Dancer in the Dark 4K 2000

And why is the world so cruel? Why, even if you want something so badly, even if you’re willing to sacrifice everything to achieve some noble goal, do you still fail? Why, when given the chance to take advantage of another person’s weakness, do most people seize that opportunity? Why is it always necessary to make a choice? Why can’t you just live… Live. Live a free life. To dance, basking in the sunshine, admiring the blue sky and the green grass. To live, watching your son grow up and become a man…

But there’s only music—only it is eternal; only it helps you lose yourself, helps you escape from the terrible reality; only it helps you, if only for a short while, if only for a few minutes, to feel happy, to immerse yourself in real life… A life that will never be…

At first glance, it might seem that we’re being shown some kind of monstrous story that could never happen in the real world—after all, even though we’re often die-hard cynics, we believe that people are, at heart, good. They’ll help; they’ll never abandon you in times of trouble… And for some reason, we believe that all the bad things will end someday—they’re bound to end—otherwise, what’s the point of living? What’s the point of all this, then?

The story we’re shown isn’t gripping because of its cruelty; it’s gripping, above all, because of its realism. It’s happening all around us, everywhere… We don’t care about other people’s lives; we don’t care about human tragedy. Sure, we can say whatever we want and even put on a show of doing good, but someday, at the most critical moment, we’ll turn away… We’ll betray them or walk right past… Simply because we’re afraid—afraid of getting our hands dirty, afraid of catching another person’s misfortune. And even if there are friends… people willing to help, they won’t understand you; they’ll only do harm, make things worse…

It’s always interesting to watch how people react to this movie. Not so much to the movie itself, but to its ending… I’ve been lucky enough to witness it a few times… Silence… Stillness…

People just sit there, motionless; the credits have been rolling across the screen for a while now, but the film still won’t let you go—it has penetrated so deeply into your soul, helped you connect so closely with the heroine, that you simply refuse to believe such an ending is possible. Shock. That’s what you feel when the film ends—the most intense shock.

A shock akin to what you feel when you lose someone close and dear to you… Many people can’t decide whether they liked it or not… I’ve even heard people say things like, “Why make a movie like this?” many times… And it’s not that the movie is bad; it’s that it’s too realistic and too cruel. People love life, love themselves, and don’t want to see the suffering and torment of others.

Trier’s film isn’t a crime news report that you can listen to and then forget; it lays your nerves bare and makes you feel all the pain and despair experienced by a person driven into a corner.
We want to believe in happy endings, but in real life, happy endings are rare—so why should it be any different in the movies…