Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Von Trier subverts and celebrates the musical genre with fantasy numbers triggered by everyday sounds; the film oozes dread but delivers a profound, heart-breaking performance from Björk and is the most involving cinema experience of the year.

Lars von Trier makes a powerful film that is both a musical and a meditation on musicals, mostly shot in Dogme style but with fantasised numbers. Björk gives a marvellous performance in a difficult role, and the result is haunting and beautiful.

The film is seen as a hollow, emotionally upfront tale of saintly self-sacrifice with disingenuous plot contrivances. The musical sequences are criticised for imaginative poverty and the overall work falls short of von Trier's best or classic musicals.

Lars von Trier's musical is a disaster in every department and a waste of talent, with Björk giving a lifeless performance; the digital photography and numbers fail to work, and the whole enterprise is amateurish and over-the-top sentimental nonsense.

Turan finds the film exasperating in its contradictions, fakery, and pretensions, criticizing its crude visuals, melodramatic excesses, and inauthentic approach. He singles out Björk's intense, genuine performance as the one authentic element amid the dross.

Ebert views the film as a deliberate, reckless throwback to silent melodrama and soap opera fundamentals rather than a plausible story. He praises its bold rejection of slick modernism and Björk's committed performance as Selma.

A bold genre fusion of song-and-dance fantasy and gut-wrenching melodrama that divides audiences but wins over the jury. Björk's debut performance is singled out as the revelation, growing in stature throughout.

Björk delivers an astonishing performance that carries the film despite its florid situations. The critic highlights the plangent score as key to the movie's emotional power and devastating impact.

The critic calls the film one of the year's most wrenching and unforgettable, praising how its musical sequences arise naturally from the story and reflect the heroine's generous worldview. Björk's vulnerable lead performance is singled out as what elevates the film beyond gimmickry.

The critic calls Dancer in the Dark the most sensationally silly film of the year, as well as the most shallow and crudely manipulative. He singles out Björk's performance as a ridiculous, squeaking diva turn and the plot as implausibly absurd and melodramatic.

Lane calls the film divisive and notes its solemn musical numbers even at the gallows, praising the way it blends dread with rapture and Björk's unfeigned flightiness. He singles out the raw exposure of pain and the contrast between musical reveries and grim reality.

Scott finds the film both stupefyingly bad and utterly overpowering, praising Björk's miraculous performance while noting its sadistic elements and refusal to move viewers in conventional ways. He highlights the tension between artistic conviction and cynicism.

The critic praises Björk's intuitive acting talent that breaks the heart, highlighting her performance in the film's second half where her character's goodness is tested. The film is noted for its raw, Dogme-style approach and emotional depth in exploring sacrifice.