Very sorry, Will, to have taken such an inexcusably long time, aeons in
fact, to respond to your simple query, but various things happened up here,
technical, practical and emotional, to keep me away from responding properly
and within a proper time-limit. So, here's my penny's worth (whatever the
exchange rate) ...
BJÖRK is very simply sui generis, in whichever context you choose to put
her. As far as I'm concerned. Acheivements in the arts will be measured
against her unique accomplishment, once fully appreciated. And I do feel,
very strongly, that her exceptional talent was being abused during the
shooting of that emotionally pornographic film.
That out of the way, we come to the Danish fart, sorry, fact, of one Lars
von Trier, the darling boy of The Danish Film Institute. The prelude proper
to 'Dancer in the Dark' is the wastly overrated 'Breaking Waves', or
whatever it was called; where Emily Watson played the woman who sacrificed
herself for the glory (or whatever) of the male. 'Dancer' is simply a
further extension of that 'woman's sacrifice' theme. And very basically
(literally) it's sickening in it's essential falseness, so removed from
anything we can, even loosely, associate with a(ny) reality. Herr von
Trier's films are, in my mind, nothing more than emotional pornography. Now,
how's that for a statement?
Mind you. my friend Sjón, an excellent surreal poet was the co-writer of the
script - he wrote the lyrics - and I've yet to take him to task on this. And
a few years back I had an encounter in Norway with one of the Swedish
producers of 'Breaking Waves', or whatever it was called, and he was simply
marvelling at how they had procured all this amasing monetary backing from
the most unlikely sources for a 'low-budget' film, as he worded it. To me,
it was almost like listening to a seasoned criminal boasting about his
latest incredible loot. Another occasion to be sick all over the carpet at
hand.
Best
Árni
on 11/15/03 12:36 PM, William Fox at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Anny, Arni,
>
> could I ask why you both disliked Dancer in the Dark? when i first saw it i
> felt paralysed with fear & wonder. perhaps the best film i've ever seen.
> incidentally i see Bjork as a BRILLIANT singing talent. i still recall the
> night i first heard her album 'homogenic' (i think that's what it was
> called). just sat there thinking, this is SO much better than anything going
> around at the moment.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Árni Ibsen <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Saturday, 15 November 2003 9:30
> Subject: Re: Noi Albinoi (Noi the Albino)
>
>
>> Dear Anny,
>>
>>
>> on 11/14/03 9:56 PM, Anny Ballardini at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>>
>>> Ah Arni, that Dancer in the Dark was a Blackout
>>
>> Indeed! For me too, and I did see it (twice to be sure).
>>
>>> I cannot remember Breaking Waves
>>
>> Who can remember it? It's only the film that made his NAME internationally.
>> A few years back I was drinking one of his producer's exclusive cum
>> expensive whisky in a hotel-room in Oslo, Norway, and he just kept shaking
>> his head in disbelief at the amount of money they had managed to raise for
>> 'that film' (his words), Breaking Waves. He told us how they had been on a
>> roll and by smooth talking simply raided one bank after another. So much
> for
>> ART!
>>
>>> I was surprised by the twist in this last one
>>
>> There was a twist?
>>
>>> We have here at the Museion - Eija-Liisa Ahtila, from Helsinki.
>>
>> Never heard of her/him. Sounds interesting. Care to elaborate?
>>
>>> I am not really pro Ahtila's work.
>>> I wrote a long review for my newspaper and pointed out the
>>> sour notes. We will see if they publish it. The instalment is superb
> though,
>>> three big screens and five different rooms
>>
>>> a remake of Ibsen's Dora is worth being shown
>>
>> Nora?
>>
>>> what is there _new_?
>>
>> Nothing's ever been new under the sun, Anny. It all relies on our attention
>> to things.
>>
>>> If you go with rivers, not roads, the trip
>>> takes longer and you weave and see a lot more.
>>
>> I, too, like Richard Hugo enormously! A formidable poet with a world of his
>> very own.
>>
>> Best
>>
>> Árni
>>
>>
>> --
>> Árni Ibsen
>> Stekkjarkinn 19,
>> 220 Hafnarfjördur,
>> Iceland
>>
>> tel.: +354-555-3991
>> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>> http://www.centrum.is/~aibsen/
>>
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