Breaking the Waves

Dir: Lars von Trier

1996

*****

Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves is probably the most underrated, overlooked and misunderstood film of all time. I have a confession. When asked what my favourite films of all time are, my answer generally differs depending on who is asking. If I'm being totally honest and don't feel the need to impress (a rare occasion) I will state the truth and name the films I would happily sit down to watch at any time. This list would include the likes of Superman (1978), It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Monte Carlo or Bust and The Great Race, as well as a few others. Are these some of the greatest films of all time? To me they are but if a true cinephile were to ask the same question I would more than likely replace these films with other, more obscure titles. I can't be the only one? However, there are only two films that will always remain on both lists, Mike Leigh's Naked and Breaking the Waves. Breaking the Waves is without a doubt, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful film made in the last fifty years. A bold statement I know and while I'm not religious (the film has strong religious themes) there is a magic about it that I haven't seen in any other production (except maybe in some of Lars von Trier's other films). The film is divided into seven different chapters with each having a dreamlike interlude featuring mellow 70s rock music and stunning landscape photography. Each chapter explores a big part of human life in a very subtle way through the eyes of a young woman called Bess (Emily Watson). Bess lives in the remote Scottish Highlands and helps out at the strict Orthodox Church (Presbyterian Calvinist) in her village. Her relationship with a Swedish man (Jan, played by Stellan Skarsgård) working on one of the oil rigs is frowned upon by the locals, not only because he is an outsider but because Bess has psychological problems and acts very young for her age. Bess is religious but Jan is not but he agrees to marry her in her church. Bess has her first sexual experience on her Wedding night and is overcome with happiness. The next day Jan has to go back to his rig and Bess is distraught and is consoled by her best friend Dodo (Katrin Cartlidge). Bess fears that Jan will have an accident and he does that same night. Jan is airlifted back to the village and is told he will never walk again and in a deranged and selfish state he tells Bess to sleep with other men and only then will he get better. The rest of the film is an exercise in discovering great wonder in the heart of bleakness. Lars von Trier has a great gift in pulling the viewer through hours of harrowing viewing, before revealing startling moments of utter beauty. The final scene is without a doubt one of the greatest final scenes in a motion picture of all time. Breaking the Waves almost qualifies as a Dogme 95 film but is disqualified on a couple of little points. But it is these little points that really make the film in my opinion. Von Trier has been accused of hating women for the way he treats them in film. This is ridiculous, he is actually showing women's strengths and at their very best but from a totally different viewpoint than people are used to. The funny thing about Breaking the Waves is that, although there is no other film like it, there also isn't anything that original about it, it totally fits with most people's ideology. It's what Von Trier does best, showing the ordinary from a different perspective. Everything about the film is stunning and sublime. I love the direction and the natural style of editing. The camera often lingers for longer than is comfortable to great effect and the composition is always spot on. I think it is still Emily Watson's best performance, she is stunning and it's hard to believe she was second choice behind Helena Bonham Carter. Stellan Skarsgård is great as Jan and Adrian Rawlins' scene where he talks about 'good' is amazing. Jean-Marc Barr is good in his small but pivotal role, the great Udo Kier is wonderful as always in his villainous part but it is the great Katrin Cartlidge who is the film's big unsung hero. The film does need perseverance, I didn't have the palette I do now when I first saw it but I was rewarded ten-fold. This was a key moment for me in my love for film and all things creative. Learning to look at things from a different angle enriches our lives and is just one of many thing to learn from this masterpiece.