Breaking the Waves

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)

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)

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)

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 -) (05/12/2010)

I don't have Lars von Trier among my favorite creators, but I have to admit that he knows how to tell powerful stories and how to extract truly dark emotions from both actors and viewers. It seems to me that the film contains too many unnecessary minutes for what it actually wants to say, but it is true that for another movie, I would criticize the duration more. It is an experience that will make you think. (23/03/2016)