Breaking the Waves

For the opera adaptation, see Breaking the Waves (opera).

Breaking the Waves
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLars von Trier
Written byLars von Trier
Peter Asmussen
Produced byPeter Aalbæk Jensen
Vibeke Windeløv
StarringEmily Watson
Stellan Skarsgård
Katrin Cartlidge
Jean-Marc Barr
Udo Kier
CinematographyRobby Müller
Edited byAnders Refn
Production
company
Distributed byWarner and Metronome Films ApS (Denmark)[1][2]
Svenska Filminstitutet[1]
Triangelfilm (Sweden)[2]
Les Films du Losange (France)[1]
Norsk Film Distribusjon (Norway)[2]
Senso Films (Finland)[2]
Lucky Red (Italy)[2]
Pandora Film (Germany)[2]
October Films (United States)[2]
Release date
  • 18 May 1996 (1996-05-18) (Cannes)
Running time
158 minutes[3]
CountriesDenmark
Sweden
France
Netherlands
Norway
Iceland
Finland[4]
Italy[4]
Germany[4]
United States[4]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.5 million[5]
Box office$23 million[6]

Breaking The Waves is a 1996 psychological romantic[7] melodrama[8] 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.

The film is an international co-production between the US, Denmark, seven other European countries, and is von Trier's first feature film with his Danish production company Zentropa. As von Trier's first film made after his founding of the Dogme 95 movement, it is heavily influenced by the movement's style and ethos. It is the first film in Trier's Golden Heart trilogy, which includes The Idiots (1998) and Dancer in the Dark (2000), the former made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto.[9]

Breaking the Waves was well received, with Emily Watson's acting receiving unanimous critical praise and earning her first Academy Award nomination. The movie has been described as "perhaps von Trier's most widely acclaimed film" and cited as among the best films of the 1990s.[10][11] The film won numerous awards, including the Grand Prix at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.

  1. ^ a b c "Film #70: Breaking the Waves". Lumiere. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Breaking the Waves (1996)". Unifrance. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. ^ Lasagna, Roberto; Lena, Sandra (12 May 2003). Lars von Trier. Gremese Editore. p. 124. ISBN 978-88-7301-543-7. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d "Breaking the Waves (1996)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. ^ Goss, Brian Michael (January 2009). Global auteurs: politics in the films of Almodóvar, von Trier, and Winterbottom. Peter Lang. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4331-0134-2. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Cannes Retrospective". Screen International. 2 May 1997. p. 24.
  7. ^ Berardinelli, James. "Breaking the Waves". Reelviews Movie Reviews. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Breaking The Waves". Eastman Museum.
  9. ^ Bodil Marie Stavning Thomsen (1 April 2019). "Lars von Trier (b. 1956)". nordics.info. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  10. ^ Winter, Jessica (22 October 2009). "Is Lars von Trier a Misogynist?". Slate. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  11. ^ "The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time". Variety. 21 December 2022.