This movie feels like pure self-harm. I cried for two hours while watching it, and I cried for two hours after it ended. Not a single good thing happens. The film just piles misery on top of misery, hoping the weight alone will break you. But it doesn’t feel grounded, it doesn’t feel authentic, it feels cheap. After a while, you’re not watching a story anymore, you’re just waiting for the next awful thing to happen. It reminded me of cheap soap operas (worst comparison ever, I know) where someone is constantly being cheated on, getting a secret illness, or making unnecessary “sacrifices” to protect their loved ones. Except here, von Trier packages that same manipulation as high art. Björk’s performance is devastating, but the story around her is merciless to the point of sadism. It doesn’t feel like tragedy, it feels like punishment. And I couldn’t get past the selfishness of her choice to have a child she could neither afford nor give a good life to. That wasn’t sacrifice to me. It’s a film I’ll never forget, but not one I can respect.
Was all that pain necessary, or was it just cruelty paraded as depth?

This movie feels like pure self-harm. I cried for two hours while watching it, and I cried for two hours after it ended. Not a single good thing happens. The film just piles misery on top of misery, hoping the weight alone will break you. But it doesn’t feel grounded, it doesn’t feel authentic, it feels cheap. After a while, you’re not watching a story anymore, you’re just waiting for the next awful thing to happen. It reminded me of cheap soap operas (worst comparison ever, I know) where someone is constantly being cheated on, getting a secret illness, or making unnecessary “sacrifices” to protect their loved ones. Except here, von Trier packages that same manipulation as high art. Björk’s performance is devastating, but the story around her is merciless to the point of sadism. It doesn’t feel like tragedy, it feels like punishment. And I couldn’t get past the selfishness of her choice to have a child she could neither afford nor give a good life to. That wasn’t sacrifice to me. It’s a film I’ll never forget, but not one I can respect.
Was all that pain necessary, or was it just cruelty paraded as depth?

This is one of the most devastating films I have ever seen. Not just “sad.” Devastating.
The kind of film that doesn’t make you cry — it takes something out of you.
Everything is beautiful, and everything hurts. At the same time.

What struck me the most is this almost unbearable idea: being able to create, to imagine, to dream… while your life is collapsing.
Selma doesn’t escape reality — she transforms it. She turns the noise of the world into music, like it’s the only way she can stay alive.

And then there’s Björk.
I don’t even know how to describe it — she doesn’t “act.” She is.
Fragile, steady, lost, luminous.

But what broke me wasn’t even the injustice.
It’s the fact that she doesn’t defend herself.
She could speak. Fight. Exist.
But she chooses something else.
She chooses her son.

And in that moment, it’s no longer about justice or injustice.
It’s about love.
A love so immense it erases everything else.
Even herself.

And that… that hit me in a very personal way.
Because I didn’t grow up with that kind of maternal love. So seeing that a mother can sacrifice everything — even her own life — for her child… it pierces right through me.
Because I almost gave up on my own life because of what my mother did to me.
And witnessing that kind of love, that kind of sacrifice… it’s both unbearably beautiful and deeply painful.

The last scenes don’t even feel like cinema anymore.
They feel like something you have to endure.

I should have stopped before the final song.
But I didn’t.
And now I know this film is going to stay with me for a very long time.

This is one of the most devastating films I have ever seen. Not just “sad.” Devastating.
The kind of film that doesn’t make you cry — it takes something out of you.
Everything is beautiful, and everything hurts. At the same time.

What struck me the most is this almost unbearable idea: being able to create, to imagine, to dream… while your life is collapsing.
Selma doesn’t escape reality — she transforms it. She turns the noise of the world into music, like it’s the only way she can stay alive.

And then there’s Björk.
I don’t even know how to describe it — she doesn’t “act.” She is.
Fragile, steady, lost, luminous.

But what broke me wasn’t even the injustice.
It’s the fact that she doesn’t defend herself.
She could speak. Fight. Exist.
But she chooses something else.
She chooses her son.

And in that moment, it’s no longer about justice or injustice.
It’s about love.
A love so immense it erases everything else.
Even herself.

And that… that hit me in a very personal way.
Because I didn’t grow up with that kind of maternal love. So seeing that a mother can sacrifice everything — even her own life — for her child… it pierces right through me.
Because I almost gave up on my own life because of what my mother did to me.
And witnessing that kind of love, that kind of sacrifice… it’s both unbearably beautiful and deeply painful.

The last scenes don’t even feel like cinema anymore.
They feel like something you have to endure.

I should have stopped before the final song.
But I didn’t.
And now I know this film is going to stay with me for a very long time.

“you like the movies, don’t you?”
“i love movies. i just love the musicals” 
“but isn’t it annoying when they do the last song in the films?”
“why?”
“because you just know when it goes really big… and the camera goes like out of the roof… and you just know it’s going to end. i hate that. i would leave just after the next to last song… and the film would just go on forever”

lars von trier has always been on my radar, but i never really knew where to start in his filmography. he’s known for his unique narratives, experimental style and highly misanthropic ideas within his movies. all three are things which i find interesting, and i always enjoy the more transgressive side of cinema. i tried to watch nymphomaniac volume 1 a couple months ago, got to like the ten minute mark and realised i just really wasn’t in the mood for it at all, same with antichrist: neither movies managed to reallu capture my interest (i’ll give both them a second chance dw) but after that i kinda set him aside to watch things a lot more in my comfort zone, but as soon as i saw björk as the lead actress in a movie, and coincidentally also being a lars von trier movie: i thought it would be perfect, as if you didn’t know björk is like the inventor of music, and no one’s better than her lmao. i knew i’d enjoy it from the start, but i really didn’t think it’d be my favourite film… ever? like this is revolutionary, the thing is no longer the best movie ever (still great, obviously). after watching, i was like severely saddened for a week, to the point i had to binge romantic comedy rom coms. i think the main reason why i personally perceive this as the ‘best’ movie, is mainly because of the talent of björk herself, which is probably the best showcase of acting i’ve maybe ever seen? like the woman can act and sing throughout the film with equal quality, i don’t think any other musician could pull that off. she makes the blind, immigrant woman feel so much more vulnerable, sympathetic and it almost feels raw: i can tell she was living the experience, and it really shows especially in the final act. besides björk, the thing that definitely deserves praise is the visuals. during the more dramatic parts of the movie, a handheld camera is used to heighten the realism: it probably takes a while to get used to, but it makes certain scenes feel like you’re actually within the scene, which transcends you into the movie. besides the way they hold the camera, another great thing is the sharp contrast of colour. during scenes of dialogue or ‘the real world’, everything looks so dull, desaturated, melancholic, which is contrasted by the brief appearance of musicals within the mind of selma, it uses so much colour which shows how despite the harshness of her life, she still has a positive outlook on life nonetheless, which makes you emphasise with the tragic woman even more. the music is also perfect, i had the soundtrack album on repeat before and after my first watch, and the songs are incredible and innovative (which isn’t surprising, it’s björk) it uses everyday noises: such as trains, factory noises, steps to transform them into full fledged musical numbers. ‘i’ve seen it all’ and ‘107 steps’ are easily my two highlights, ‘i’ve seen it all’ probably the peak happiness of the entirety, with its amazing countryside background, and then ‘i’ve seen it all’ which is the final ‘happy’ scene, as she walks to her undeserving end. my favourite types of movies to watch are definitely the cripplingly sad ones, i don’t really know why i love to endure them as much as i do, but both this movie and ‘lilya 4-ever’ have been two that have stuck with me due to their powerful portrayals of unfortunate protagonists, selma in specific, while she makes some questionable choices, at the end you’re just so empathetic towards the character, who is failed by the system. the narrative is highly bleak, but that final scene alone was enough to award this five stars, and if it were possible i would’ve awarded it more. i’m so ready to watch the rest of lars von triers catalogue, probably won’t live up to the massive expectations, as dancer in the dark is perfect.

“you like the movies, don’t you?”
“i love movies. i just love the musicals” 
“but isn’t it annoying when they do the last song in the films?”
“why?”
“because you just know when it goes really big… and the camera goes like out of the roof… and you just know it’s going to end. i hate that. i would leave just after the next to last song… and the film would just go on forever”

lars von trier has always been on my radar, but i never really knew where to start in his filmography. he’s known for his unique narratives, experimental style and highly misanthropic ideas within his movies. all three are things which i find interesting, and i always enjoy the more transgressive side of cinema. i tried to watch nymphomaniac volume 1 a couple months ago, got to like the ten minute mark and realised i just really wasn’t in the mood for it at all, same with antichrist: neither movies managed to reallu capture my interest (i’ll give both them a second chance dw) but after that i kinda set him aside to watch things a lot more in my comfort zone, but as soon as i saw björk as the lead actress in a movie, and coincidentally also being a lars von trier movie: i thought it would be perfect, as if you didn’t know björk is like the inventor of music, and no one’s better than her lmao. i knew i’d enjoy it from the start, but i really didn’t think it’d be my favourite film… ever? like this is revolutionary, the thing is no longer the best movie ever (still great, obviously). after watching, i was like severely saddened for a week, to the point i had to binge romantic comedy rom coms. i think the main reason why i personally perceive this as the ‘best’ movie, is mainly because of the talent of björk herself, which is probably the best showcase of acting i’ve maybe ever seen? like the woman can act and sing throughout the film with equal quality, i don’t think any other musician could pull that off. she makes the blind, immigrant woman feel so much more vulnerable, sympathetic and it almost feels raw: i can tell she was living the experience, and it really shows especially in the final act. besides björk, the thing that definitely deserves praise is the visuals. during the more dramatic parts of the movie, a handheld camera is used to heighten the realism: it probably takes a while to get used to, but it makes certain scenes feel like you’re actually within the scene, which transcends you into the movie. besides the way they hold the camera, another great thing is the sharp contrast of colour. during scenes of dialogue or ‘the real world’, everything looks so dull, desaturated, melancholic, which is contrasted by the brief appearance of musicals within the mind of selma, it uses so much colour which shows how despite the harshness of her life, she still has a positive outlook on life nonetheless, which makes you emphasise with the tragic woman even more. the music is also perfect, i had the soundtrack album on repeat before and after my first watch, and the songs are incredible and innovative (which isn’t surprising, it’s björk) it uses everyday noises: such as trains, factory noises, steps to transform them into full fledged musical numbers. ‘i’ve seen it all’ and ‘107 steps’ are easily my two highlights, ‘i’ve seen it all’ probably the peak happiness of the entirety, with its amazing countryside background, and then ‘i’ve seen it all’ which is the final ‘happy’ scene, as she walks to her undeserving end. my favourite types of movies to watch are definitely the cripplingly sad ones, i don’t really know why i love to endure them as much as i do, but both this movie and ‘lilya 4-ever’ have been two that have stuck with me due to their powerful portrayals of unfortunate protagonists, selma in specific, while she makes some questionable choices, at the end you’re just so empathetic towards the character, who is failed by the system. the narrative is highly bleak, but that final scene alone was enough to award this five stars, and if it were possible i would’ve awarded it more. i’m so ready to watch the rest of lars von triers catalogue, probably won’t live up to the massive expectations, as dancer in the dark is perfect.

i feel like a masochist every time i rewatch this movie

i feel like a masochist every time i rewatch this movie