Breaking The Waves18

Directed by Lars von Trier | Denmark | 1996 | 2h 39m | Starring Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr, Adrian Rawlins

In a small coastal town in Scotland, Bess, a religious young woman, falls in love with Jan, a charming oil rig worker. Shortly after they marry, an unfortunate work accident leaves Jan paralysed and shatters Bess’s world completely. Unable to perform sexually, Jan persuades Bess to have sex with other men, which she comes to believe is God’s work and will cure her husband. Brazen and tender, profane and pure, Lars von Trier became an international sensation with this galvanising realist fable about sex and spiritual transcendence.

Classic Season: Lars Von Trier

Reviews

‘An earnest, yet harrowing, heartbreaker…’
★★★★★
Kevin Maher, The Times

‘Von Trier’s patent insincerity and facetiousness could be read as a satire on movie emotionalism, or as its own kind of conceptual art. Either way, it’s quite an experience.’
★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

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We showed Breaking The Waves between November 12, 2023 and November 13, 2023.

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