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Breaking the Waves

7.5

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Original title

Breaking the Waves

Year

1996

Running time

159 min.

Country

Denmark

Director

Lars von Trier

Screenwriter

Lars von Trier

Cast

Music

Joachim Holbek

Cinematography

Robby Müller

Producer

Trust Film Svenka, Liberator Production

Genre

Drama. Romance | Disability. Religion. Small Town Life (Non-North American). Romantic Drama. Cult movie

Movie Groups

Golden Heart Trilogy

Synopsis

Drama set in a repressed, deeply religious community in the north of Scotland, where a naive young woman named Bess McNeil meets and falls in love with Danish oil-rig worker Jan. Bess and Jan are deeply in love but, when Jan returns to his rig, Bess prays to God that he returns for good. Jan does return, his neck broken in an accident aboard the rig. Because of his condition, Jan and Bess are now unable to enjoy a sexual relationship and Jan urges Bess to take another lover and tell him the details. As Bess becomes more and more deviant in her sexual behavior, the more she comes to believe that her actions are guided by God and are helping Jan recover.

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Rankings Position

#30 Best Nordic Countries Films
#91 Best Movies of the '90s
#131 Best Romantic Movies in the history of film

Awards: 1996: Nominated for Oscar: Best Actress (Emily Watson)

1996: 2 Nominations for Golden Globe: Best Movie Drama, Actress Drama (Watson)

1996: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Actress (Watson), Director & Cinemat. 4 Nom.

1996: Nominated for BAFTA Awards: Best Actress (Emily Watson)

1996: Cannes Film Festival: Jury Prize (Lars Von Trier). 2 Nominations

1996: Cesar Awards (France): Best Foreign Language Picture

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Critics' reviews

"Not many movies like this get made, because not many filmmakers are so bold, angry and defiant. Like many truly spiritual films, it will offend the Pharisees (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"True art is a journey to somewhere you've never been, and there has never been a movie quite like Breaking the Waves."

Owen Gleiberman: Entertainment Weekly
"Shallow where it would be meaningful, demanding leaps of faith it has not earned, this film's marriage of arresting technique to empty thinking is not unique, only frustrating"

Kenneth Turan: Los Angeles Times
"Von Trier's careful, peculiar, astonishing film eloquently addresses the great question of whether morality and faith ever truly embrace."

Peter Stack: SFgate
"A movie about the passions of simple people, and it's done with such extraordinary empathy and commitment that it all but pulls you under"

Michael Wilmington: Chicago Tribune
"Although it contains many visually compelling passages and some provocative moments, the movie is strangely banal and simplistic."

Desson Thomson: The Washington Post
"Risky does not begin to describe 'Breaking the Waves (...) Lars von Trier has created a fierce, wrenchingly passionate film"

Janet Maslin: The New York Times
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Ranking Lists Position

7 My Favorite Danish Movies (57)
100 Movies with a Great Female Lead (34)

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Breaking the Waves

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