Dancer in the Dark   Director: Lars von Trier

Dancer in the Dark is the last film in Trier’s Golden Heart Trilogy (following Breaking the Waves (1996) and The Idiots (1998)). The film centres on tragic female figures who sacrifice themselves for others and whose love does not depend on how they are treated – by fate or by people. I wanted to show how far you can go in the fight for love. Lars von Trier

The film is set in the USA in the 1960s. Selma, a Czech immigrant, is suffering from an eye disease and is in danger of losing her eyesight. Her son has inherited the disease, and Selma works to herself to the bone in a factory to finance an eye operation to save the boy from blindness. She seeks consolation and distraction from the sad reality of her life in the world of musicals, which she constantly enters in her dreams. When she loses her job at the factory due to her blindness, the events come thick and fast: Selma discovers that her heavily indebted neighbour, police officer Bill, has stolen her savings. An argument ensues, in the course of which Bill tragically dies. Accused of murder, Selma finds herself facing the death penalty.

Director, screenplay: Lars von Trier
Cinematographer: Robby Müller
Editing: François Gédigier, Molly Malene Stensgaard
Production: Vibeke Windeløv
Music: Björk
With: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare and others.

Introduction: Daniel Pöhacker