(Denmark/UK 1996 159m) DVD1/2
Talking to God
p Vibeke Windelov, Peter Aalbeck d Lars Von Trier w Lars Von Trier, Peter Asmussen ph Robby Müller ed Anders Refn m Joachim Holbek art Karl Juliasson
Emily Watson (Bess McNeil), Stellan Skarsgård (Jan), Katrin Cartlidge (Dodo), Jean-Marc Barr (Terry), Adrian Rawlins (Dr Richardson), Sandra Voe (Bess’ mother), Udo Kier, Jonathan Hackett,
“It’s when two people are joined with God” Watson’s Bess responds to the question of what matrimony is in the opening sequence. That’s one way of looking at it, but it’s more indicative of the strictly Presbyterian upbringing of her remote island (Shetland or Orkneys, it’s not made entirely clear); she is, from the outset, looking like she’s ready to meet her maker. So much so that when she eventually does leave this mortal coil, it’s as if she’s returning home and it’s hard to feel any sorrow. Certainly that is what Von Trier seemed to be saying, with his miraculous bells from on high.
Bess McNeil is a young woman who has retreated from reality and her own obvious mental shortcomings into a world where, rather than talk to an imaginary friend, she conducts conversations with God. After long complaining of not having someone to love (except for her only true friend, the widow of her deceased brother), she is about to get married to an oil worker, Jan, who has fallen in love with her. The wedding is a suitably frosty affair, given the surroundings, but after a brief period of happiness, fate takes a hand and Jan is paralysed seemingly for life in a rig accident. However, when he asks her to take a lover and relate to him her sexual experiences, the line between reality and fantasy becomes dangerously blurred.
Breaking the Waves is by no means a lovely film and the quote on the DVD jacket, referring to it as loved by audiences and critics alike is misleading, to say the least. Like all Von Trier’s work, it split both audiences and critics down the middle. A reasonable majority hailed it as a masterpiece and Watson’s performance as sensational, but detractors included Mark Kermode and David Thomson, who especially disliked Watson’s performance. I think it rather comes down to how you approach and respond to the central character. She’s self absorbed, for sure, but at the same time has not a selfish bone in her body. “You’d give anything to anyone” a tearful Cartlidge tells her at the wedding reception, and she’s right. It’s this paradox that is critical to both the film’s and the character’s understanding. Her childlike gestures and smirks, like a cat who has not so much got the cream, but been to a feline orgy, light up the film from the wedding to her final death. Say what you like about the character but it’s a truly magnificent tour de force, the sort of performance that comes along all too rarely from a debutante. Her shouts and hysterical screams truly are enough to break the waves apart in an attempt to call her husband home from the work she sees as her own personal enemy. She’s best summed up by Rawlins at the inquest, when he says that rather than use a word like “neurotic” or “psychotic”, he might have used a word like “good.” Whatever you think about the sexual and moral degradation of Bess’ character – from the rape on the boat to the infamous hand-job on the bus it is certainly hard to like – it’s deeply affecting, all the more so because of the casualness of the photography and crispness of the editing.
Though Watson drew much of the praise, one must also single out the uncanny use of pop music of the seventies period (from Deep Purple to T-Rex, Procul Harem to Elton John) and the unwavering direction of Von Trier, who may well have created his masterpiece with this. Yet one must not forget the contribution of the true emotional centre of the film, the superb and much missed Katrin Cartlidge as Dodo (his later Dogville was dedicated to her). Her true hysteria at her friend’s death showing how Dr Richardson was right; it’s perfectly normal to outwardly show your grief. As for Waves, I’ll leave the final word to the now defunct Neon magazine; “some films keep you on the edge of your seat, this one kneecaps you.”
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Yup, this one’s got Allan written all over it. Put it in the “need to see again” category for me; I remember being strangely affected by the movie (not just the story and performances, but the bleary, raw aesthetic von Trier cultivates) but also somewhat taken aback by the ending. I still might be today, but more from the surprise at Lars’ lack of nastiness, a nastiness which has all but consumed his work as of late (and don’t get me wrong, I quite like it that way). Incidentally, I was all set to see Antichrist when it was whisked out of theaters a few days before I planned to go. Still trying to avoid finding out what the hell it’s about so I can be suitably shocked upon finally viewing.
ANTI-CHRIST is some kind of masterpiece, but it’sd the most disturbing film I think I’ve ever seen. A review at the site is forthcoming later this week. BREAKING THE WAVES is certainly a great film and deserves this placement, but oddly I rak to Von Triers ahead of it: DANCER IN THE DARK and DOGVILLE.
Yes, MM, my copy is on the way from amazon.fr. Can’t wait.
Well, I happen to belong to the group which considers Breaking the Wave is an incredible movie by enfant terrible Lars von Triar. I guess a lot of people proclaim dislike or distaste towards his movies because they dislike Triar, the person, and not because his movies aren’t good.
Emily Watson was truly exceptional in this movie. And yes, I too absolutely loved the sparse yet terrific use of pop music in the movie. That certainly was a sign of Triar’s genius!
Completely agreed Shubhajit on Watson and the use of pop music in the film.
“And you can tell everybody…that this is your song.”
I don’t think I could ever listen to those lyrics again without thinking about this film.
There was such “ugliness” to Von Trier’s dogmatic grainy hand-held camera work which mirrored the spiritually bankrupt aspects of the story…but there were also amazing moments of clarity and beauty. This film makes the best use of chapter stops I have ever seen…the hypnotic widescreen shots of Scotland and the ocean with those wonderful songs playing. And then of course, there is that closing shot…possibly one of the greatest in cinematic history…church bells over an oil rig…and you suddenly realize, “Bess was not mad all this time…she was a saint!” And then the Bach piece over the closing credits…astounding.
And it was this film that made me realize why some people cling to religion for comfort. It has the power to make sense of insanity, to turn the ugly into something beautiful. And Von Trier brilliantly shows the difference between the truly faithful (Bess, who believed so hard that things actually came to be) and the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who abused and belittled and judged those who did not fall in line with their doctrine. As amazing as Emily Watson’s performance was here, I truly believe the heart of the film belonged to Katrin Cartlidge’s Dodo, as it was her love and devotion to Bess’ wellbeing that kept the viewer invested in what happened to the “poor girl”…and it was her unfathomable heartbreak and her outburst at the funeral that defined the message of the film. Absolutely triumphant and brave performances from both women.
This is the film where I think Von Trier last showed any bit of compassion towards humanity or care towards his characters. Dodo, after all, finds peace when she sees that sand coming out of coffin and now knows that Bess was not consigned to hell by those hypocritical bastards…and Jan and his friends have their real funeral at sea and experience those Bells. In a brutal irony, it was Von Trier who would go mad…and his continued obsession with the idea of a woman being degraded, brutalized, and tortured (physically, psychologically, and emotionally) as some form or perverted self-sacrifice for the greater good is morally reprehensible.
But as this film taught, who am I to judge? It was here, in BREAKING THE WAVES where he made that seem like it was something beautiful. And that is a bit of the miraculous. That is art.
And this response is “art” so to speak David. I am awestruck at what you wrote here, and can uneqivocably say yes, yes, yes.
If it weren’t for RAISE THE RED LANTERN and the Kieslowski work (he’s the director of the decade, in my opinion), then THIS film would have been my No. 1 choice. This is a film that washes over you hypnotically and reveals itself as an inspiration after all its sorrow. I will admit to being totally, spiritually, overwhelmed by its passion and faith by the time the final, amazing shot is revealed. The pacing (deliberate, some wrongfully site it as boring), caustic camera work, naturalist side performances and chilly atmosphere compliment each other brilliantly and lay host to the staggering performance of new-comer Emily Watson. Ask Sammy (who was with me when I saw this the first time), the film so floored me that I was reduced to tears of sheer amazement. Watson’s turn is the best of the decade, bar none. Sam occasionally uses the term STAGGERING MASTERPIECE when a film blows him away. If one film truly deserves that praise in this decade, then this surely is the one. I have to agree with Allan here.
You can’t use that phrase, Dennis, Sam has patent on it…if he doesn’t use it once a week in everyday blog conversation he turns into a yak!
I don’t use it once a week. It’s OK to rib me on using it, but when you bring in that I use it once a week (which is an absolute falsehood) then you attempt to diminish my judgement. Hence, an insult, which i do not appreciated as yet again I’ve been pulled into a discussion for no reason whatsoever, and negatively.
Sam, it was ribbing, which obviously flies over your head like road runner in a jet pack.
Now, now Allan… Leave poor Schmulee alone, his passion and sacrifice for the site and the arts should not be compared to a constantly deficating grass chewer.
I was only joking, Dennis. Jeze! In the words of the Joker, WHY SO SERIOUS??????????????????
And, yes. Praise must go out to Cartlidge. Her passionate moments on screen are part of the strenghening of the back-bone of this film. Her teary and outraged moment in the grave-yard as she lashes out against the elders of her hamlet for condemning her good and innocent sister-in-law is a powerhouse. I know I was devasted emotionally in her harrowing moment of reaction in the hospital as Bess finally succumbs to the call of her maker. She is both touching and hysterically mortified at the same time and justifies our own outrage over the destruction of pure good. Cartlidge did NOT deserve to be overlooked for the BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS nomination that so many viewers and critics were shouting for in the states. You refer to her as “much missed” in your essay. Did I miss something and am to believe that she has passed on? If that is the case then God has robbed us of a terrific character actress. Her performance here is essential.
Ummmm…. Guys….. I asked if Katrin Cartlidge is deceased. Allan referred to her as “much missed”M I was wondering if she is passed on or if she just retired from perfoming. If she is deceased, does anyone know the circumstances of her death?????
She died, if memory serves, of septicaemia, aged 41. Dogville was dedicated to her.
Check the IMDb, Dennis…
Thanks Allan. That’s heart-rending news. I had heard she and Von Trier were old friends and that she and Emily Watson got very close, both as co-performers and comrades because if this film. The Academy really missed the boat with her, Von Trier, the screenplay and, ultimately, the film. BREAKING THE WAVES was clearly the supreme film of its year, only FARGO came close and the film that took the highest honors at the Oscars (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) has long been forgotten and scoffed at. Material like this often confuses or frightens the Academy qand they lay it to the side in favor of more mainstream and commercial junk. I often felt, with this film particularly, that its lack of more nominations was more about the film being far more intelligent than the members brain capacity to acknowledge a masterpiece and a true work of art. Cartlidge was mere a casualty of their bone-headed stupidity. Shame, really, and now she’s gone.
The academy is worthless, Dennis. They really shouldn’t be brought up in any intelligent conversation. Watson was never going to win in a million years. But that’s a good thing. Some people are too good for Oscar, and some performances certainly are. This is one of hundreds.
But, although we high-lite here in discussion the film and forgotten performances like that of Miss Cartlidge, we have tendency to slide praise aside for Emily Watson. Its normal to lay silent about her, as if too much praise makes us look like we’re gushing or that the initial response for her turn should be praise enough. However, more is not nearly enough. This is such a tremdous performance that it defies the view to tell if its an actor in a role or a real person be caught by a ducumentarians camera. In my lifetime I have only seen three actresses give what I consider truly gut-wrenching turns. This is one of them (Gena Rowlands-WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE Meryl Streep-SOPHIES CHOICE are the other two). Watson’s creation here is, simply, one of the ten best of past two decades. She deserved every bit of praise and more. I have never forgotten Bess McNeill. She was robbed the Oscar.
True about Oscar, Allan. I concur. It would still be nice if they opened their eyes to the obvious, though. Emily Watson was, obviously and plain to see, head and shoulders better than the rest.
Oscar is infuriating, to be sure, nonetheless I find it satisfying when they occasionally get it right (same goes for box-office). And, of course, Oscar and box-office both, fairly or unfairly are important to a film’s overall success so one hopes for the right reception, even if for the wrong reasons.
What really pisses me off is the Academy’s apparent decision (or so I’ve heard) to no longer include honorary Oscars in the broadcast. An institution which fails to honor and attend to its history ceases to become an institution in any meaningful sense, IMO. And worst part is, that’s the one category they usually get RIGHT!