26 out of 28 people found the following review helpful:

Nothing short of a masterpiece.

sorgos from , 23rd March, 2004

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.

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15 out of 16 people found the following review helpful:

Amazing

juno from London, 24th March, 2004

We ended up crying like babies, and it took a couple of days to get this film out of my mind.

It is about the power of true love, and one's conviction and belief that love can save us. It is also a possible depiction of a Christian tragedy; the making of a saint through sacrifices hardly understood by common mortals.

It's brilliant, very beautiful, unforgettable.

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11 out of 17 people found the following review helpful:

davehaviland#1 from LONDON, 11th January, 2004

Emily Watson plays Bess, a sweet simple-minded girl whose life revolves around her village's Calvinist church where women clean but aren't heard. Bess causes some friction when she falls for Jan, an outsider who works on the offshore oil rigs, but the couple marry nonetheless and are blissfully happy. However after only a few weeks of marriage Jan is paralysed by an accident on the rig, and as he loses his grip on reality he begins demanding that Bess have sex with other men so she can tell him the grubby details. Convinced that she's helping him recover, Bess succumbs, and begins a terrible descent.

There's a lot to like about Breaking The Waves. It's a sincere, passionate film that deals with real human issues. The performances are strong, particularly Emily Watson and Katrin Cartlidge. The visual style is appropriate for the material; gritty and realistic throughout, but with a few magical touches which really stand out, such as the painted title boards. And there are some great scenes, for instance one moment at Bess's wedding when one of Jan's pals tries to mock one of the village elders by downing a beer and crushing the can; the old man stares back and crushes a glass in his hand.

However despite these positives Breaking The Waves is a film that very few will want to watch again because it's resoundingly grim and extremely slow. The plot only really gets going after Jan's accident, which comes after more than an hour of exposition. Bess appears to be a deluded simpleton, which makes it almost impossible to empathise with her, and makes the plot doubly harrowing. In the end, the film's message is a depressing one, and Breaking The Waves is a sad, sordid tale.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

great acting - worth seeing, even if to disagree

Rick from London, England, 13th January, 2006

Emily Watson is absolutely fantastic in this role as Bess, the simple Scottish lass who has a personal relationship with God (or does she?) that leads to her husband suffering a crippling accident on an oil rig so he'll be at home with her. Out of guilt, remorse, and based on her husbands demands, she starts pursuing sexual escapades with other men of an increasingly degrading nature. Her justification appears to be that they will help her husband get better. It's hard to know exactly what to say about this movie. Its underlying metaphysical logic is seriously deranged. Still, Bess's motivation is love, and she ends up looking good in contrast to the church elders who impose their strict, traditional, book-learning view of God. I don't want to give any spoilers, but the ending changes the nature of the film completely. It probably merits a second viewing, but I could not endure watching Watson's degradation twice in short succession. If you can watch a good film while vehemently disagreeing with the intent of the director, this is a good one to watch. In particular, Emily Watson's performance is her best, and that includes quite a resume. It's probably the best female acting performance since Meryl Streep's peak in the early 1980s.

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As good as film gets

Boatthink from , 15th November, 2009

Dostoyevsky amoungst the wee frees – don’t be distracted too much by all the sex. If you liked this, read The Idiot.

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Breaking the waves

A Customer from Maidenhead, 20th September, 2009

An awful film of unremitting grimness. We were praying for it to end. Do not watch on a sunday. Terrible terrible but Emily Watson is very good

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Awful

A Customer from Innerleithen, 8th August, 2009

Unbelievable screenplay, though with a bit of effort you could get a reasonable story out of the plot. Some really bad acting (and actually some good too). Took four goes to get through this, and I'll watch any old twaddle!

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Didn't Receive Movie

TeamTC from from Dumbarton, 3rd August, 2009

I never actually received this movie - even though according to our List we received it and returned it. I have put this on my list again so hopefully will be able to review properly some day.

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