It was all I could do to break my gaze from the film long enough to jot a few reminders on my notepad and even then I mostly wrote without redirecting my focus. To say that Dancer in the Dark mesmerized me would be an understatement. To me, there was something magical about the visual technique of the film, especially in the portrayal of the actors and the filming quality. Both of these elements were bold, unique and key to the film’s success.
Bjork’s superb performance is backed up rather solidly by being dubbed Best Actress by two of the most esteemed film organizations, the Cannes Film Festival and the European Film Awards. A reason for Bjork’s astounding talent being recognized by Film Festivals and “lay-viewers” alike is due to Lars Von Trier’s superb directing. Bjork herself said in an interview that as a principle she does not act but that she made an exception due to liking this particular director. When the camera is on Bjork, it allows her the time to be her character long enough to have a deep affect on the viewer. There are many scenes that felt as though an entirely amateur cameraman with a consumer-grade handheld video camera, was so taken by Bjork’s acting that he could not turn away.
Of the few broken sentences I was able to scribble during the film, only one was something other than pure awe and admiration, and that has to do with the filming quality. I wrote that I did not like how grainy and “cheap” the film-quality appeared. However, this technical element did not detract from my experience. In fact, I believe that because of the simple, home-like film quality I was affected in a greater way. The director purposefully used cheap cameras in order to give it a documentary-like feel, which is one of the reasons why I was so impacted by the film. Additionally, during the dance-sequences there were over 100 cameras hidden throughout the set so as to capture as many angles as possible. Because of this, Lars Von Trier could capture a plethora of unique angles while also keeping the filming schedule short. Lars also purposefully made the colors during the dance-sequences extra grainy and warm, so as to set apart the musical scenes from the rest of the movie. This was a touch that may seem to many as a film faux pas, but it actually serves his purpose perfectly.
The fact that I was silent for over an hour after the film ended is evidence enough to me that I was more impacted by the film than nearly any other that I have watched. The brilliant portrayal of the actors accompanied by the unique quality of recording are two methods that contributed to my awe-induced experience viewing this film.
