Breaking the Waves (1996)
- Starring:
- Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, (more)
- Director(s):
- Lars von Trier
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
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With Breaking The Waves, director Lars von Trier fashions an often disturbing tale of the singular power of love. Bess (the Oscar-nominated Emily Watson) is a naïve, borderline simple young woman who lives in a Scottish coastal town ruled by the religious doctrine of its council of elders. Recovering from a mental breakdown caused by the death of her brother, Bess marries a rough yet compassionate and attentive oil rig worker named Jan (Stellan Skarsgård). For a brief time, the couple enjoys peaceful wedded bliss, with the worldly Jan introducing Bess to the mysteries of sex. Jan must soon return to his job on the rig, however, where he is paralyzed from the neck down in a freak accident. Bess' emotional trauma over Jan's injury turns into obsession as she prays to God for his recovery and offers to do anything to have her husband back whole. Jan, constantly medicated and profoundly depressed, asks Bess to have sex with other men and tell him about it, thinking this will allow her to return to a normal life. Bess, on the other hand, sees it as an expression of her devotion to Jan that even God won't be able to ignore. Bess' resultant downward spiral leads to a finale of both tragedy and spirituality. Breaking the Waves is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive European movies of the 1990s, marking von Trier's movement toward his influential Dogma 95 school of filmmaking, which emphasizes realistic situations of contemporary life, filmed without background music and with a hand-held, restlessly moving camera. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 152 mins
Complete Cast:
- Emily Watson - Bess McNeill
- Katrin Cartlidge - Dodo McNeill
- Adrian Rawlins - Dr. Richardson
- Robert Robertson - Chairman
- Dorte Rømer - Nurse
- Steven Leach - Praying Man
- Simon Towler Jorfald - Boy in Film
- Brian Smith - Police Officer
- Roef Ragas - Pim
- Gavin Mitchell - Policeman
- John Wark - Boy
- Ronnie McKellaig - Precentor
- Bob Docherty - Man on Boat
- Finlay Welsh - Coroner
- David Gallacher - Glasgow Doctor
- Mikal Gaup - Pits
- Stellan Skarsgård - Jan
- Jean-Marc Barr - Terry
- Sandra Voe - Bess' Mother
- Desmond Reilly - Elder
- Iain Agnew - Praying Man
- Sarah Gudgeon - Sybilla
- Peter Bensted - Ugly Man
- Owen Kavanagh - Man at Lighthouse
- Ray Jeffries - Man on Bus
- Udo Kier - Sadistic Sailor
- Charles Kearney - Praying Man
- Callum Cuthbertson - Radio Operator
- David Bateson - Young Sailor
- Anthony O'Donnell - Boy
- Jonathan Hackett - Priest
- Phil McCall - Grandfather
- Director(s):
- Lars von Trier
- Writer(s):
- Lars von Trier
- Producer(s):
- Vibeke Windeløv, Peter Aalbæk Jensen
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children)
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - Cannes Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - European Film Academy - Best Actress
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - European Film Academy - Critics Award
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - European Film Academy - Best European Film
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - French Academy of Cinema - Best Foreign Language Film
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - New Generation Award
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - National Society of Film Critics - Best Picture
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - National Society of Film Critics - Best Actress
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - National Society of Film Critics - Best Director
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - National Society of Film Critics - Best Cinematography
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Cinematography
- 1996 - Breaking the Waves - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Director
