BREAKING THE WAVES
TAGLINES: Love is a mighty power.As you may or may not remember (or care), this meeting of the RMC was a double feature. The first was BREAKING THE WAVES, which was deferred from an earlier night (7-6-2005, a victim of The 220 Rule) , and the second was...random.
Something is rotten in Denmark. Oh, it's Lars von Trier (a man who added the "von" to his name) and his unimportant, self-important, important movie!!
Not a great movie, BTWaves is not entirely a terrible movie either. I couldn't wholeheartedly recommend it, however it's the performance by then newcomer Emily Watson that keeps this movie from sinking like a Danish dipped too much in rancid coffee. Watson plays Bess, a mildly unstable young woman who marries an "outsider." Everyone is suspect of him, yet he proves his good intentions by being the upstanding fellow. Bess is a deeply religious woman living in a small, deeply religious community in Scotland. By the time the movie begins, she has already met Jan (sounds like "yawn") played by Stellan Skarsgard (Father Merrin in both Exorcist prequels), and is asking the town elders for permission to marry him. But no one trusts Jan, an oil rig worker, gone (like a lot of men there) from home for months at a time.
When an accident on the rig paralyzes him, he is bought back to town where he suggests that Bess see other men and then report back to him. Ever obedient Bess does so, at first making up details before taking the actual plunge. She thinks this is God's will, since she believes she is the one responsible for Jan's accident (she prayed for him to come home sooner). But just what are Jan's motivations? There were some interesting ideas in BTWaves. I believe though, that this is a case where had it been in the hands of a different director, it may have been a much better movie.
The best moments? When Bess sleeps (actually sleeps) with Jan for the first time. They are spooning, and his head is practically on hers. He starts snoring, and instead of being turned off, Watson smiles and giggles with each snore. Another great moment was at the wedding- Jan's friend Terry drinks an ale from a can. He looks at the priest across from him, almost challenging him. The priest drinks his ale down from a glass. Terry then crushes his can, smiling at the priest. After a beat, the priest crushes the glass in his hand, cutting himself, yet smiling at the outsider thus showing no outsider will change their ways.
FYI, the version we saw (there are many) has no opening credits. Just the words Lars von Trier the size of the screen, from top to bottom and side to side, with the words BREAKING THE WAVES in small letters over his name. And Lars von (I just looked up "von" and it means "pretentious") shot the entire movie hand held.
That said, as mentioned earlier, Watson's performance is something to look at. People love this movie. If I love a movie, I have no problem seeing it again and again. I couldn't do that here.
Tags: random movie club, breaking the waves, lars von trier, emily watson
