Emily Watson

Stellan Skarsgård

Katrin Cartlidge

Jean-Marc Barr

Adrian Rawlins

Jonathan Hackett

Sandra Voe

Udo Kier

Mikkel Gaup

Roef Ragas

Robert Robertson

Phil McCall

Desmond Reilly

Sarah Gudgeon

Finlay Welsh

David Gallacher

Ray Jeffries

Owen Kavanagh

Bob Docherty

David Bateson

Callum Cuthbertson

Gavin Mitchell

Brian Smith

Iain Agnew

Charles Kearney

Steven Leach

Dorte Rømer

Anthony J. O'Donnell

John Wark

Ronnie McKellaig

Peter Bensted

Simon Towler Jorfald

Klaus Messerschmidt Juhler

Anders Refn

Joyce Nettles

Lars von Trier

Peter Aalbæk Jensen

Robby Müller

Leo Jørgart

David Pirie

Per Streit

Julien Naudin

Søren Buus

Mogens Craner

Rasmus With

Ad Stoop

Morten Constantineanu Bak

Simone Grau Roney

Thomas Westi

Kristian Eidnes Andersen

Peter Schultz

Poul Erik Andersen

Peter Grant

Jørgen Krogh

Hans Møller

Peter Øvig Knudsen

Ulrik Corlin

John Knight

Nini Mandal

Lars Kolding Andersen

Jonas Alexander Arnby

Søren Simonsen

René Pejl

Torben Skalleræk

Janet Riddoch

Joachim Holbek

Anna Anthony

Anne Campbell

Anders Johannes Bukh

Olivier Fontenay

Tine Grew Pfeiffer

Tom Harboe

Tómas Gislason

Binkie Darling

Jan Harboe

Christian Steenstrup

Steve Holtson

Pim Tjujerman

Patrick Dreyfus

Marianne Jerris

Niels Valentin Dal

Per Fredrik Skiöld

Anthony Dod Mantle

Ray Williams

Morten Ziersen

Kirsten Bonnén Rask

Mark Warrick

Christopher Porter

Anne-Marie Gudnitz

Leif Barney Fick

Thomas Holm Deleurang

Søren Johannes Meyer

Rolf Konow

Terry Forrestal

Lasse Spang Olsen

Fredrik Kihl

Ruth Tarko

Frank Weinberger

Steen Lyders Hansen

Rie Hedegaard

Morten Kleener

Carl-Ulrik Munch Andersen

Linda Daae

Elspeth MacNaughton

Christel Hammer

Glenn Weinold

Hanne Palmquist

Shirley Clarke

John Goodwin

Christine MacLean

Nanna Mailand-Mercado

Charlotte Giannetta

Charlie Lowry Henderson

Rasmus Heisterberg

Grethe Wejlgaard

Ann Køj

Simon Platz

Casper Holm

Charlotte Pedersen

Ricki Rasmussen

Ghita Norrekjær

Stephen Burt

Henrik Jongdahl

Ann Vognsen

Louise Cross

Karl Júlíusson

Drama

Romance

Breaking the Waves

Zentropa Entertainments

Liberator Productions

Trust Film Svenska

Argus Film Produktie

Northern Lights

SVT Drama

Nordisk Film & TV Fond

La Sept Cinéma

VPRO

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Denmark

France

Netherlands

Norway

Sweden

English

underdog

dying and death

prostitute

paraplegic

parent child relationship

faith

scotland

society

tradition

prayer

excommunication

authority

1970s

coercion

priest

church

polyamory

disabled

oil rig 

oil platform

scottish highlands

CinemaSerf

Though I really didn't rate the story so much here, I thought the performance from Emily Watson as "Bess" is formidable. She lives on a remote Scottish island and is to marry oil rig worker "Jan" (Stellan Skarsgård). Somewhat reluctantly, the islanders embrace this and all is happy until she feels the wrench of his return to the rig. Pining for him, she regularly has conversations with God in their small kirk. It's on one such occasion that she begs him to send her husband home to her. Well, he does - but following a tragic accident that has left him completely incapacitated. She is determined to care for him at all costs, but he has other plans and convinces her that she ought to seek another lover. Somehow, she gets it into her head that every sexual act she carries out improves his condition - and so, well you can guess what she succumbs to in her quest to restore him to health. Katrin Cartridge ("Dodo") and Adrian Rawlins ("Dr. Richardson") contribute well in support as this story of a loving, immature and caring character plumbs the depths before an ending that rather summed up for me the cruelty - and implausibility - of the story. What does he actually intend for his wife - whom he clearly adores? What it also takes is an unflinching swipe at is the supposedly charitable nature of a local "wee-free" clergy whose behaviour towards her at the denouement is little short of disgraceful. It also asks us to consider religiosity and the medical profession (or, certainly, it's efficacy) and again I found that annoyingly unrealistic. Miracles happen? Well perhaps, but here they were the wrong kind of miracles! The film is intensively shot, the photography creative and imaginative and it all has an intimacy to it that is largely down to an excellent Watson and a illustration of a small island mentality that is almost claustrophobic but entirely enthralling testament to this director's skilful ability to provoke thought!

Filipe Manuel Neto

**An ugly film on all levels that insults our intelligence.**

For me, cinema is an art that tells good stories, whether fictional, true or a mix of fiction and real facts. It has a clear social role, often makes people think or raises difficult questions. However, there are directors who seem to live off controversy, that is, they try to use cinema to shock or impress, attracting attention for the worst and most selfish reasons. Lars von Trier is like that: he loves a good controversy and doesn't mind about criticism, as long as they talk about him. And that's why I don't like him and I don't consider him a good director. It's not enough to have talent, you need to know how to use it.

As in many other films by this director, sex is the epicenter of this film: the script begins by introducing us to an incredibly naive and submissive woman, who lives in a kind of narrow-minded religious community in the North of Scotland. Anyone who likes to criticize Catholics for allegedly being followers of a conservatism that has no place today should get to know this Protestant religious community, where I, a conservative Catholic, would feel like I was in Iran or Afghanistan. It is clear that the director, a confessed atheist, wanted to show his horror towards religious dogmatics in general. It was a way to “caricature” religion and express a personal opinion.

This young woman, whose innocence is so absolute that she would probably believe she could get pregnant just by sitting on a chair previously used by a man, marries a modern foreigner who works on an oil rig. And she discovers sex. And she loves sex, and gives herself to love. All this is beautiful until the day he suffers a serious accident. As he could lose his reproductive capacity, he asks her to meet and “relieve” herself with other men. Naturally, she is horrified, and he convinces her that this will help him heal. And against any rational logic, she believes, and becomes the biggest libertine in Scotland.

We have to agree on one thing: this film proves that even the stupidest story wins awards at Cannes, and that there is an audience capable of consuming the most complete idiocy that a film can present to them. In addition to ridiculing religion in a way that is offensive to any believer, I believe, the film does not care about the rationality and logic of the decisions made by the characters. If I cut myself with a knife, of course I'm going to try to make sure it doesn't happen again because it's dangerous, but what the film proposes is that I do the opposite and intentionally cut myself, believing that I'm curing a loved one's cancer by doing so. This is so stupid that it doesn't deserve qualification. Von Trier, in an act of absolute intellectual arrogance, insults our intelligence. I don't even need to talk about the clumsy and distorted way in which the film approaches love and the most genuine human feelings.

Technically, it's a cheap film. Cheaper than the worst indie films. We don't have a production worthy of the name, the cinematography is horrible, the filming is so amateurish that even I could do better. The rhythm is heavy, slow, like a mournful funeral. Stellan Skarsgard, an actor I respect, lends some renown to the film and shows talent, but his character deserves contempt. In an extraordinary dramatic effort, Emily Watson deserves praise for her commitment, but it is perhaps this actress' most forgettable film.

The Restless Cinematography of BREAKING THE WAVES

Trailer (1996)

Official Trailer

Breaking the Waves( 1996)

Love is a mighty power.

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A review by CinemaSerf

Written by CinemaSerf on Sun Aug 06 2023

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