Dancer in the Dark

Release Date: October 6th, 2000 (possibly limited release)

Festival Note: It's very likely that this film will premiere at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.

Not to be Confused With: Oddly enough, there is another completely different movie, Dancing in the Dark, in the works at MGM starring Angelina Jolie and Viggo Mortensen. This isn't that movie.

Language: Though this film was made in Sweden and Denmark, it is in fact in English. Likewise, though it was filmed in Europe, the movie actually takes place in Washington state, USA.

Distributor: Fine Line Features

Cast: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, Udo Kier, David Morse, Peter Stormare, Jean-Marc Barr, Zeljko Ivanek, Vladan Kostig, Cara Seymour

Cast Note: Early reports about this film Stellan Skarsgård as a costar, but his part went instead to Peter Stormare due to scheduling conflicts.

Björk Note: Though most will think this is her film debut, she also starred in 1987's The Juniper Tree (and had a cameo in Ready to Wear).

Director/Screenwriter: Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves, The Idiots, Zentropa)

Music: Björk will be performing the music for the film. She has recorded several songs in the style of 1940's musicals before; including the popular video for It's Oh So Quiet, which in retrospect may end up looking like a predecessor of this film.

Based upon: This is said to be the third in Lars von Trier's trilogy, following The Idiots and Breaking the Waves.

Premise: A young Czech woman (Björk) moves to America in 1964 where she works in a factory. Though the work and her life are hard, she finds an escape in her love of Hollywood musicals, as her imaginations whisks her off into musical numbers at whim. There is another dark cloud, however, as she and her 10-year-old son both suffer from a condition that will eventually make them go blind. And so, she works to make the money to get the operation she and her son need...

Genres: Drama, Musical

Unofficial Preview Site: The Ultimate Intimate (This is part of a really great Björk fan site)

Official Distributor Site: Fine Line Features

Official Site:

Also at Theaters: October 2000

Input about Upcomingmovies.com, or any movie covered here, is encouraged. Just e-mail Greg Dean Schmitz at greg@upcomingmovies.com. Please note that all release dates are subject to change.

Greg's Preview Thoughts: 2000 is looking to be a big year for musicals, with Moulin Rouge and Love's Labour's Lost both coming to mind as films that seem to innovate (the former) and pay homage (the latter) to the musicals of days past, and this film should also be added to their number. Director Lars von Trier has high hopes for this project, which is the most expensive movie ever made in Sweden. The buzz should really pick up once it hits Cannes. Stay tuned.