Bjork Glows In 'Dark'
Icelandic Singer's Performance Makes Danish Film Worth Seeing
Bjork is the bright shining light at the center of Lars Von Trier's "Dancer In The Dark."
The Icelandic singer makes a phenomenal acting debut in the role of single mother Selma Jezkova, a Czech immigrant working at a factory in Washington state. Selma suffers from a hereditary disorder that's causing her to go blind. She saves every hard-earned penny so that her son Gene can undergo an eye operation and avoid the same fate.
Selma copes with her steadily degenerating condition by daydreaming herself into colorful song and dance scenes, inspired by her love of American musicals.
From the outset of the film, it's obvious that her supremely good-natured, innocent and trusting character is being set up for heartbreak. The mousy, disheveled Selma is rehearsing for a community theatre production of "The Sound Of Music," in which she plays the unlikely role of Maria. She tries her best, but can hardly make her way around the stage due to her failing vision.
Bjork plays the role to perfection -- you can't help but feel for the sweet and simple Selma. When the cinema audience at a recent screening saw what was to happen to her, because of course she couldn't, there was an audible gasp of disbelief.
French screen legend Catherine Deneuve and Peter Stormare ("Fargo") turn in solid performances as Selma's two devoted friends.
Von Trier's film is driven by Selma's plight -- if you feel for her character and enjoy watching Bjork's ferocious portrayal, you won't mind that the plot is drawn out to inexorable lengths.
Elements of the story are far-fetched, but the film is itself a musical, and you have to be prepared for the characters to break into song at the gravest of moments.
There's also the issue of Von Trier's "Dogma 95"-style of hand-held camerawork, which is very jarring to look at until your eyes adjust. The digital video lends a glib, washed-out color to the film, which many criticized. I didn't mind it, because Von Trier juxtaposed the almost black-and-white of Selma's grim reality against a Technicolor musical dream world, which made us sympathize with her need to escape into her imagination.
The production was just too much for many critics, incensed when it won the prized Palme D'Or at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. I'm not sure it deserved that honor, but then I haven't seen the other contenders.
I am confident that Bjork deserved her 'Best Female Performance' award at the same festival. It's not only the best musician-turned-actor performance I've ever seen, it's one of the best performances I've seen in any film in recent years.
Bjork also composed the film's music, and it fits the tone perfectly. I highly recommend the soundtrack, for its soaring soundscapes and use of rhythm. Bjork's voice is, as always, full of wonder -- timid at times, then powerful and confident, much like Selma.
I won't mention the 'O' word, but she sure as heck deserves at least a nod for her fine work. From the sounds of it, this'll be Bjork's one and only film role -- the experience ran her emotions ragged, and she announced afterward that she'd never make another film.
With that in mind, you really shouldn't miss seeing her in this one.
