# Von Trier's "Breaking the Waves" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557 "2006-10-23T14:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557/1 "2006-10-23T14:21:35Z")
I just saw Lars Von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves” on television and I must say I’m a bit confused as to what this movie was actually about. I’d be interested to hear any opinions or analysis from others who have seen it. Just to kick off, I have a couple of specific questions: Is there (or was there in the 1970s) a real Christian sect in rural Scotland as depicted in the movie or is it fictional? What is up with the ending? Are we expected to believe that real bells appeared in the air? Does that mean God really was speaking to Bess? That Jan’s accident was literally God’s answer to Bess’s prayer that Jan come home from the oil rig? Is this supposed to be some kind of hardcore fairy tale? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557/2 "2006-10-23T14:22:55Z")
Just to add to the above question – Is there really a Scottish (Calvinist?) sect whose funerals include the declaration “You were a sinner and you will find your place in hell”? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557/3 "2006-10-23T15:53:10Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Are we expected to believe that real bells appeared in the air? [/quote] Honest, I believe Yes. > [@](#): > > Does that mean God really was speaking to Bess? Maybe, though presumably God could see into her heart and see her purity in intentions. > [@](#): > > That Jan’s accident was literally God’s answer to Bess’s prayer that Jan come home from the oil rig? Tougher to say–perhaps an accident/coincidence that she misinterprets > [@](#): > > Is this supposed to be some kind of hardcore fairy tale? Maybe fairy tale’s a bad way to put it–more a supernatural/spiritual morality tale? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557/4 "2006-10-23T16:21:24Z")
Them actually showing the bells was the weakest part to me, as bells tolling could be understood on their own. The meaning of the story to me was that she gave up her life to cure him, since she knew she would be killed on the boat. I loved this movie (even if I didn’t get the interpretation right) and Emily Watson was brilliant as always. It’s the last item I need to add to my collection. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557/5 "2006-10-23T16:34:27Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] I just saw Lars Von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves” on television and I must say I’m a bit confused as to what this movie was actually about. I’d be interested to hear any opinions or analysis from others who have seen it. Just to kick off, I have a couple of specific questions: Is there (or was there in the 1970s) a real Christian sect in rural Scotland as depicted in the movie or is it fictional? What is up with the ending? Are we expected to believe that real bells appeared in the air? Does that mean God really was speaking to Bess? That Jan’s accident was literally God’s answer to Bess’s prayer that Jan come home from the oil rig? Is this supposed to be some kind of hardcore fairy tale? [/QUOTE] It’s all right that you’re confused – the movie was a brain-damaged piece of drivel. Von Trier just wanted to make a nice long film about an innocent woman being hurt a lot, and figured out he could get away with it if he threw in some bells ringing at then end to show that God was pleased. The bells was just putting lipstick on a pig of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557/6 "2006-10-23T16:45:00Z")
It was a modern “Life of a Saint.” The bells were as real as any miracle in any saint’s story. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/von-triers-breaking-the-waves/377557/7 "2006-10-23T21:01:07Z")
I liked this movie a lot, but, oh man, I never want to see it again. It felt like the emotional equivalent of being hit with a mack truck. Like **lissener** , I saw the ending as a miracle.