Metacritic reviews

It is a bold, reckless gesture.

Can be unbearably moving or annoyingly mawkish, sometimes in the same scene.

I was astonished to find myself weeping copiously over von Trier's latest, which is another parable of monomaniacal sainthood.

Ought to win a prize for sheer audacity.

A film of so much daring, a film that takes so many chances, it's impossible not to be impressed.

If it weren't for a terrific central performance by the Icelandic pop singer Bjork, Dancer in the Dark would be all but unwatchable.

A movie that by turns is wincingly awful and heartbreakingly fine. It boasts an unforgettable performance by Björk.

Fairly incompetent as a musical and rather silly as a drama.

Lars von Trier is a mechanic, not an artist. And his movies are meat grinders he feeds his characters through.

At times the movie's crudeness has an eerie beauty, but the musical fantasies are a bewildering hash, and the protracted climax on death row is nearly unendurable.