This film starring Emily Watson and Stellan Skarsgard, was co-written and
directed by Danish director, Lars von Trier. Other acclaimed works of this
director include, "Dancer in the Dark" (2000), and "Europa" (1991).
"Breaking The Waves" is a tragic drama with elements of a romantic love
story.
The film is set in a windswept Scottish coastal village in the 1970's. Bess
(Emily Watson), an innocent local girl, marries Jan (Stellan Skarsgard), an
oilrig worker. Their marriage is a happy one and the couple is in love, but
Jan's return to the oilrig separates them. Without her husband’s presence,
Bess becomes lonely and depressed, resulting to her constant praying for his
return at any cost. Consequently, a head injury leaves Jan completely
paralyzed and is brought back to his wife. However, as a result of his
injury, Jan becomes impotent and thus encourages his wife to become intimate
with other men in order to fulfill his sexual fantasies. In her effort to
please her husband, Bess becomes involved with several men, resulting to her
gradual isolation from the rest of the village community. Eventually, Bess
dies condemned by the locals, while Jan recovered from his injury but was
too late to save his beloved wife.
Bess was brought up in a strict Calvinist Presbyterian community where
outsiders were frowned upon and women were expected to be silent and
respectful of their husbands. When Bess married Jan, an outsider, the church
elders and the rest of the village disapprove of their unity. Bess ignored
the criticism and decided to follow her heart and marry Jan. She became
dependent on him, and felt the need to constantly fulfil his wishes. Jan was
a Scandinavian, oilrig worker that was attracted to Bess' childlike
innocence. Following his injury, Jan’s demands and his overpowering
influence over Bess, led her into a world of make-belief and eventually to
her distraction.
Dodo (Katrin Cartlidge), Bess' sister in law was a kind-hearted woman who
loved and wished to protect Bess. She was a widow and ironically worked as a
nurse in the hospital where Jan was taken following his injury. She
constantly advised Bess and refused to believe that Bess was not an
intelligent individual. On the other hand, the Church Elders were not
sympathetic towards Bess' martyrdom and regarded her actions as both
unacceptable and evil. Sticking to their tradition, they condemned Bess to
hell.
Due to her strong belief in God, Bess regarded herself as capable of
communicating with him through her payers. She often asked God questions in
a low voice and answer them back in a high voice supposing responded by God.
When Bess was with Jan, she was thankful to God for her happiness and was
convinced God would allow her joy to continue. But the time came when Bess
and Jan had to separate due to Jan's return to the oilrig. As a result, Bess
fell into a deep depression, questioning God's acts. For numerous years, she
prayed for love, so she questioned: “why shall God take love away from me
now that I found it?". She prayed to God for Jan's return at any cost and
her wish came true. She therefore, felt guilty and blamed herself for her
husband's misfortune. However, she was deeply grateful to God for letting
him live.
Jan was brought at the local hospital where his wife frequently visited him.
Jan suggested that she should take a lover without anyone noticing. At
first, Bess was embarrassed by her husband's recommendation. However, she
soon took upon her minister's advice that her strong belief in God, has
bestowed upon her the strength Jan did not possess. Jan knew that Bess would
do anything to please him and she would place herself secondary to his
needs. Therefore, he tolled her that it is love that kept him alive and that
it would greatly please him if she could find another man to make love to
and then return back to him and describe the act; "it will feel like you and
me being together".
Bess eventually gave into Jan's request in order to show him how much she
loved him. Bess believed that her acts would lead to Jan’s recovery and the
more frequent her sexual encounters were, the speedier her husband's
recovery would be. However, she did not understand that her acts only make
things worse and that Jan was simply sick and disillusioned. Bess knew that
her sexual encounters were sinful and that her soul would be condemned to
hell because of them. However, Jan's recovery was a priority and the only
way to save him was through these sexual acts. She strongly believed that
her spiritual connection with Jan would allow her to make love to her
husband through other men. Bess was convinced that the gift given to her by
God was to love Jan, even though it was not physically direct. However,
after several encounters with other men, Bess felt that she was losing
contact with God. She tried to communicate with him, as before, but God does
not answer her requests. The only time Bess succeeded in getting in touch
with God again was on her last voyage were she was bitten and raped to
death.
Bess lived in an environment where the Church was very influential. The
council of Church Elders were strict and stood firm to their beliefs, to the
extent that they did not permit women to speak during the Sunday service or
attend a funeral. In addition, they believed that God looked with anger upon
those who failed him. As a result, the Elders condemned Bess to isolation
when they became aware or her sexual behavior. Even Bess' mother (Sandra Voe)
did not open the door when her daughter asked for help. At Bess' death, the
Elders decided to bury her without a funeral service and at the burial they
condemn her to hell. Although they had no right to do that, the Elders were
set in their ways, and failed to recognize Bess’ sacrifice and love for her
husband.
This film portrays Bess' martyrdom for love and devotion to her husband.
Even prior to her death, Bess asked Dodo to see whether Jan was getting
better. However, Jan was not and a little before she died, she realized that
her actions were wrong. Ironically after her death, Jan recovered only to
find that his beloved wife was dead and buried without a funeral. Therefore
he secretly stole Bess' body and threw it into the sea under the oilrig.
Bess' spirit captured the hearts of the oilrig workers who could hear her
through the bells that rung in the sky in the middle of the North Sea.
The dramatic conclusion to this film was that Bess sacrificed herself in an
effort to improve the lives of others. Her unparallel love of God and that
of her husband made her the victim of the circumstances. Her overwhelming
need to please those she loved gave way to logic and reasonable judgment.
Bess was also unfortunate to be living in an environment that did not
welcome or try to understand anything or anybody out of the 'ordinary'. They
failed to see that Bess' acts were not evil, but simple acts of love for her
husband. If Bess did not have a strong belief that God could save her
husband, then she would not have acted the way she did. The message of this
film is that love is often overpowering and makes individuals behave in what
others might consider sinful, improper and abnormal. |
