SITE TOOLS
|
|
|
Dancer in the Dark, 2000, 140 minutes, Rated R
By David Dodson
Okay so this is a movie that stars Bjork, the Icelandic elfish looking woman that
always looks like a sixteen-year-old. Her voice is cute, funny sounding and in duration
can become annoying whether singing or speaking. So why in the world would you want to see
a movie starring her? Did I mention that it is a musical? Why even waste your $8 ($9.50 in
New York) on something you have absolutely no interest in? Well there is just something
about this movie that is bound to touch your heart.
|
|
|
To Buy
Click Here |
|
Dancer in the Dark is an anti-musical. It
takes the fairy tale nature of the American musical, which portrays this country as the
land of hope and dance numbers, and revamps it to resemble a more accurate picture of the
American dream. Just imagine living in another country and having your only ideas about
the United States come from Hollywood musicals. Well that is Selma (Bjork). Armed with a
dream, she travels with her son to the land of opportunity to fulfill it.
|
|
|
That said, what strikes you most is that Selma's
motivations oddly enough mirror those of a single black mother. She is not supposed to be
black, she does not sound black or in anyway represent herself as black; but what will
hook you into the movie is that she responds to America in the way black mothers have for
the last four hundred years. It's amazing to watch because you begin realizing that single
black mothers may have never been portrayed so beautifully as Bjork unknowingly does in
this film. It is a sad statement for black filmmakers.
In this day and age where The Hurricane or Soul Food are supposed to be representative of
the black experience, Dancer in the Dark has come along and presented a view with accuracy
as yet unseen in black filmmaking. I wish that this were a black film particularly because
of the lack of proper representation of the single black mother in movies. Unfortunately,
many non-blacks that see this movie will most likely miss the parallel and as such the
black mother continues to be under-represented. This is not to take away from the story
that’s actually about eastern European immigrant culture in America, but to point out
how powerfully the film conveys shared experiences. When you cry in this movie (and you
will cry), the tears come from the heart, reminding you just what America represents. I
only hope black filmmakers will follow this lead and portray our stories as beautifully. M
December 2000
|
|
|
|
|
RLP Ventures, LLC and/or its
suppliers. All rights reserved.