The Broken Circle Breakdown

Released Nov 1, 2013

1h 52m

Drama

Music

Romance

List

83%

103 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The loss of their young daughter threatens to destroy the love and faith of two married musicians (Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh).

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Critics Consensus

The Broken Circle Breakdown's reach occasionally exceeds its grasp, but overall, it's an intoxicating, finely wrought romance -- and one with a terrific soundtrack to boot.

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Julien T

This film haunted me from the day I first watched it... And the soundtrack which I keep coming back to doesn't help me forget it! Deeply moving, bittersweet, funny, charming... it's a rollercoaster of emotions that will not leave you unmoved.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/11/24

Full Review

JJJJJJ J

I don't know how to put this. So i guess I'll just start with the basic. It was perfectly shot. Mise-en-scene great. Really fantastic. I did have questions about the plot structure, and if being told in chronological order could have made this film better, but that is a bit of pandoras box, the saying goes we never will know the counterfactual... Moving the 'how it was told' aside and focusing on the story at hand, i felt for the most part it was okay and engaging enough, yet for some reason through the vast majority of the film I never felt any deep emotion about what was happening. Only in the final scene did something really seem to click with me. That did work. The final 10 minutes hit on something hard about what love is and what it means to love. I just do not know if the 110 minute run time justifies this. I think this film is worth the watch there is something there and that something is special I just have this want for it to have been something more.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/10/23

Full Review

isla s

This is a sad, sobering watch about the highs and lows of a couple of country musicians. Its a dutch film, so its not set in the US. Its quite an emotional watch at times. I enjoyed the scenes featuring their live performances. The wife Elise is shown to be the perhaps more open, honest and emotional out of the two of them but Didier, the husband, also has his own sadnesses and hopes and so on. Its a somewhat emotionally raw film. The depiction of anger and despair is very well put across and it covers the themes of grief and loss quite well, handling such a delicate subject suitably. Its a somewhat thought provoking film and one I would recommend.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

mike v

The Broken Circle Breakdown (also known as Alabama Monroe) is a 2012 Belgian drama film directed by Felix van Groeningen 🎥 Oof, this isn't good 🙁 Probably give it a miss 👎🏼

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Worthless. Half a star for the music.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

filippo v

Il film offre un'esperienza talmente intensa e deprimente che risulta indimenticabile e ricca di emozione. La trama tragica e degradante viene accompagnata da una colonna sonora fantastica, sempre accesa ed emotivamente carica, creando un contrasto tra musica ed immagini che lascia il segno nello spettatore. Sporadiche incertezze tecniche nelle scene chiave non intaccano il quadro generale, un film ricco e corposo che ci lascia preziosi insegnamenti morali.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Felix van Groeningen

Director

Veerle Baetens

Elise Vandevelde

Johan Heldenbergh

Didier Bontinck

Geert van Rampelberg

William

Nell Cattrysse

Maybelle

Nils De Caster

Jock

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Gilda Williams

Sight & Sound

Constantly you worry that the movie will collapse under the strain of more raw emotions but it rarely falters and never lapses into the predictable or the sentimental.

Jun 14, 2016

Full Review

David Stratton

The Australian

It's a film about a couple whose tumultuous relationship is severely challenged, and the performances are excellent.

Rated: 3/5

May 19, 2014

Full Review

Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Where the Coen brothers gently mocked th[e] music in O Brother Where art Thou?, this plucky little Belgian film reconnects that music to the sorrows that produced it. Just brilliant.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 19, 2014

Full Review

Leo Brady

AMovieGuy.com

The Broken Circle Breakdown never pulls punches when it comes to telling the complex realities of life that exist in the films story.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 31, 2021

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Unrelentingly bleak, but grittily beautiful stuff. Wonderful live music sequences sweeten an otherwise uncompromising deal.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 8, 2020

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

The often emotional and heartbreaking lyrics of several numbers are a testament to the film's ability to transcend tastes and styles.

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

The loss of their young daughter threatens to destroy the love and faith of two married musicians (Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh).

Director: Felix van Groeningen
Screenwriter: Felix van Groeningen, Carl Joos
Distributor: Tribeca Film
Production Co: Menuet Producties, Topkapi Films
Genre: Drama, Music, Romance
Original Language: Dutch
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 1, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 10, 2014
Runtime: 1h 52m

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