Breaking the Waves

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatist movies I've seen
Review: I consider myself very lucky for discovering "Breaking the Waves" here, in Canada, where you can hardly find any good movies. The movie has been filmed brilliantly with great casting. I would like to thank the film-makers from the bottom of my heart for unforgettable, happy moments that I lived through while watching "Breaking the Waves"

Rating:
Summary: A comendable preformance by Emily Watson.
Review: She made this movie what it was, remarkably haunting and enthralling. The film school drop out style with hand held cameras and jump cuts galore could have been rather frustrating if it wasn't for the pressence of Ms. Watson.

Rating:
Summary: A great movie
Review: Out of all the movies I have ever watched, this is the most memorable. Only at the end we understand that the only person who truly belived in God was Emily's character and not those foolish priests. The ending, with the bells ringing from the sky, seems somewhat odd. It is a very "heavy" and emotional film so be ready for two not very pleasant hours but the payoff is worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Be careful what you wish for...
Review: Wonderful performances from all. Emily Lloyd is a revelation. That said, the picture is 90 minutes of bravura film making. Unfortunately the movie is two and one half hours long. The final hour is shockingly bad. Poorly written and wildly implausable the last 60 minutes of this effort fail miserably. Still the first two thirds is quite good. The chapter breaks are wonderful. An interesting failure.

Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly stunning.
Review: One of the most daring films I've seen, it stirred my human emotions about love and loss. It had a bizarre spell over me with its content. The way it's produced and filmed is totally unique. After the screen fades to black I was still moved by the story. It is a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: masterful stuff
Review: Lars Von Trier breaths subtlety into every second of this jarring film. Grittily shot with a hand 35mm cam, Von Trier earns our interest in these people by sticking with a scene 2 beats after a hollywood director would have cut it.

Chapter breaks were stunning. Color infused panoramas which at first seem to be still shots but then you notice the one little thing that's slowly moving. Undeterred and content with its own little purpose.

Watson is a rare one. Each shift of her eye pulls me into what she's thinking. I could never imagine her on stage as her craftsmanship takes root in the understated specifity of the way she looks at her co-actors, or drinks a Guiness, or marvels at the loudness of Jan's snoring. It's wrenchingly convincing work so much that I began believing long before the "miracle" that she possessed the powers that she thought she did. "She died because she suffered from being good." Genius idea.

The Dr. Richardson love bit was teetering on the insipid line.

Rating:
Summary: a good movie
Review: a good movi

Rating:
Summary: State of Grace
Review: Danish director Lars Von Trier, previously best known for the rear projected abomination that is Zentropa, muzzled his detractors ( moi ) with this oneiric, paralyzing spectacle that goes deeper and farther than any movie of the 90's -- with the exception of Mike Leigh's Naked. Being of a secular mindset myself, I don't put much stock in the contrived questions of faith and redemption Von Trier layers into his script, especially when so many of them hinge on Penthouse Forum-type episodes ( like Emily Watson on the bus -- remember? ) For me, this movie is simply an unrivalled mood piece, tone poem, and dreamscape, a cinematic kissing cousin to Poe's "Annabel Lee." Yes, it's occasionally loopy, but then, what dream makes sense? In this context, insanity is a virtue. Bess is a lovable, maddening flibbertigibbet, virginal even in fishnet stockings, and Emily Watson plays her to perfection. But great as the actress is, she's merely the rabbit the magician pulls out of his hat, and the magician is named Lars Von Trier. This is his show. His begrimed, underlit photography ensures that every frame of this movie looks like a decaying family portrait; the kind of picture you dig out of a box buried in your closet, stare at and wonder, "Was I ever really that young?" while a chill runs up your spine. I was born in the mid-70's, and this movie taps into very early, almost preconscious memories ( aided by the fact that Watson looks like my mom did twenty-odd years ago. ) The moldiness of the film stock also ensures that the scenic, cliffbound locations don't get too oppressively picture-postcardy, like they did in The Piano. Instead, they have an imposing, lethal beauty. Only Von Trier could make the 70's look like a fairy tale. There is so much else that's right with this movie: the gorgeous computer-drawn landscapes, the shimmery pop songs, the supporting performances by severe Katrin Cartlidge and stalwart Stellan Skarsgaard. But Breaking the Waves also has a major fault: it's too long and repetitive. Video may sap the movie of half its visual grandeur -- Bess looking directly into the camera has to be experienced in a theater for maximum impact -- but it also has a fast-forward function. Use it wisely and well.

Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Movie
Review: This movie was like a good book, that you hate to see end. The characters were enjoyable to watch and it was very moving. It was spiritual in its message too. I cannot say enough about how much I loved this film.

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably DREADFUL!
Review: Are you a sadist? Then you'll love this film! Emily Watson is a wonderful actress whose talents are totally wasted in this interminable orgy of bathos and pretension. By far one of the most pointlessly depressing films I've ever seen.