BREAKING THE WAVES (1996)
For all of my admiration of the work of director Lars Von Trier (particularly ZENTROPA, in my opinion one of the most visually enveloping films of the last decade), I've always been left with a slightly chilly feeling, as if the director had expended so much care and energy on the look and texture of his films that he forgot to include emotional content. After seeing Von Trier's new masterpiece, I'm pleased to report that my worries have been put to rest; in every regard, this was the most deeply felt film of 1996, with an astonishing performance by Oscar-nominated newcomer Emily Watson. (I wasn't all that surprised when Watson failed to win the award; her performance was entirely too bold and uncompromising for the Academy to feel comfortable with.) Visually, Von Trier is still up to his old tricks (using a technique that he pioneered in his epic haunted hospital miniseries THE KINGDOM, the image was transferred through several different formats of film stock and video, resulting in a picture that is constantly shifting in quality - sometimes intriguingly washed-out, sometimes painfully clear), but rather than distracting the viewer, the results serve to instead blur the boundaries between reality and fiction, further drawing the audience into the events on screen. This is a film that should probably be experienced without knowing too much in advance, so just let me say that, much like the long-suffering heroine, it is necessary to get through some excruciating scenes before reaching the transcendent finale (this is rated `R' for a reason, folks!) but stick with it if you can, you won't soon forget it.
Copyright 1997: The Critic Formerly known as Andrew Wright http://www.seanet.com/~louk/ e-mail louk@seanet.com
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