The many movies of Björk and how they extended her artistry

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Sun 20 October 2024 11:00, UK

Colonel Tom Parker was Elvis Presley’s manager and a man deeply fuelled by a love for money. For him, rock ‘n’ roll was an investment. He never thought that the genre would reach the heights it did or be as monumental as it has been; instead, he always felt that Elvis was a fad and that he could rake in a bit of money while the fun lasted. However, in what he thought was the dwindling face of rock ‘n’ roll, he also needed to find a side hustle for his star, so he started casting Elvis in movies.

This started an unwelcome trend for, as a lot of artists, the moment they got famous, started looking for different films that they could star in. It made sense for production companies, as their actors already had willing fanbases to see the film purely because a particular musician was in it. It also made sense for actors, as it was a good payday. However, very few of these movies actually gave rise to a good picture.

There are, of course, some exceptions to that, though. One of the most notable is Björk, who didn’t work in cinema for the sake of a paycheck but did so to enhance her artistry further and tap into her creative side more. Making the connection between Björk as an artist and her as an actor isn’t hard, given how intricate and in-depth a lot of her music videos were, but some of the films she made went beyond the realm of just being good; they were award-winning pieces of art.

One of her most notable roles was her performance of Selma in Dancer in the Dark. Unlike many other musician-turned-actresses, she didn’t just have to show up for this role; instead, she had to convey various emotions, from slight humour to sorrow to downright hysteria.

Her performance was incredibly divisive. Many reviewers were unreasonably cruel about her acting, describing it as terrible and saying she delivered one of the worst performances they had ever seen. On the other hand, she won awards for her portrayal, picking up the ‘Best Actress’ award at the Cannes Film Festival, where the movie also won the Palme d’Or. Björk was also nominated for a Golden Globe because of her excellent work in the film.

Another quite artsy film she starred in was Restraint 9. Here, she doesn’t have much dialogue and instead contributes to the picture by moving the piece along with touch, eye contact, and imagery. She really taps into the more artistic side of acting in this movie, which has an ambitious storyline that sees her turn into a sea creature at the end but is also a great reflection of how beautiful cinema can look.

Björk didn’t see acting as a quick payday like a lot of musicians did but as a way to express her creative side further. She never had boundaries when experimenting with music, so why should she have limited herself to just music?

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