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Dancer in the Dark

Dancer in the Dark

7,8 /10 (2,036 Votes)
2000 EN 140 min

Overview

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

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Release date

01/09/2000

Votes

2,036

Popularity

5.4

In a world of shadows, she found the light of life.

Genres

Status

Released

Language

EN

Runtime

140 min

Budget

$12,500,000

Revenue

$40,061,153

Björk

Björk

Selma Jezkova

Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve

Kathy

David Morse

David Morse

Bill Houston

Peter Stormare

Peter Stormare

Jeff

Joel Grey

Joel Grey

Oldrich Novy

Cara Seymour

Cara Seymour

Linda Houston

No photo

Vladica Kostic

Gene Jezkova

Jean-Marc Barr

Jean-Marc Barr

Norman

Vincent Paterson

Vincent Paterson

Samuel

Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Brenda

Željko Ivanek

Željko Ivanek

District Attorney

Udo Kier

Udo Kier

Dr. Porkorny

Jens Albinus

Jens Albinus

Morty

Reathel Bean

Reathel Bean

Judge

Mette Berggreen

Mette Berggreen

Receptionist

No photo

Lars Michael Dinesen

Defense Attorney / Dancer

Katrine Falkenberg

Katrine Falkenberg

Suzan / Dancer

No photo

Michael Flessas

Angry Man

John Randolph Jones

John Randolph Jones

Detective

No photo

Noah Lazarus

Officer of the Court / Dancer

No photo

Sheldon Litt

Visitor

No photo

Andrew Lucre

Clerk of Court / Dancer

John Martinus

John Martinus

Chairman / Dancer

No photo

Luke Reilly

New Defense Council

No photo

T.J. Rizzo

Boris / Dancer

Stellan Skarsgård

Stellan Skarsgård

Doctor

No photo

Sean-Michael Smith

Person in Doorway

Paprika Steen

Paprika Steen

Woman on Night Shift

No photo

Eric Voge

Officer

No photo

Nick Wolf

Man with Hood

No photo

Timm Zimmermann

Guard / Dancer

Al Agami

Al Agami

Dancer

No photo

Alex Mouro

Dancer

No photo

Alexander Arli

Dancer

No photo

Allan Gyldenkærne

Dancer

No photo

Ami Eklöf-Annell

Dancer

No photo

Ana Christine Broström

Dancer

No photo

Anders Tärneberg

Dancer

No photo

Anders Thorhauge

Dancer

No photo

Anders-Peter Torsleff Hansen

Dancer

No photo

Ann Crosset

Dancer

Anna David

Anna David

Dancer

No photo

Anna Norberg

Dancer

No photo

Anna Rosenberg

Dancer

No photo

Annette Lindholm

Dancer

No photo

Anthony Ajoise Olufemi Jacob

Dancer

No photo

Birgitte Skands

Dancer

No photo

Bjorn Ahlander

Dancer

No photo

Bo Westerholm

Dancer

No photo

Bobo Eriksson

Dancer

Britt Bendixen

Britt Bendixen

Dancer

No photo

Carl Johan De Neergaard

Dancer

No photo

Carol Linda Nielsen

Dancer

No photo

Claus Berenhard

Dancer

No photo

Cristian Valle

Dancer

No photo

Diana G.L. Watson

Dancer

No photo

Ed Hickok

Dancer

No photo

Edvin Karsson

Dancer

No photo

Eli Stalhand

Dancer

No photo

Elin Johansson

Dancer

No photo

Emilie Bendz

Dancer

No photo

Erik Dammann

Dancer

No photo

Erik Drugge

Dancer

No photo

Fredrik Börgesson

Dancer

No photo

Frederik Mondrup

Dancer

No photo

Marianne Bengtsson

Dancer

No photo

Karoliina Heiskanen

Dancer

Troels Asmussen

Troels Asmussen

Dancer (uncredited)

No photo

Caroline Sascha Cogez

Prison Guard - Serving Selma Jezkova's Last Meal (uncredited)

Original Soundtrack

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F

FrontrunnerParis

2020-12-31

⭐ 10

Dazzling Björk in this indictment against the death sentence, in tight close-ups. This film is a UFO, musical without being.

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B

badelf

2025-10-31

⭐ 6

I have tremendous respect for Lars von Trier's work, and I deeply admire his courage in attempting to fuse drama with musical theater. "Dancer in the Dark" is nothing if not audacious. Unfortunately, ambition alone doesn't make a successful film, and this one fails both as a drama and as a musical. As drama, the film stumbles on two fundamental levels. First, the handheld, shaky camera movement is completely unnecessary. Von Trier broke other Dogme 95 rules throughout this film, so why cling to this one annoying restriction? The constant jittering ruins suspension of disbelief, pulling us o…

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CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

2025-12-04

⭐ 7

You get a clue as to the slightly surreal nature of the drama right from a start that sees Björk and Catherine Deneuve doing their own amateur dramatics rehearsals of “The Sound of Music”! It turns out that the former, “Selma”, is a Czech immigrant to the USA who is suffering from a progressive blindness that she has passed on to her young son. She knows that he still has time to have corrective surgery, but she has to earn the cash to pay for that so works at a tool assembly plant and saves every cent she can. She has a small group of friends, mainly just “Kathy” (Deneuve) and “Jeff” (Peter S…

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