Breaking the Waves

A ridiculous film. The story starts out fine and develops an interesting moral dilemma, but the film announces bankruptcy when it starts to become a film about right and wrong in the eyes of God. The conservative religious folk condemn the actions by Watson's character, but her character is honored by church bells in the sky upon her burial at sea. The fact this film develops with many themes and ideas and then reduces itself to a simple morality tale that goes against the dated religious belief of a small town is bad enough. But the film gets really bad with the ending church bell scene. It says Watson was in the right with God but with no context. Just praise be her and her committment to her husband. C'mon. There is no challenge in this ending but only a satisfaction to the taste buds of the audience. It is also an unlikely and out of place romantization within a very stark and dark disturbing story. Late films by Lars Von Trier have been poor for trying to merge the realism of art films and Hollywood characteristics.