A Dancer In The Dark Analysis

I am critiquing the film “Dancer in the Dark.” I have seen this movie twice, once on my own in October and again with my family in November. I chose this movie because it is on a list of sad movies I got from YouTube that I peruse when I am in the mood. I watched this movie alone, in my dorm room, on my laptop. The watching process was very smooth and pleasant. I did not have any distractions or interruptions and it streamed perfectly. Towards the end of the film I was so frustrated and emotional that I vowed never to watch this film again (which I ended up breaking).
“A Dancer in the Dark” is about the struggles of Selma Ježková, a single-mother Czech immigrant living in poverty and also going blind. Though this life is difficult, Selma is …show more content…
She is very dynamic. On the outside she may seem weak and naïve but she is actually very strong. She loves her son very much but is not able to buy him presents because she wants him to get eye surgery so he does not have to go through the same struggles she does. One of her biggest flaws may be what makes her the happiest, her passion for musicals. This passion often causes her to get distracted in her own word and gets her into trouble. Bill is the antagonist of the story. Though he is a cop and should be honorable and honest, his fear of losing his wife drives him to do terrible and selfish things to Selma which ultimately kills her.
The theme of “Dancer in the Dark” seems to be about the harshness of reality. This story proves life is not always fair and even if you are a hard and honest worker everything could still go wrong. I think this is also a lesson and greed and selfishness and how it can completely fog over your good judgement. Though this theme was very frustrating and painful to watch, it is important to know that this is reality for some …show more content…
I have seen realism movies and movie musicals but have never seen a combination done in this manner. The contrast of the musicals to reality was so perfect and chilling. This move did not have a happy ending like a majority of movies do which I believe is important to contract what we are used to. I was team Selma the entire time. Selma was played by the actress, Björk who I have known as a singer but did not know as an actress until I saw this movie. Björk did such an amazing job that I wonder if this part was written specifically for her. Her performance throughout the movie was incredibly honest. The way Selma was developed was amazing and so convincing. Not only is Björk a great actress but she is also a great singer. She has a very powerful and unique quality to her voice that resonates in every musical piece. I vowed never to watch this movie again because of how frustrating and sad it is. But, I found it more important to share this film with my family. I was not sure what to expect going into this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. This movie was amazing in a very unconventional way. Everything down to the shaky camera work fed into the dark and realistic tone of the film