Breaking the Waves

(1996)

7.8 /10

75,170 votes

IMDb

Release & Runtime

November 13, 1996 · 2 hr 33 min

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 45 wins & 28 nominations total

Languages

English

Countries

Denmark Sweden France Netherlands

Comedy Drama

Drama set in a repressed, deeply religious community in the north of Scotland, where a naive young woman named Bess McNeil meets and falls in love with Danish oil-rig worker Jan. Bess and Jan are deeply in love but, when Jan returns to his rig, Bess prays to God that he returns for good. Jan does return, his neck broken in an accident aboard the rig. Because of his condition, Jan and Bess are now unable to enjoy a sexual relationship and Jan urges Bess to take another lover and tell him the details. As Bess becomes more and more deviant in her sexual behavior, the more she comes to believe that her actions are guided by God and are helping Jan recover.

Cast: Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge and others

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