Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 44 wins & 28 nominations total
Finlay Welsh
- Coroner
- (as Finley Welsh)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTheatrical film debut of Emily Watson. She received an Oscar nomination and was expelled from the School of Economic Science (the alleged cult she was brought up in) for her role in this film.
- GoofsThe film is set in the early 1970s, but the van featured prominently in the car park and heliport scenes is a mid-1980s Freight Rover 200, formerly known as the Leyland Sherpa.
- Quotes
Dodo McNeill: Not one of you has the right to consign Bess to hell!
- Alternate versionsThe director's cut of the film, featuring explicit shots removed from the U.S. version for ratings purposes, is available on Criterion laserdisc.
Featured review
This is the story about love. Everyday we experience this breathtaking emotion with both inanimate objects and with other souls. It is when we finally find true love that nothing else in the world seems worthy or good. We work as hard as we can to continue this warmth that we feel in our hearts when true love exists, and sometimes that means going to a level we never thought imaginable.
That is the central theme of Lars von Trier's epic, Breaking the Waves. Love has no boundaries as we watch Bess do everything possible (and more) to keep the relationship with her husband together during the roughest of times. Emily Watson controls the character Bess giving her best performance ever. The emotion and serenity that is felt, not only behind the character of Bess, but also behind Watson's eyes is phenomenal. It is not often that Hollywood is able to capture this sort of raw emotion, but Watson pulled it off with incredible talent.
Outside of Watson's character, there is the story. Lars von Trier does a spectacular job of continually building on the foundation that he has begun.
Watson is his foundation, and Trier builds this amazing world around her. In this film, everything from talking to God to reverberating stories to her husband while he is in the hospital only helps build the story to even higher heights. I will be honest; I shed tears at the end of this film. It will pull at every heart muscle that you have and really make you look at your significant other and truly feel the power of love.
This is a love story, but not like one we have seen in a very long time. I don't think we will see anything similar to this again. It will be hard for Hollywood to emulate such raw talent, groundbreaking direction, and life-changing story.
Thank you Lars von Trier for your imagination and passion for love.
Grade: ***** out of *****
That is the central theme of Lars von Trier's epic, Breaking the Waves. Love has no boundaries as we watch Bess do everything possible (and more) to keep the relationship with her husband together during the roughest of times. Emily Watson controls the character Bess giving her best performance ever. The emotion and serenity that is felt, not only behind the character of Bess, but also behind Watson's eyes is phenomenal. It is not often that Hollywood is able to capture this sort of raw emotion, but Watson pulled it off with incredible talent.
Outside of Watson's character, there is the story. Lars von Trier does a spectacular job of continually building on the foundation that he has begun.
Watson is his foundation, and Trier builds this amazing world around her. In this film, everything from talking to God to reverberating stories to her husband while he is in the hospital only helps build the story to even higher heights. I will be honest; I shed tears at the end of this film. It will pull at every heart muscle that you have and really make you look at your significant other and truly feel the power of love.
This is a love story, but not like one we have seen in a very long time. I don't think we will see anything similar to this again. It will be hard for Hollywood to emulate such raw talent, groundbreaking direction, and life-changing story.
Thank you Lars von Trier for your imagination and passion for love.
Grade: ***** out of *****
- film-critic
- Sep 24, 2004
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Contra viento y marea
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- DKK 42,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,803,298
- Gross worldwide
- $3,831,182
- Runtime2 hours 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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