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Breaking The Waves Details

1996 Certificate 18
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 5740 members

Danish director Lars von Trier's BREAKING THE WAVES is a sweeping romantic fable that is photographed like a low-budget documentary, resulting in a strikingly original motion picture from one of contemporary cinema's most distinct visionaries. Bess McNeill (Emily Watson) is a shy young woman living in a small Scottish shore .. Read more

Starring Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgard, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr
Director Lars Von Trier
Genres Drama

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Breaking The Waves

Danish director Lars von Trier's BREAKING THE WAVES is a sweeping romantic fable that is photographed like a low-budget documentary, resulting in a strikingly original motion picture from one of contemporary cinema's most distinct visionaries. Bess McNeill (Emily Watson) is a shy young woman living in a small Scottish shore town dominated by a strict religious sect. When she meets Jan (Stellan Skarsgaard), an offshore rig worker, the two immediately fall in love. Jan embraces Bess's absolute innocence and, soon after, they are married. Their magical existence comes to a crashing halt when Jan is forced to return to sea for an extended period of time. In a series of intense dialogues with God, Bess begs for Jan's return back to shore immediately, and when Jan is paralyzed in a freak accident, her wish is granted. Convinced that her prayers caused Jan's tragedy, Bess devotes her life to redeeming herself however she can. Jan insists that she experience sexual relations with a series of strangers, relating to him her escapades. Obeying his wish, she begins to see that her actions are restoring Jan's health, sparking her into committing one reckless final sacrifice. Watson delivers one of the most stunningly naked screen debuts in screen history, filling BREAKING THE WAVES with an intensity that is tragic, yet somehow hopeful.

Starring Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgard, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, Stellan Skarsgård
Director Lars Von Trier
Studio PATHE DISTRIBUTION
Run time DVD: 2 hrs 33 mins
Certificate Certificate 18
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: 01 Sep 2003
Production year: 1996
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (3) of Breaking The Waves

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  • 5 stars out of 5

    A staggeringly honest performance from newcomer Emily Watson coupled with a wrenching central theme — the meaning of true love — illuminate this extraordinarily moving testament to the human spirit, which marked the English-language debut of Danish director Lars von Trier. Set in a remote Scottish village, and shot in pseudo home-video style to keep the profound events real and exposed, it tells the heartbreaking story of a devoutly religious and simple-minded young woman who sacrifices everything for the man she adores. It's an often uncompromising and uncomfortable saga of faith, hope and charity; keep the hankies close by for the unforgettable climax.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006
  • 4 stars out of 4

    A remarkable and striking film, though in some ways a dislikeable one. It has a raw, emotional power rarely encountered on film, owing to its soulful and guileless central performance and the restlessly casual, close-up camerawork; but its theme, an appar

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
    • Posted 02 Mar 2006

  • Most helpful member's review of Breaking The Waves

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  • 26 out of 28 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Nothing short of a masterpiece.

    Whether you see this film as a retelling of the Joan of Arc story or a study of the power of faith you can't get away from it's power. It is both ugly and beautiful and completely riveting for all of it's 153 minutes. The often commented on performance by Emily Watson is quite breathtaking, I can only think that the reason she never picked up the Oscar she was nominated for was because of the controversial nature of the subject matter.

    Although he is meant to be a nightmare, it's no wonder the Hollywood A-list wants to work with Lars Von Trier, his films are simply a cut above the rest.

    • sorgos
      • sorgos from Fife
      • Posted 23 Mar 2004 17:15

  • Most recent members' review of Breaking The Waves

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  • 3 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    See it! Wonderful performance by Emily Watson of slightly daffy woman who falls in love with an oil rig worker and lives in a closed Scottish community. You really get the claustrophobic nature of the place right from the start. You watch her decent into sexual depravation for the sake of her injured husband with growing disbelief and the outcome is inevitable. Disturbing, memorable and not to be missed.

      • Andy#19 from LONDON
      • Posted 08 Feb 2004 17:10

  • News and features

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    Antichrist

    Antichrist

    • Jonathan Crocker
    • 20 Jul 2009

    The most controversial film of the year? Hard to imagine anything else coming close. Danish bad-boy Lars von Trier emerges briefly from the chronic depression that threatened to end his career and gives himself – and us – an audacious dose of shock therapy. After suffering a family tragedy in the gorgeous, slo-mo opening sequence (lensed in black and white by Slumdog Millionaire’s Oscar-winning Director of Photography Anthony Dod Mantle), a traumatised mother (Charlotte... Read more

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      • Danish director Lars von Trier's BREAKING THE WAVES is a sweeping romantic fable that is photographed like a low-budget documentary, resulting in a strikingly original motion picture from one of ...