'' is a
1996 film, directed by
Lars Von Trier . Set in the
Scottish Highlands in the
1970s , it tells the story of Bess McNeill, a childlike woman who undergoes extreme mental suffering. The film is the first film in Von Trier's 'Golden Heart Trilogy' which also includes ''
The Idiots '' (
1998 ) and ''
Dancer In The Dark '' (
2000 ).
''Breaking the Waves'' tells the story of Bess McNeill, who marries
Oil Rig worker Jan, despite the apprehensions of her community and
Calvinist church. Bess is somewhat simple and childlike, and has difficulty living without Jan when he is away on the oil platform. She prays for his return, and when he returns paralyzed after an industrial accident, she believes it is her fault. No longer able to make love, a mentally affected by the accident, Jan urges her to find and have sex with other men, and then tell him the details. Bess slowly begins to believe that what she is doing is the wish of
God .
The film is influenced by the
Realist Dogme 95 movement, of which von Trier was a founding member, and its grainy images and hand-held photography give it the superficial look of a Dogme film. However, the Dogme rules demand the use of real locations, whereas many of the locations in ''Breaking the Waves'' were constructed in a studio. In addition, the film is set in the past, and contains dubbed music, neither of which is permitted by the Dogme rules. Von Trier's first true Dogme film was ''
The Idiots ''.
Helena Bonham Carter was von Trier's first choice to play the role of Bess, but she dropped out just before shooting was to start, reportedly due to the large amount of nudity and sexuality required by the role.http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/43/trier.htm
The exterior scenes were shot in Scotland: the graveyard was built for the film on
Isle Of Skye ; the church is in
Lochailort , the harbour in
Mallaig , and in beach in
Morar . The interiors were shot at Det Danske Filmstudie,
Lyngby ,
Denmark .
''Breaking the Waves'' won the , the 1997
British Academy Of Film And Television Arts award, the
National Society Of Film Critics prize, and the
European Film Award for Best Actress.
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