Breaking the Waves (1996)
Genre: Drama / Romance
Duration: 158 minuten
Country:
Denmark / Sweden / France / Netherlands / Norway / Iceland / Spain
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Stars: Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård and Katrin Cartlidge
IMDb score:
7,8 (76.263)
Releasedate: 13 May 1996
Breaking the Waves plot
"Love is a mighty power."
Bess, a naive, childlike girl who believes she is in direct contact with God, was raised in a strictly religious Scottish rural community in the early 1970s. When she falls in love with Jan, an oil rig worker and man of the world, they marry each other against the will of the village community. After the happy honeymoon, Jan has to go back to the oil platform. He returns to her sooner than expected when he is involved in a serious accident and is completely paralyzed. Jan is getting worse and worse, he hovers between life and death. Bess goes further and further in her quest to save Jan...
Actors and actresses
Bess McNeill
Jan Nyman
Dodo McNeill
Terry
Dr. Richardson
Priest
Mother
Sadistic Sailor
Pits
Pim
Reviews & comments
kos
-
- 46809 messages
- 8937 votes
I thought the first hour of this film was surprisingly strong, that Watson is great, she plays that well. And how nice that she plays such a loving character, a bit strange but nice, something like that.
But then the story suddenly goes completely upside down from that Jan wants her to sleep with unknown men. I thought for a moment: what nonsense is this, but hoped that this was a small casual scene, but unfortunately they took this seriously after that. 
.
I'm left with a very small 2.5, partly because of the original atmosphere.
Translated from Dutch · View original
GoodOldJack
-
- 1339 messages
- 4658 votes
He does it again Von Trier, getting me completely into "his" world in no time, all this without many special effects, music, explosions, ... . But with actors and actresses who act out their souls. With a story laced with all kinds of emotions that seem real. What a casting again, Emily Watson = Bess. Genuine goosebumps the last fifteen minutes, something that doesn't happen to me that often. Perhaps not quite at the level of his masterpieces like Dogville and Melancholia, but it comes damn close.
For people who expect a cheerful summer film, skip it, but for everything else, recommended!
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