Post by klep on Jul 4, 2016 8:31:16 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/4: Breaking the Waves
A lot of the conversation around Lars von Trier centers around his eccentric and often controversial behavior. But what sometimes is forgotten in all of that is that he's also a really good filmmaker. Breaking the Waves is an excellent example of the conflicted nexus of morality and sex which forms the basis of much of von Trier's work, presented in his nakedly confrontational style.
Our heroine Bess (Emily Watson) is a pious woman living in a repressed and strict religious community - women are not allowed to speak in services, the church lacks any bells for celebration, and the priests are unafraid to openly condemn deceased parishioners to hell. Bess is about to marry an oil driller (Jan, played by Stellan Skarsgard) from outside the community - a man whom she loves and who loves her in return - but they are clearly worried about the influence he will have on her.
Upon getting married, Bess is eager to and loves exploring the pleasures of the flesh with her husband. They make love eagerly and joyously, and all seems well. But when Jan returns to the rig for work Bess is despondent, praying to God for him to return. Be careful what you wish for. Jan returns, but paralyzed from an accident, and Bess feels responsible for it.
In his condition, Jan is unable to have sex, and so he encourages Bess to take a lover - it will help him, he says, to hear tales of her sexual exploits and live vicariously through them. She recoils at first, but eventually resolves (at the encouraging of her peers, though they know not what she is being asked to do at first) that if this is what will help the man she loves, she can and will do it. What follows is a series of increasingly brazen and risky sexual encounters which alienate her from her community and family and culminate in her making the ultimate sacrifice for Jan's benefit.
It's not clear whether Jan is in his right mind when he makes his request. He definitely does love Bess, but it's unclear if he's indulging in some fetish or acting out of depression. That doesn't matter, however, because the film is truly about Bess' faith, and the contrast her self-sacrifice in service of her love and what she sees as her duty with the condemnation of her congregation - who are incapable of expressing their faith in a way beyond self-denial and judgement. von Trier forces us to examine our own sexual mores, and judge whether they truly distance us from or are capable of bringing us closer to God.
von Trier, characteristically, is unshy about his answer, and ends the film with church bells from on high.
So throughout the film Bess holds conversations with herself as she prays - speaking for herself and God as she works through her own questions of faith. Do you think we are to understand God is speaking through her, is this an expression of Bess' uneven mental state, or is von Trier just messing with us?
And don't forget that, holiday permitting, Jacob Roth will be streaming this film on The Dissolve Couch tonight.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/11: Holy Motors
Lauded in many circles as one of the very best films of the decade and the best of its year, our next Movie of the Week is Leos Carax's Holy Motors, a film I know almost nothing about and am very excited to watch. Holy Motors is available for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members, and Jacob Roth will stream it on The Dissolve Couch on next Monday.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/30: Finding Dory
Following up on Memento is a new Pixar movie about our favorite fish with anterograde amnesia. Finding Dory is still in theaters because it has been making a LOT of money.
A lot of the conversation around Lars von Trier centers around his eccentric and often controversial behavior. But what sometimes is forgotten in all of that is that he's also a really good filmmaker. Breaking the Waves is an excellent example of the conflicted nexus of morality and sex which forms the basis of much of von Trier's work, presented in his nakedly confrontational style.
Our heroine Bess (Emily Watson) is a pious woman living in a repressed and strict religious community - women are not allowed to speak in services, the church lacks any bells for celebration, and the priests are unafraid to openly condemn deceased parishioners to hell. Bess is about to marry an oil driller (Jan, played by Stellan Skarsgard) from outside the community - a man whom she loves and who loves her in return - but they are clearly worried about the influence he will have on her.
Upon getting married, Bess is eager to and loves exploring the pleasures of the flesh with her husband. They make love eagerly and joyously, and all seems well. But when Jan returns to the rig for work Bess is despondent, praying to God for him to return. Be careful what you wish for. Jan returns, but paralyzed from an accident, and Bess feels responsible for it.
In his condition, Jan is unable to have sex, and so he encourages Bess to take a lover - it will help him, he says, to hear tales of her sexual exploits and live vicariously through them. She recoils at first, but eventually resolves (at the encouraging of her peers, though they know not what she is being asked to do at first) that if this is what will help the man she loves, she can and will do it. What follows is a series of increasingly brazen and risky sexual encounters which alienate her from her community and family and culminate in her making the ultimate sacrifice for Jan's benefit.
It's not clear whether Jan is in his right mind when he makes his request. He definitely does love Bess, but it's unclear if he's indulging in some fetish or acting out of depression. That doesn't matter, however, because the film is truly about Bess' faith, and the contrast her self-sacrifice in service of her love and what she sees as her duty with the condemnation of her congregation - who are incapable of expressing their faith in a way beyond self-denial and judgement. von Trier forces us to examine our own sexual mores, and judge whether they truly distance us from or are capable of bringing us closer to God.
von Trier, characteristically, is unshy about his answer, and ends the film with church bells from on high.
So throughout the film Bess holds conversations with herself as she prays - speaking for herself and God as she works through her own questions of faith. Do you think we are to understand God is speaking through her, is this an expression of Bess' uneven mental state, or is von Trier just messing with us?
And don't forget that, holiday permitting, Jacob Roth will be streaming this film on The Dissolve Couch tonight.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/11: Holy Motors
Lauded in many circles as one of the very best films of the decade and the best of its year, our next Movie of the Week is Leos Carax's Holy Motors, a film I know almost nothing about and am very excited to watch. Holy Motors is available for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members, and Jacob Roth will stream it on The Dissolve Couch on next Monday.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/30: Finding Dory
Following up on Memento is a new Pixar movie about our favorite fish with anterograde amnesia. Finding Dory is still in theaters because it has been making a LOT of money.