“Dancer in the Dark” Anti-musical, anti-America *Note! Contains spoilers.

harsh criticism of America

"When you're working in a factory, opportunities start to set different rhythms. Then it becomes a dream world and the music begins."

Arrest on charges of unfair discrimination, risk of blindness, and murder. Selma throws herself into a dream world as if to escape from the cruel reality. However, I have great hesitation in calling ``Dancer in the Dark'' a musical movie. This is not because the characters sing and dance because of their emotional excitement, but because the delusions that Selma has created in her mind are manifested in the form of a musical.

On the contrary, "Dancer in the Dark" seems to stand out as an anti-musical film. That is to say, it also stands out as an anti-American film. For her, who grew up with communist parents, the superpower America must have seemed a symbol of capitalism. And the musical film on TV must have made her think of the America she had never seen before.

Selma, an immigrant who left her native Czechoslovakia and came to America, finds herself in a difficult situation due to the schemes of Bill, a police officer who seems to embody America itself, which sees itself as the world's police force. David Morse, who plays the role, is an actor who has played the ideal good guy in " The Green Mile " (1999) and " Contact " (1997). And the kind and nice guy Jeff, who falls in love with Selma, is played by Peter Stormare, who played the worst and most evil character in " Fargo " (1996). Reversing the roles he has played in his filmography so far, Trier exposes the hypocrisy of America.

"Dancer in the Dark" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

"I don't want to hear the last song. The grand finale starts and the camera climbs up. It's the last signal. Then I'm disappointed. When I was a kid in the Czech Republic, I had a great idea. From the end... After the second song, you leave the theater and the movie goes on forever, right?”

Selma talks about her feelings towards musicals like a dreaming girl. Right before she was hanged, the song ``The Penultimate Song'' was resounding in her head. However, the story, which was thought to last forever, suddenly ends as if a string had been cut when the floorboards fall.

There are still some states in the United States that have the death penalty, but it has been abolished in Europe except Belarus, and the abolition of the death penalty is included in the conditions for joining the European Union (EU). "Dancer in the Dark" is a scathing criticism of America by Lars von Trier, a film director who loves and hates America. The musical exists as a device to bring it forward.

"Working with terrorists"