Breaking the Waves

Lars von Trier pushes the envelope again, but unlike Dancer in the Dark, there is a reason for it and it is not an end in itself. Breaking the Waves is a whirlwind of emotions that often sends chills down the spine. And Emily Watson’s performance is perfection itself. (04/07/2002)

Your typical Trier’s unpleasant cocktail of emotions. Breaking the Waves is such a relentless valley of tears that the viewer never has a chance to calm down; the misery only escalates. Emily Watson’s performance is breathtaking. And yet, I don’t think it’s enough for a full count, why? The answer is simple: because of Dogville, a film without a single weak moment that was a lot more crushing. This one is the light version of Lars’s best. (28/10/2010)

The man is, of course, a terrible emotional blackmailer, which I can logically deduce a few hours after watching the film, but I do not wish to say that this story about a woman who has sacrificed herself completely for a beloved man has brought me to my knees. Trier can break down the barriers between the plot/camera/viewer and create an explosive plot-viewer combination. The authenticity of the story is reinforced by "unassuming" handheld camera filming and absolutely credible performances by Skarsgård and Watson. There's something fatal in this story from the beginning, a harbinger of tragedy... Trier is good at these "omens"... The resulting work is a complete emotional terror, so terrible that one viewer vomited in the movie theatre. There’s no disgust, just long minutes of emotional exertion with an almost fairytale ending, but it doesn't make the scarred soul feel very happy. Where reality ends and the film begins is an almost insoluble puzzle while watching Breaking the Waves. I was so drawn in that my emotions weren't artificial. I was confused and swept off my feet... Trier, you damn animal!!! (31/01/2004)

For many years, I considered Breaking the Waves a film that you need to be more mature to understand, and as a super film that is not for everyone. I even allowed myself to see a mere theater production earlier, which handled the subject in its own way. But in the end, it's just a film for the discerning viewer, but far from being for the snob or hypocrite viewer. All proto-impressions aside, it's just a film, it won't hurt you - and of course, von Trier is only its author. (22/09/2014)

A total, but I mean total emotional inferno. You just don't see anything more vicious than this (except with another Trier). How this freaks pulls this off with these actors I really don't understand. He must be putting something in their coffee. What Emily Watson in particular created is a character worthy of a horror movie. Of course, then the very end comes and I don't know what flew onto my monitor. Trier couldn't have been serious. I think he must have made a bet with someone -) (06/12/2010)

I don't count Lars von Trier among my favorite creators, but it must be acknowledged that he knows how to tell powerful stories and how to evoke truly dark emotions from both actors and audiences. It seems to me that the film, despite what it's actually saying, has quite a few unnecessary minutes, but it's true that with another movie, I'd criticize the runtime more. An experience that you'll ponder over. (23/03/2016)

Breaking the Waves is really a very deep and powerful story that depicts love and a love relationship from a slightly different perspective. An emotionally unforgiving epic about how hard it is (in the case of the main character, no doubt even harder than for "normal" people) to find love, but that is nothing compared to keeping love and being a dutiful wife at all costs. Her desperate efforts eventually lead Bess to the fringes of a hypocritical and would-be orderly society, to finally do "what is expected of her"... (18/01/2010)