Von Trier's 100 Eyes

Von Trier’s 100 Eyes is a documentary by Katia Forbert Petersen that chronicles the inception, creative development, filming and post production of the film Dancer in the Dark, a musical tragedy written and directed by Lars von Trier and starring the Icelandic musician Björk. This film documents the drama behind the drama of the arduous and sometimes explosive four month process it took to create this film.

The title Von Trier’s 100 Eyes refers to von Trier’s groundbreaking and experimental vision of using only handheld cameras, which von Trier operated himself, for the dramatic scenes while using 100 stationary unmanned cameras during the musical scenes.

Lars von Trier: “The principle of this concept was to surround the dancing scenes with 100 cameras and then see what happened”.

In one of this film’s many interviews, Lars von Trier talks about his perception of America, where he has never been, and of his understanding of American film. During this interview he also expresses his extremely critical opinion of the American judicial system.

Lars von Trier: “Dancer is my expression of how I think an American film looks. It is a weak nation which murders it’s citizens in order to maintain it’s so-called morality.”

Lars von Trier also describes how he, as the director, experienced what it was like to shoulder the responsibility of a huge project like Dancer in the Dark, the largest film undertaking in the history of Scandinavian filmmaking.

Lars von Trier: “I am a control freak. I have to admit that. It is difficult to say why a person is a control freak. Is it just about the power and control or is it something else? I hope that in my case it is for something more than just the need to control.”

As in many of von Trier’s films, there is a woman in the leading role of Dancer in the Dark. Many scenes in Dancer express von Triers relationship to women. Lars von Trier: “At one point or another all female actors look at me like they are my mother and make me feel shy and self-conscious. Women have that effect on me.”

In Dancer in the Dark, it is Björk that has the dual role of being both the star as well as von Trier’s creative collaborator. A relationship which von Trier likens to a marriage.

Lars von Trier: “My relatioship with Björk is very marital in nature. Is starts with many different types of feelings as well as creativity etc. etc. One thinks that one can read the other’s thoughts, which ends in a power struggle.” –Zentropa