From an objective standpoint, this is an emphatically unique and incomparable piece of filmmaking that breaks and contorts the boundaries of cinema until there’s nothing left but scattered ashes. With a lacerating lead performance from pop star Björk – soaring through surreal musical numbers that provide short-lived escapism into her naïve subconscious – she manages to stronghold a peerless portrayal within an exceedingly complicated character. Yet von Trier’s coldly manipulative grasp never quite sells the material, and his apparent fetishism surrounding his lead women becoming submissive, sacrificial lambs is troubling to say the very least. What is a boldly ambitious artistic endeavor is nevertheless tarnished by his sadistic sensibilities, and what proves to be a truly virtuoso performance is only belied by the film’s forced melodrama.