Sightlines · reception
How Breaking the Waves was received
1996 · Lars von Trier · Breaking the Waves on Sightlines
The arc
It arrived already anointed — Grand Prix at Cannes 1996, Roger Ebert's best film of the year, an Oscar nomination for its unknown lead — and it has never really left the canon; what's shifted is the frame, as it's now read as the opening of von Trier's 'Golden Heart' trilogy and ground zero for every argument about him since.
What’s debated
It's the ur-text of the eternal von Trier fight: is he a sadist who tortures his female characters, or is Bess the most transcendent, saint-like heroine of the '90s — and can both be true?
Its footprint
The chapter-break landscape panoramas scored to '70s rock became one of the most imitated formal flourishes of the decade, and its final image remains one of the most argued-over endings in modern cinema — people either surrender to it or throw things at the screen.
Where it stands
Firmly in the 'you must have seen this' tier for art-house cinephiles, and a Letterboxd shorthand for 'this film emotionally destroyed me.'
Did you know? Helena Bonham Carter was originally set to play Bess but withdrew before shooting; the role went to stage actress Emily Watson in her film debut — which earned her an Oscar nomination.
Named by the director
- Carl Theodor Dreyer — Von Trier has repeatedly named Dreyer as his master, and framed Breaking the Waves' spiritual, miracle-touched drama as working in his lineage.
- Ordet (1955) — Von Trier invoked Dreyer's film of faith and miracles as the touchstone for what Breaking the Waves attempts.