retinitis pigmentosa (fade to black)

"[Retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, is a genetic eye condition. In the progression of symptoms for RP, night blindness generally precedes tunnel vision by years or even decades. Many people with RP do not become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and retain some sight all their life. Others go completely blind from RP, in some cases as early as childhood. Progression of RP is different in each case."]

Sometimes, experimental art has the effect of distancing the viewer from it. It might be that odd formal techniques or other stylistic abstractions employed by the artist in its creation make a piece seem altogether absent from reality - and therefore inaccessible. However, it seems that in other cases, artistic experimentation yields a result so uncannily "real" that viewers must struggle to separate their own perceptions of reality from that of the representation itself.

I found myself struggling (and ultimately failing) to remain in control of my viewing experience yesterday when my digital photo studio classmates and I watched the film, Dancer in the Dark, directed by Lars von Trier.

Usually I consider myself fairly stoic when watching even the most emotionally-charged of films. Perhaps this is a defense mechanism I've developed (a front), but regardless, it's rare for me to shed tears or show genuine fear during a viewing experience.

This movie snuck up on me like nothing I've experienced in quite some time, leaving me shaky and emotionally drained when the credits began to roll. ...And honestly, I'm still trying to figure out just how it hit me so hard.

Released in 2000, this musical melodrama stars Björk as Selma Ježková, a Czech immigrant who spends long hours working in a factory in rural America. Selma guards a sad secret: she is in fact suffering from a genetic degenerative disease (perhaps something similar to retinitis pigmentosa) that is causing her to go blind, and she knows that her young son will suffer the same fate if she can't save up enough money to secure him an operation. What keeps her going day to day is her passion for Hollywood musicals, which offer her escape and a vision of a world where "nothing dreadful ever happens."

The movie is noteworthy in part because it was filmed exclusively on hand-held digital cameras, and the musical scenes themselves were actually shot with about 100 static cameras (with the images later stitched together in sequence). The film is therefore unique - pioneering even - and has a striking hand-made, documentary-like aesthetic.

(Here is the link to the official site for the movie where the theatrical trailer can be viewed.)

My understanding is that the role of Selma was altered somewhat to be more in keeping with Björk's persona. Even with this knowledge I cannot imagine any other actress in the role - she is a stunning presence. Björk is really not of this world, ...and I mean that in a good way. Her Selma steals our sympathies within the first few minutes of the movie (and I'm still grieving for her).