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Breaking the Waves (1996)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
13 November 1996 (USA) moreTagline:
Love is a mighty power.Plot:
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. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 40 wins & 13 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Samuel Goldwyn Warms up to 'Cold Souls' (From ioncinema. 31 January 2009)
Review of Synapse's twisted Sick Girl
(From QuietEarth. 23 January 2009, 11:13 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Very difficult to watch moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Emily Watson | ... | Bess McNeill | |
| Stellan Skarsgård | ... | Jan Nyman | |
| Katrin Cartlidge | ... | Dodo McNeill | |
| Jean-Marc Barr | ... | Terry | |
| Adrian Rawlins | ... | Dr. Richardson | |
| Jonathan Hackett | ... | Priest | |
| Sandra Voe | ... | Mother | |
| Udo Kier | ... | Sadistic Sailor | |
| Mikkel Gaup | ... | Pits | |
| Roef Ragas | ... | Pim | |
| Phil McCall | ... | Grandfather | |
| Robert Robertson | ... | Chairman | |
| Desmond Reilly | ... | An Elder | |
| Sarah Gudgeon | ... | Sybilla | |
| Finlay Welsh | ... | Coroner (as Finley Welsh) |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for strong graphic sexuality, nudity, language and some violence.Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
159 min | USA:153 min (director's cut)Language:
EnglishColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Iceland:16 | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Denmark:12 | Finland:K-14 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Hungary:16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16 | Israel:18Fun Stuff
Quotes:
The Minister: Can you tell me about anything of real value that the outsiders have brought with them?Bess McNeill: Uh... their music?
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Soundtrack:
Barren Rock of Eden moreFAQ
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Emily Watson's performance is extraordinary, and Stellan Skargard is very good, but this is without a doubt the most degrading, depressing and tragic movie I have seen in a long, long time. I had to force myself to watch it, hoping that somehow something redeeming would transpire. Two and one half hours later I can say that it did not. I wish I could say that this was a great work of art, but it is not. It is a sad, very sad commentary on the madness of human beings, a twentieth century `tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.' Particularly depressing were the church fathers in their beards and their stupidity. And be forewarned, the sexuality is degrading, and the very essence of human love is willfully and repeatedly perverted.
In making this movie, Director Lars von Trier no doubt sought a kinship with the tragedies of Shakespeare and the Greeks in which the fates destroy the protagonist because of a so-called `fatal flaw,' a flaw the protagonist cannot help. Bess's fatal flaw was her childlike nature twisted by circumstance. In the great tragedies the essential purpose is to bring the audience, through its involvement and its identification with the protagonist, to a catharsis, a catharsis that cleanses the emotions and allows us to see the world as it really is, free of self-delusion. But Von Trier's bizarre and pathetic ending with those ridiculous bells in the sky was closer to bathos than anything else, and steered us not toward catharsis but into a kind of emotional limbo where not even emptiness is felt.