Dancer in the Dark

I often hear about 'depressing/ soul-crushing films', films that you only tend to watch once because of how upsetting they are. I've seen a few movies like this, such as 'Grave of the Fireflies' and also Kore-Eda's 'Nobody Knows'. Both films are films that do massively impact me, they hit you right in the gut, but I still feel like I could rewatch them again at some point, and I likely will too. However this film was different, it punched me in the gut in way no other film has before. I could comment on many different aspects which contributed to this, from the incredibly unique cinematography, such as using a digital camera, alongside the use of jump cuts making it feel less like a film and more like a documentary, heightening the realism factor. Above all, however, it was Björk's performance that really impacted me. I'd heard that she tended to feel what Selma felt in order to truly act in this film, and it really comes across in one of the most visceral, realistic performances I have seen so far. Even early on, I felt like I was watching a desperate mother doing anything for her kid instead of Björk, which is testament to her skills here as I am a huge fan of her work. I was going to properly touch on the abhorrent behind the scenes information we learnt about Lars von Trier and what he put Björk through, but I didn't feel I could properly talk about it in context to the review without it coming off as insensitive. I will simply state that I absolutely stand with Björk, and I find it disgusting that little was done about Von Trier's disgusting actions until it was far too late. On a slightly lighter note, I want to talk about some of the other performances, particularly from Catherine Deneuve and also Peter Stormare. Though their roles are smaller, I do feel that they delivered a strong performance and worked well off of Björk. Overall, despite being one of the most traumatic films I've ever seen and likely a film that I will never revisit, this film is truly a masterpiece and I am glad I saw it.