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Dom Robinson reviews
Film Four
- Cert:
- Cat.no: VCD 0127
- Running time: 134 minutes
- Year: 2000
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 32 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English, audio-descriptive in English
- Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing
- Widescreen: 2.35:1 (DV 2.35:1 anamorphic)
- 16:9-enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Trailer, Interview with Lars Von Trier, Selma’s Songs, Behindthe Scenes, Cannes 2000, Audio-descriptive track
Director:
- Lars Von Trier
(Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, Epidemic, Europa, The Idiots, Nocturne)
Producer:
- Vibeke Windeløv
Screenplay:
- Lars Von Trier
Music:
- Björk
Cast:
- Selma Yeskova: Björk
Kathy: Catherine Deneuve
Bill: David Morse
Jeff: Peter Stormare
Oldrich Novy: Joel Grey
Linda Houston: Cara Seymour
Gene Yeskova: Vladica Kostic
Norman: Jean-Marc Barr
District Attorney: Zeljko Ivanek
Dr. Porkorny: Udo Kier
Björk makes her acting debut in Dancer in the Dark,a film by Lars Von Trier, in which she plays Selma, a single motherand factory worker, grafting alongside Kathy (Catherine Deneuve) andworking for Norman (Jean-Marc Barr).
Selma’s trouble is that, little by little, she’s going blind and it’s astruggle to save the money for the necessary operation that herten-year-old son Gene (Vladica Kostic) requires, otherwise hewill inherit the condition, but that’s just the least of her problems as thefilm charts her life and her relationship with her friend Bill (DavidMorse) and potential suitor Jeff (Peter Stormare).
My trouble, initially, was that the film doesn’t know whether it wasn’t to be a docusoap,with its jittery hand-held camerawork during dialogue scenes, or a musicalwith an impressive set of tunes by the Icelandic pixie herself, which portraysSelma’s great want which is to appear in the musicals she enjoyed as a child.so it’s worth renting first before you buy to check whether you’re likelyto watch it again.
I did find, however, that the time invested in the film pays off if youstick through the first 40 minutes as by then you’ll know whether you careabout Selma’s plight as she loses her sight, brilliantly acted by Björk.All the rest of the cast have their part to play and do it with class andthis became one of those films that grew on me as I watched it, thedocusoap-cum-drama becoming as engaging as any episode of The Cops,another first-rate drama that plays out like real life.
As most of the film appears shot with the hand-held camera and other techniquesare used in the musical moments, the print never appears to be razor sharpbut there are no artifacts on view so what we see is pleasing enough.The film is presented in its original anamorphic widescreen ratio of 2.35:1,which is required the whole time.The average bitrate is 5.40Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 8Mb/s.
The sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1. While even the quietest moments have animpact in the silence they bring, the music sections get the most benefitwith normal, everyday machines and vehicles being drafted in effectively asinstruments, causing Selma to jump to the beat a bit like occasional characterTyres inSpaced.
For extras, there are a 2-minute Trailer a 10-minute Interview withLars Von Trier, a Behind the Scenes section containing the usualcast and crew chat for 5 minutes, a 70-second photo shoot at Cannes 2000and an Audio-descriptive track narrated by the Scottish Andrew Byatt.
Finally, there’s the Selma’s Songs section which links together themusical parts in a 29-minute block.
However, the Region 1 DVD, despite being in NTSC when the film was shot onPAL video – according to theInternet Movie Database,contains a DTS 5.1 soundtrack, an audio commentary collectively by directorLars Von Trier, producer Vibeke Windeløv, technical supervisorPeter Hjorth and artist Per Kirkeby, another audio commentaryby choreographer Vincent Paterson and two original documentaries,“Musical Mysticism: Creating the Modern Musical” and “Lars von Trier’sCreative Infrastructure: An Exploration of DV Filmmaking”.
There are 32 chapters throughout the film, subtitles in English for thehard of hearing and menus with subtle animation and music from the film.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.