Happy weekend from El Cosmico. I'll try to keep this spoiler-free.
Last week, Harry, Father Geek, and I went to the Dobie theatre here in town, to check out the press screening, which was to be held on Thursday. Turns out, three of the reels were either stolen, or ran out the door themselves. Great. So, they rescheduled for the next day. Only problem was, while Harry and Father Geek had shown up for the showing at 10 AM on Thursday, they worked VERY late into the night and next morning so they couldn't possibly have made it to the second attempt at a screening, the next day, also at 10 AM. On top of this, the either a)incompetent or b)uncaring staff at Dobie so ill-managed the affair, that the film stopped completely about five or six times during the film, requiring one of us to fetch someone to start it up after several minutes. It seems to me that Dobie has been going downhill since it was sold, I hope someone remedies the situation, I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Well, enough about that.
So, I'm the only Austin AICNer who saw the screening. Of course, there is very little chance of me missing a Bjork movie. I am, after all, a Bjork admirer. Now, I had heard all manner of comment about this film beforehand, but my main interest in seeing the film was because it won the Palme D'Or. Also, as much as I've read about Lars Von Trier, I had never seen one of his films, just a documentary on the Dogma movement, so I was curious as to what this seemingly wacky Dane was up to.
DANCER IN THE DARK surprised me. In spite of all of the hype, I was really pretty astounded. The film is jarring. That's the best word I can think of to describe it. The method of filmmaking is considerably different from typical fare.
There is a pleasant overture sequence with imagery and music before the film starts, and then, when the opening scene began, I wasn't sure if I was watching the "movie", or some sort of documentary footage of the movie being filmed. The actors were rehearsing a musical. I knew that this film was a musical, and the style was very much like a documentary. After a few moments, I realized that the film had, in fact, begun.
What was so striking to me about this was that I felt EXTREMELY close to the action. You know the distance you normally feel between yourself and characters on screen, like they're in another world? That was gone. I felt like they were right across the room from me. Like the actors were people I knew, and that if I talked to them, they might even talk back to me. The way in which Von Trier filmed this, which reminded me a lot of a documentary, made me feel closer to the on-screen characters than any other film I've seen. It also really threw me off, because scene after scene presented me with feelings that I wasn't accustomed to while watching film. Like I said, it was jarring.
The story is told of Selma, played marvelously by Bjork, who is a Czech immigrant, going blind, seeking to prevent this same hereditary fate from befalling her son. I remember when I heard about Bjork's on-set relations with other cast members and with Mr. Von Trier, that as the filming progressed, she became more and more difficult to work with. Bjork explained this in what seems to me is a reasonable fashion. She said that since she wasn't a trained actress, she needed to find a way to bring out the required emotions. A sort of extreme method acting. Now, throughout the film, Selma finds her life becoming increasingly difficult, and she finds herself betrayed. Severely. Ultimately, she has reason to feel betrayed by almost everyone around her. Certainly, Selma is isolated and in a grave situation. So, it seems, that Bjork expressed similar sentiments to those around her during the filming. It is difficult to argue with the result.
Her performance is thoroughly involving, she evokes sympathy, as she increasingly becomes escapist, living in the realm of the fantastic as the reality of her situation becomes unbearable. Her dedication to her son is single-minded, and she absolutely NEVER wavers from it. For this reason, as things become more desperate, her reactions must become more extreme, more self-sacrificing, and as she endures more and more to help her son, she escapes to greater fantasies, and becomes both entirely fatalistic in the real world, and hopeful, even victorious in her fantasy world. At the end of the film these worlds collapse into one... I'll let you decide whether she's victorious or not.
DANCER IN THE DARK is interesting for so many reasons. For the method of filmmaking, for the AMAZING performances all around. Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, and Peter Stormare were wonderful, just perfect. In my mind, the part David Morse played was the most difficult after Bjork's, and the humanity he injects into his character is a truly commendable feat of acting.
The musical numbers actually didn't dominate the film to the extent that I thought they would, and since I've seen every Bjork video on DVD about a million times, and her videos are among the most fantastic in existence, so I was afraid this would be a case of impossible expectation on my part. The music was beautiful, though, and the numbers were well-suited both to Selma's character, and to the tone of the film.
Overall, I think this film is a wonderful success. It requires a good amount of thought and analysis, an open mind, and a willingness to accept the unexpected. Because it is in some ways disturbing and depressing, because it requires a ponderous mind and an open heart, it may be ill-suited to mainstream audiences, who are generally known for their lack of interest in both introspection and complex thought. Here's my advice: if you want to see a truly exceptional film, one that will feed your mind and heart for a long time after you've left the theatre, DANCER IN THE DARK is for you.
