Breaking the Waves

Directed by Lars von Trier

The first instalment in von Trier’s Golden Heart trilogy about self-sacrificing women, von Trier’s intensely emotional drama marked Watson’s screen début as the devout, cocooned rural Scots lass who marries a foreigner and finds her life altered forever. Robbie Müller’s Dogme-like handheld camera records the ensuing tragedy, interspersed with hand-tinted chapter interludes set to evocative seventies pop songs.

Duration:
159 minutes

Country of origin:
Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden

Year of production:
1996