musical" life. I like this aspect of it; it gives a strong distinction between Selma's actual reality and the "reality" she lives in her head. This contributes greatly to one of the overall themes in the film. The real world, where Selma exists with her poor eyesight, is blurry and low quality. But the world in Selma's head, where her eyesight doesn't matter and her vision is crystal clear, is sharp and bright in contrast.

Then, there was the actual plot of the film. I could not think of a more depressing plot if I tried. I was crying by the end of the film, as I assume everyone who is human also did. What was really sad was that Selma was relatively upbeat, despite all the ordeals life threw at her. This seems so unrealistically wonderful to me, because if Selma can be this way, why can't everyone be? Despite how naive and irritating Selma could be at times, I could never have wished death upon her, and it was heartbreaking that she got something she absolutely did not deserve.

Finally, there was the music. All I can say is, I don't know what inspired Bjork to sing the way and what she did, but it was strange and not at all appealing to me personally. I cannot understand how the soundtrack got an Oscar nod.

All in all, Dancer in the Dark is an alright film. I wouldn't recommend it for entertainment purposes, but I cannot deny, despite all my problems with it, that it has artistic relevance.

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