Dancer in the Dark

I am a huge Bjork fan. Yes, I know that's not how her name is spelled, it's just that my keyboard doesn't allow for the "o" to have those two little dots above it. I own most of her stuff, everything from Debut to Biophilia. She is amazing, and I love how she always has a new sound behind each of her albums.
So I was surprised when I had never heard of this movie, despite the fact that it's the reason that she was at the Oscars in a swan dress in the first place, and that it was directed by Lars Von Trier who I have a great deal of respect for.
Well, after viewing, I realized that not only can she sing, but she can ACT too. And boy, can she act! The acting by everyone else is just as good, but Bjork steals the show. Perfect casting in fine form.
The movie starts in 1964. We are introduced to Selma, a woman from Czechoslovakia with a very shy and mousy demeanor and thick glasses. Selma is also losing her eyesight, something that she is trying to hide from everyone otherwise she will lose her job which she can't afford to lose because she's destitute. Later in the movie, she makes a decision that alters her life for the worst. That's all I'm going to say about the plot because I suck at making a synopsis, and I couldn't really do it justice no matter how hard I tried.
The film has an awesome soundtrack by Bjork, using her vocal "shouts" to inflict emotion. One thing that keeps the movie real is that the musical numbers only happen when she's in some kind of dream state. The modern sound of the songs while in a movie that happens in the early 1960's also keeps the surreal atmosphere during those scenes.
I was crying at the end, and I have a feeling you will to if you have any sense of taste or a soul at all.
9/10