Breaking the Waves
Short description
Bess McNeill is a young, deeply religious woman living in a strict community on the northwest coast of Scotland in the early 1970s. She falls for Jan Nyman, an outsider who works on an offshore oil rig, and despite the disapproval of the village elders, the two marry. When Jan returns from the rig after a severe accident that leaves him paralysed and bedridden, he asks Bess to take other lovers and tell him about it. Bess, torn between her faith and her devotion to her husband, decides to give in to his request.
Lars von Trier wrote and directed the film, the fourth of seventeen features in chronological order, following The Kingdom and preceding The Kingdom II. Emily Watson leads the cast as Bess, with Stellan Skarsgård as Jan, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr, Adrian Rawlins and Jonathan Hackett. It is the opening part of von Trier's Golden Heart trilogy.
Breaking the Waves met strong critical approval, with a critics' rating of 8.1/10 from 64 reviews, ahead of the 7.8/10 on IMDb from 76,000 votes and the 7.5/10 on TMDB from 1,148 votes. The budget of 42 million USD was far above the 4 million USD it took worldwide.
What's left behind the scenes
- Initially, Helena Bonham Carter was approved for the role of Bess, but she soon declined due to the erotic scenes. The actress stated that she would not feel comfortable in those scenes at her age.
- Trier explained to Emily Watson that she should speak to God as girls speak to dolls.
- At the funeral of a local resident, church members speak of him: "Anthony Dod Mantle was a true sinner." Anthony Dod Mantle is the name of the cinematographer for many of Trier's films.
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