VHS : Breaking The Waves [1996]

Rating: - superb movie
The acting is superb,wonderful cinematography,a story which makes you laugh in some places and cry in others.A gem of a film and a bargain at the price.

---

Rating: - Outstanding
I'm not a fan of "artsy" type films and this is usually the kind that falls into the category of them.

Bess, a naive virginal highly religious woman marries an Oil Rig worker called Jan and begins a journey of sexual discovery and realisation. When he goes away to work back on the rig, she falls into a deep depression and holds conversations with God begging for his return.

Her prayers are answered but not in the way she'd wished - Jan returns home having been in a tragic accident and is paralysed for what the Doctors advise her could be life.

Jan tries to be selfless and tells her to go out with other men, to have erotic encounters, but to come back and tell him about them as it is the only real pleasure he has left is to hear about them.

Bess does as she is told and is struck with the idea somehow that whenever she has an erotic encounter with a stranger and comes back to tell Jan his condition improves but if she does not he will worsen.

Thinking this is God's divine intervention, she goes out seeking - awkwardly - for men to be with in the hopes that it will lead to Jan's full recovery, only each encounter has dire consequences for her, and will lead her into a downward spiral which she cannot climb back up.

The film leaves you feeling like you've just read an epic novel (the parts of the film are in chapters), and the performances are staggering. The ending of this movie will blow you away, and leave you thinking.

---

Rating: - An insult
This film is an insult to the viewer. There is absolutely no redeeming factors here, and it seems that the only point of making this film is to see how much filth you can get away with.

---

Rating: - Didn't expect to but loved it
This is quite a hard film to watch but perseverance pays off.The synopsis and previous reviews are explanatory so I won't repeat previous comments except to concur with the view that Emily Watson is fantastic. I had never heard of her but will actively seek her other work.

---

Rating: - A different kind of film...
Breaking the Waves is a rather unusual film. It has a strange feel and a dark aura to it - so much so that it makes Eastenders look fun. The core of the story is that Bess, a local lass from a small village somewhere in the north of Scotland, falls in love with Jan - a Norwegian oil rig worker in a sheepskin jacket. They get married and all is well until Jan goes offshore again and is paralysed after getting caught up in a childish prank whilst on his rig.

Bess is a bit mentally unstable at the best of times, but this throws her over the edge and she becomes acutely mentally ill.

The situation is not helped by the fact that her paralysed husband can no longer meet her sexual demands and so actively encourages her to find other partners - anybody really, as long as the intricate details are relayed back to him while he is laid up in his hospital bed.

This is where things go from bad to worse: in a small village she is perceived as the local hooker and there is a classic scene on a public bus with a complete (and old) stranger. I won't spoil it for you. A strict Protestant faith is dominant in the village as well, so you can imagine how her behaviour turns heads.

Overall, this is watchable and it has a cruel twist at the end (which I suppose, in truth, you can kind of see coming to an extent).

Breaking the Waves is unusual, but small budget films like this are a refreshing change sometimes from the expensive bells and whistles of Hollywood.

If you like British films and/or black comedies then go for it.