BREAKING THE WAVES
Copyright 1996 D & S Associates
"Breaking the Waves" is Danish writer/director Lars von Trier's odd fable about a simple Scottish woman who marries a Swedish oil rig worker and tries to save him after he's paralyzed in a work accident by sleeping with other men and telling him about it, at his request. It was recently awarded Best Actress and Best Director by the New York Film Critics.
LAURA:
"Breaking the Waves" is a truly unique film - it's concept and execution are completely original, but once the story gets going everything that happens is just what I expected.
Stage actress Emily Watson plays Bess in a star-making turn. She's a saintlike naif with big emotions and strong love and lust for her husband. Yet an other Oscar calibre performance (it's that time of year). Stellan Skarsgard is Jan, Bess' husband who looks upon her with bemusement, adoration and concern. Katrin Cartlidge is the dour Dodo, Bess' best friend who has suffered through the death of her husband with Bess' help and who now stands by Bess as she suffers the decline of her man and the community turns against her. Sandra Voe ("Local Hero") is Bess' mother, a woman who cares for daughter but is too caught up in the Calvinist church to turn against it in defense of her daughter.
"Breaking the Waves" is divided into 8 chapters, beginning with "Bess Gets Married". Each chapter begins with a static shot of the Scottish coastal scenery and a different classic rock tune ("Life on Mars" anyone?). von Trier seems to be regressing in the technical aspects of his style. His first internationally released film, "Zentropa", was sharp black and white with splashes of red. His television miniseries "The Kingdom", was shot on video and transferred to film, giving it a grainy quality. "Breaking the Waves" mostly employs hand held camera that frequently (and annoyingly) goes out of focus - a strange choice for a production this ambitious.
Bess runs to embrace her final destiny and joyously sacrifice all for the love of her husband and we witness what can only be described as a miracle. von Trier rapturously provides a second miracle at the conclusion of his oddly affecting film.
I was hoping for that "Breaking the Waves" would be what I call a 'movie rush' film (the last one I experienced was "Red" in 1995), but it didn't quite achieve that masterpiece level for me - the technical glitches and predictability of the story held it back. But "Breaking the Waves" is anything but unoriginal and features a truly noteworthy character and performance in Emily Watson's Bess.
B+
ROBIN:
N/A
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