"Breaking the Waves" Synopsis | Appreciation | Afterviewing 1995 Color film 158 minutes Denmark/Swedish/France/Netherlands/Norway Co-production Director: Lars von Trien Screenwriter: Peter Asmussen Lars von

·Therrien Photography: Robbie Murray Main cast: Emily Watson (playing Beth McNairy) Stellan Skarsg?rd (playing Jane) Katerina Kaltridge

(plays Tao Tao) Adrian Rollins (plays doctor) Sandra Waugh (plays mother) The film won the Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes International Film Festival; Best Actress at the 1996 Felix European Film Festival

Award; 1997 French Caesar Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film Plot synopsis The story takes place in a remote and closed village in the Ebri Islands of Scotland. The villagers regard themselves as God's chosen people, and their own morals, especially the morals of their neighbors.

of moral defenders.

The highest religious authority in the village is the Presbyterian Church, and its influence on secular social life is omnipresent.

Although the time has entered the 1970s, according to local canon rules, there are no bells in the church, so the parishioners cannot hear the church bells.

Women were not allowed to speak in churches and were prohibited from attending funerals, even those of family members.

If they commit adultery, they will be expelled from the church, which is actually equivalent to being expelled from the mountain village. After their death, they will be sentenced to hell by the Presbyterian Church.

The heroine Beth McNairy grew up in such an environment. She is young and beautiful, innocent and kind-hearted yet a little naive, enthusiastic and lively yet a little neurotic. In this world full of strict rules and regulations and a suffocating religious atmosphere

In the small community, her presence is particularly noticeable.

Her peaceful life was shattered by her encounter with Jane, an oil worker working on an offshore drilling platform. They fell in love at first sight, fell in love with each other, and soon became husband and wife.

However, this incident aroused the resentment of the Presbyterian Church and the vast majority of the villagers, because Jane was a foreigner and an intruder to them, a challenge and threat to their isolated life.

At that time, North Sea oil drilling had just begun, and this isolated and religious village was "invaded" by an international drilling team composed of young men from different countries, who drank beer and listened to music that was objectionable to the locals.

The film starts with a lively wedding scene.

Bess, her sister-in-law Tao Tao, and some relatives and friends were waiting for the groom's arrival in the village square. The groom was late for the wedding, which made Bess a little anxious and angry.

Suddenly, a helicopter appeared over the sea near the village, and then slowly landed at the seaside square at the head of the village. Seeing her sweetheart falling from the sky, Beth was ecstatic. As soon as the plane door opened, she threw herself into Jane's arms.

inside.

Accompanying Jane were some of his friends who worked on offshore drilling platforms, and the group went straight to the church.

The wedding was officiated by a minister from the church, who was, in a way, the one who could listen to Beth's heart.

After the wedding ceremony in the church ended, people walked out of the church one after another. Jane's friend Terry saw that there was no bell in the church. He felt strange and funny, so he asked the people in the presbytery why this was, but no one gave him a satisfactory answer.

At this moment, it started to rain suddenly under the clear sky just now, and people hurried to the wedding banquet hall in the village to attend the wedding banquet.

The newlyweds live a very happy life. Jane is a man who has seen the world. He has a lot of knowledge and experience, which naturally includes love experience.

Beth loves Jane passionately. For Beth, who has lived in a suffocating religious ascetic environment for a long time, this love is the source of her physical and spiritual liberation; Jane also loves Beth deeply.

For Jane, who has been wandering away all year round, this love is a harbor where his tired body and mind can rest.

As a newlywed, Beth, who had tasted the nectar of love for the first time, was immersed in the joy of happiness, savoring the joy of spiritual blending and the joy of love between men and women.

Since Jane was working on an offshore drilling platform, he was going to work at sea just after his short honeymoon. Beth was naturally very sad after the wedding and separation.

In the days when Jane was not around, Beth felt that the days were like years.

Jane had made an appointment to call Beth on a date, and Beth went to the phone booth at the edge of the village to wait as promised. Because Jane worked overtime and was not allowed to get away for a while, she was unable to call her in time, but Beth believed that Jane would definitely call, and still

Waiting in the phone booth, and then fell asleep in the phone booth unknowingly. Finally, she waited for Jane's call, and the two expressed their miss to each other on the phone.

The days of waiting were unbearable. The closer the day came to Jane's return, the more anxious Beth felt. Her mother and Tao Tao also felt anxious for her when they saw her inattentiveness.

Her mother persuaded her that this was how the women in this village lived. Since most of the men were working at sea, women should get used to being alone at home.

Tao Tao is Beth's sister-in-law and her best friend. Since the death of Beth's brother, Tao Tao has not remarried but has been living in their home. Seeing Beth's anxiety, she can only comfort her.

Not allowed to see her beloved, Beth could only pray to God for her husband's safe return. Sometimes she even went to church in the middle of the night to pray for Jane.