MovieChat Forums > Breaking the Waves (1996) Discussion > Brief interpretation

Brief interpretation

posted 10 years ago by fluffhead234508
5 replies | jump to latest

Just finished watching it for the first time. I'm pretty much writing this just to get my channel my thoughts into something so that I can formulate an interpretation. Here's my take.

The movie is essentially about how blind faith in both God and love can drive us mad. Bess's problem was that her love was essentially selfish. She loved God and prayed to God so that she could get what she wanted. We never actually saw her love of God translate into anything else in the world. Her love of Jan was also completely selfish, as evidenced by her only worrying about her own well being when he left for work. And of course, whether you think her prayer caused it or not, when she selfishly asked for Jan to return, it nearly cost him his life.

The problem really stems from the church. Their are no bells. No music. It is a dull place. Woman are not aloud to speak in church and people who do not blindly follow the ten commandments are damned to hell. It is not wonder that a blind faith in this church would drive one crazy. Bess has repressed her sexually for 30 years (estimate). So it's no wonder that all this repression and built up energy explodes in such a dangerous way.

Anyway, that's a little sloppy and I'm just kind of writing to write. Let me know what you think

[–] tzvish 10 years ago

Nice thoughts just watched it for the first time too and can agree with you

[–] jimdoering 10 years ago

Bess is not purely selfish, she is simply childlike and extreme. There is a comment at the beginning of the movie by her pastor about how much Bess had selflessly done for the church. Her best friend also said how much Bess did for her when her husband died. I don't know what Von Trier believes, but Bess's understanding of God is clearlyu flawed, as is those of her fellow churchgoers to a lesser degree.

Emotionally, she is reactive, which those in her church (including her mother) abhor. This leads to her outbursts and selfish prayers, which others interpret as a sign of mental defect. There is humanity in all these players, even the harsh mother. Our understanding of life is imperfect, as is our understanding of the nature of God. I think there is a commentary here on mankind perverting His wisdom to our own ends and the necessity to confront life and its imperfections.

It's a hard movie to watch, but there's lots of subtext to chew on.

[–] TonyVerras 10 years ago

Any interpretation of the film is moot because the movie is illogical.

The first half of the film makes such an effective and intimate argument for the beauty and power of sex between a husband and wife, that it undermines that second half of the film. If von Trier really believes in the spirituality of lovemaking, how can he find Jan's salvation through Bess sexually debasing herself? The idea might have been plausible if Jan asked her to find another man who she could truly love, so that he would know that she was actually "making love" and not being systematically and willfully raped, but this is not the case. As it stands, his request is perverse, cruel, and twisted.

But because von Trier is determined to make Bess into a Christ figure, he has to make her suffer for her love. What destroys the analogy is that mankind did not ask Christ to suffer for mankind. Christianity is based on the notion that God offered Jesus to suffer and die for us, not for God. In "Breaking the Waves," Jan asks Bess to suffer for him, and she does, for him. Therefore, she is simply fulfilling his selfish desires, thus diminishing his ultimate redemption. If God had asked Bess to suffer in order to save Jan, the analogy would have been more complete.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] spookyrat1 7 years ago

The Don King of the Dogma cinema world makes a movie about the dangers of trying to live one's life by following dogmatic principles of dubious value.🐭