Directed by Lars von Trier • 1996 • Denmark
Lars von Trier became an international sensation with this galvanizing realist fable about sex and spiritual transcendence. In an Oscar-nominated performance, Emily Watson stuns as Bess, a simple, pious newlywed in a tiny Scottish village who gives herself up to a shocking form of martyrdom after her husband (Stellan Skarsgård) is paralyzed in an oilrig accident. Breaking the Waves, both brazen and tender, profane and pure, is an examination of the expansiveness of faith and of its limits.
Directed by Lars von Trier • 1996 • Denmark
Lars von Trier became an international sensation with this galvanizing realist fable about sex and spiritual transcendence. In an Oscar-nominated performance, Emily Watson stuns as Bess, a simple, pious newlywed in a tiny Scottish village who gives h...
This selected-scene audio commentary features director Lars von Trier, editor Anders Refn, and location scout Anthony Dod Mantle.
In this interview, conducted in New York in May 2013, filmmaker and critic Stig Björkman talks about being on location during the shooting of BREAKING THE WAVES and observing director Lars von Trier at work.
The following footage is from Emily Watson’s audition for BREAKING THE WAVES.
In this short interview with Adrian Rawlins, who plays Dr. Richardson in BREAKING THE WAVES, he discusses Lars von Trier’s unorthodox directing style. The interview was produced in 2004 by Electric Parc.
In this interview, conducted in Stockholm in May 2013, Stellan Skarsgård, who plays Jan in BREAKING THE WAVES, talks about working with director Lars von Trier for the first time on the film, and their subsequent collaborations.
In the following interview, conducted in London in June 2013, Emily Watson discusses the challenges she faced in playing the complicated character Bess in BREAKING THE WAVES.
Jeff Smith unpacks Robby Müller’s handheld camera work in Lars von Trier’s wrenching fable, showing how it alternates choppy realism with calculated stylization.
The following deleted scene featuring Katrin Cartlidge was selected by director Lars von Trier to serve as a tribute to the late actor.
In 1996, the Cannes Film Festival requested that competing directors prepare short previews of their films to be shown on opening night. Lars von Trier put together the following for BREAKING THE WAVES.
