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Breaking the Waves
Sign in to save1996 film by Lars von Trier
Film · TMDB
7.5In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.
Cast
- Emily Watson as Bess McNeill
- Stellan Skarsgård as Jan Nyman
- Katrin Cartlidge as Dodo McNeill
- Jean-Marc Barr as Terry
- Adrian Rawlins as Dr. Richardson
- Jonathan Hackett as Priest
Themes
- underdog
- dying and death
- prostitute
- paraplegic
- parent child relationship
- faith
- scotland
- society
- tradition
- prayer
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Key facts
- Directed by
- Lars von Trier
- Written by
- Lars von Trier, Peter Asmussen
- Produced by
- Peter Aalbæk Jensen , Vibeke Windeløv
- Starring
- Emily Watson , Stellan Skarsgård , Katrin Cartlidge , Jean-Marc Barr , Udo Kier
- Cinematography
- Robby Müller
- Edited by
- Anders Refn
- Production company
- Zentropa
- Distributed by
- Metronome Films ApS (Denmark) , Svenska Filminstitutet , Triangelfilm (Sweden) , Les Films du Losange (France) , Norsk Film Distribusjon (Norway) , Senso Films (Finland) , Lucky Red (Italy) , Pandora Film (Germany) , October Films (United States)
- Release date
- 18 May 1996 ( 1996-05-18 ) ( Cannes )
- Running time
- 158 minutes
- Countries
- Denmark, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Finland , Italy , Germany , United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $7.5 million
- Box office
- $23 million
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Duration
- 152
- FilmAffinity ID
- 618791
Show 3 more facts
- title
- Breaking the Waves
- publication date
- 1996-10-03
- review score
- 82/100
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Article
Breaking the Waves is a 1996 psychological romantic melodrama film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson in her feature film acting debut, and with Stellan Skarsgård, a frequent collaborator with von Trier.
Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 1970s, it is about an unusual young woman and the love she has for her husband. The film is divided into seven chapters and an epilogue, separated by audio-visual art by Per Kirkeby and accompanied by music.