Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7463 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-01
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 153 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Set in an unmercifully rugged, coastal village in Scotland in the 1970s, this extraordinary film by Lars von Trier stars British actress Emily Watson as a barely contained naive named Bess, who holds regular conversations with God and whose pure and intensely personal faith is hardly tolerated by the gruesome Calvinist elders of her church. Bess marries an oil-rig worker (Stellan Skarsgard) and comes to believe that erotic discovery is a part of God's grand plan. But after her spouse is hurt in an accident, she decides that divine instruction is leading her toward the life of a prostitute--with disastrous but somehow beautiful results. Von Trier (The Kingdom) has made a wonderful, entirely unexpected, and rigorous work of discovery in this film, with a formal visual design that recalls classic films by Carl Theodor Dreyer and Robert Bresson. Watson is a phenomenon, her wide-eyed wonder at the world as God's handiwork a breathtaking portrayal of conviction. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

Breathtaking Bess
I saw this movie for the first time tonight, and I am completely blown away. I had it on while I was doing other things so missed bits of it, but it gradually wound its way into my consciousness and I sat, transfixed, through the remainder, and I *will* be getting this for my collection.

I don't know directors. I don't know cinematography. I'd never heard of this film before tonight, but I do know is that this is a masterpiece. It was as powerful and touching as it was brutal and raw.

Bess' conversations with God are believable in a way that I would never have credited. Her fragility and unwavering goodness and devotion to both God and her husband worked so well that I can't even begin to describe it. Someone said that it had a disappointing ending, but I can only think that they either missed the point or left before it was finished.

While the elders of the church and village are consigning Bess to eternal damnation and hell, the heavens ring out their approval of Bess and their acceptance of her sacrifices, of her love, and a miracle is born.

This film is, in itself, a miracle. The acting was superb throughout. The method of filming added to the power of the story. It is not a pleasant film. It will definitely not be for everyone. It's a love story that batters you to exhaustion, and when it finally releases you, you are grateful for the battering, for the opportunity to have experienced Bess in all her beauty and innocence and certainty.

The only films I can think of that even come close to the brilliance and brutality of this one are Pulp Fiction and Snatch, but this one goes further; it lacks the slickness of Hollywood. That isn't a criticism, either... it's a benefit.

I can't recommend it highly enough, but you will need guts to watch it.

The best film you'll ever watch!
This is an amazing film!

I live where this film was made and the portrayal of the Church and the Elders is absolutely spot on. All the characters were brilliantly cast but Emily Watson was amazing as Bess.

I have never watched a film which made me feel the way this one did.

Everything about this film is fantastic! I can't really say much more than that!

a beautiful and moving film
Breaking the Waves is likely to be the most moving film you will ever see. It is not a mainstream film but its success didn't go unnoticed in Hollywood studios; this is one of the 'marginal' films produced in the mid 1990s, which influenced mainstream cinema's attempts to 'play around' with film narrative. A must-see for those who like films to be a little different. Director Lars Von Trier ('The Idiots' & 'Dancer in the Dark') was co-founder of the 'Dogme'film movement, which is also well worth investigating for anyone with a passion for film.