Breaking the Waves (Classic Film Pick)

When you are watching a moving film like Lars von Trier's 1995 film "Breaking the Waves," it's difficult to imagine that you are witnessing the high watermark of a filmmaker's career. Made shortly after Lars von Trier--he added the "von" himself--co-authored with Thomas Vinterberg the strident "Dogma 95 Manifesto" for low-budget filmmaking, "Breaking the Waves" came with a clarity of vision and social urgency that was an assault on the senses and the intellect. Emily Watson plays Bess McNeill, a simple-minded Scottish Calvinist churchgoer who marries Jan Nyman (terrifically played by Stellan Skarsgard), and oil rig worker who suffers a terrible accident that leaves him paralyzed. When Jan asks Bess to go out and have sex with other men and report back to him her experiences, Bess takes his wishes beyond the realm of common sense, due to her skewed interpretation of doing God's work through her carnal activities. Fiercely criticized for its shaky handheld camerawork, which gives the film an ungrounded feel of floating on roiling waves, the story is separated by colorful postcard chapter headings. Von Trier launches a clever attack on organized religion that resonates with Buñuel's famous line "I'm an atheist, thank God." Emily Watson gives an angelic, earth-shattering performance that is transformative, cathartic, and brutally painful. Here is a film that makes you feel like you've read the novel, seen the movie, and lived the life of a more empathetic protagonist than any you've ever encountered. You might need a stiff drink afterward, though.