Breaking the Waves

R

Released Oct 4, 1996

2h 39m

Drama

List

84%

64 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In a small and religious coastal town, a simple, devoutly religious Scottish woman, Bess McNeill (Emily Watson), finds a partner in an oil rig worker from Norway, Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgard). However, the relationship grows strained when Nyman breaks his neck in a horrific work accident on the rig and becomes paralyzed. Unable to perform sexually and suffering mentally from the accident as well, Jan convinces Bess to have sex with other men, which she comes to believe is God's work.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered May 17

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Max

Watch Breaking the Waves with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Breaking the Waves offers a remarkable testament to writer-director Lars von Trier's insight and filmmaking skill -- and announces Emily Watson as a startling talent.

Read Critics Reviews

Melanie G

Five stars based on Emily Watson's performance. I started watching this on television in my bedroom while ironing clothes, knew nothing about it. Half an hour later I was sitting on my bed with my mouth hanging open. Watson is simply phenominal. Excellent direction, casting, and editing too. It's a very intense movie - not something you'd want to show for a jolly social event, but every bit worth watching.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Jackie W

a story not every one will understand, but as a metaphor for messy sexuality well done

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"Every woman here has to learn to be alone." Such is the matronly wisdom Bess (Emily Watson) receives from her mother (Sandra Voe), concerning their remote Scottish village's proximity to the oil rigs in the North Sea, which pull the men from their marriage beds for work like magnets. Bess is a "feeble-minded" twentysomething (I think?) year-old girl who marries a handsome Dane named Jan (Stellan Skarsgård). Everything is new to Bess, it seems, who possesses a childlike (but not –ish) approach to love, religion, and sex. However, Bess is presented with an unimaginable challenge when her newly betrothed is injured during a workplace accident, rendering him almost completely paralyzed from the neck down. What we get is not a "feeble-minded" young woman, but someone unbelievably strong and resolved in their love for their husband, even when that person presents them with, somehow, another gut-wrenching challenge. Jan wants Bess to sleep with other men and then share the experiences with him. I was surprised to find other reviewers (most notably Roger Ebert) describe this request as cruel. At first, I considered this a way for Jan to share some sexual connection with his wife while also permitting her to enjoy the physical pleasures that accompany sex. Much of the plot follows Bess as she juggles these excruciating challenges life has presented to her — she also speaks directly to God, who manifests himself through Bess in a paternal voice of succor. Watson creates a character in Bess that is special — I immediately want to see more of her movies. I was a little confused at the artsy "chapter breaks," but came to love them. Where the film really ascends are the final few scenes. I mean, it's like one punch to the gut after another — only here can watching a previously paralyzed man walk appear merciless. Bess's final line, the funeral, those heavenly, heavenly bells, it's all so poignant and beautiful. I almost feel like I need to re-watch this very soon, something I rarely do, Breaking the Waves is a gorgeous movie and a must-watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

edward g

Yet another overrated Von trier film..

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Matt v

Probably the only movie I've ever given 5 stars to that I don't every want to watch again. Seeing Bess degenerate in the last act of this movie is too painful to relive. Still, I highly recommend this movie, but only to people who like "arty" movies. Uplifting and hopeful in a sad, solemn way.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/20/22

Full Review

dave s

Lars von Trier is, admittedly, an acquired taste, but for anyone who is brave enough to try to acquire a taste and venture into von Trier's ugly world, Breaking the Waves is probably the best place to start. Set in a remote coastal town in Scotland, Bess (Emily Watson, who gives a tour-de-force performance) is a mentally challenged, deeply religious woman who falls in love with oil rig worker Jan (Stellan Skarsgard). When he is seriously injured at work, Bess is devastated and begins a descent into a world of madness. Breaking the Waves is an excellent example of von Trier's Dogme 95 school of filmmaking – handheld cameras, natural lighting, location shoots, etc. The style will be unsettling for the uninitiated, but stick with it and you'll be rewarded with a powerful, deeply moving film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Lars von Trier

Director

Emily Watson

Bess McNeill

Stellan Skarsgård

Jan Nyman

Katrin Cartlidge

Dodo McNeill

Jean-Marc Barr

Terry

Adrian Rawlins

Dr. Richardson

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

93%

90%

Open Hearts

67%

79%

Margaret's Museum

81%

73%

Jude

78%

86%

In a Better World

87%

87%

After the Wedding

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

A Guide to the New TV Shows of Fall 2016

Toni Collette’s Five Favorite Films

Five Favorite Films with Maggie Grace

View more photos

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

[An] earnest, yet harrowing, heartbreaker...

Rated: 5/5

Aug 4, 2023

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Von Trier’s patent insincerity and facetiousness could be read as a satire on movie emotionalism, or as its own kind of conceptual art. Either way, it’s quite an experience.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 4, 2023

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

There are few movies around that take such huge risks: this is high-wire filmmaking, without a net of irony.

Feb 26, 2018

Full Review

Michael Atkinson

Spin

There may be no way to prepare for the shock of Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves, a film that accumulates moral momentum as it rolls on and bears down on you in its last half hour like a lightning strike.

Dec 27, 2022

Full Review

Wallace Baine

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Emily Watson gives this musty spiritualism a flesh and-blood sympathetic center. Her purity of emotion, be it bliss, fear or sorrow, are convincingly unactorly and the camera -- even Von Trier's handheld pseudo-documentary one -- loves her face.

Rated: B+

Feb 22, 2019

Full Review

Barbara Shulgasser

Common Sense Media

Gloomy '90s drama has cursing, nudity, mature themes.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 18, 2017

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

In a small and religious coastal town, a simple, devoutly religious Scottish woman, Bess McNeill (Emily Watson), finds a partner in an oil rig worker from Norway, Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgard). However, the relationship grows strained when Nyman breaks his neck in a horrific work accident on the rig and becomes paralyzed. Unable to perform sexually and suffering mentally from the accident as well, Jan convinces Bess to have sex with other men, which she comes to believe is God's work.

Director: Lars von Trier
Producer: Lars Jönsson
Screenwriter: Peter Asmussen, Lars von Trier, David Pirie
Distributor: October Films
Production Co: Zentropa Entertainments, Lucky Red
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 4, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 14, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.0M
Runtime: 2h 39m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now