The Broken Circle Breakdown (2013)

Sometimes foreign language films can be surprisingly moving because you're forced to engage more with the facial expressions and unspoken acting than you would with your native language based films. The Broken Circle Breakdown is exactly that. Heartbreaking, relentlessly emotional, and undeniably honest, you never feel comfortable watching this film and are constantly challenged to feel some sort of happiness with the dread that's happening on screen. Although all these things are true, I do feel like there wasn't enough explanation of what the point of all this was. Or just simply, what the film was trying to say. Is it just telling us that amidst all that's good and lovely with the world is an insane amount of sadness and despair. And I guess that's fine, but I could have used a bit more depth.7.5/10

So many things wrong with this film. Where to start? The script is weak to begin with and I'm surprised that so many people worked on something that resulted in this mess. Maybe too many cooks? Perhaps. When you see the director writing the script, you start to wonder a little, but when the lead actor has a hand in the script, it's a serious red flag.For one, they could've cut it better. The story does not need to be linear. For example, they could've shown a flashback of Elise moving furniture out, making us think that she's moving out, only to reveal that she's making room for the baby's room. Then show us the current time of Elise really moving out. Smart editing tricks like that. Events that trigger flashbacks and past-present parallels.Then there are inexplicable things in this film. Didier rants about the US cutting spending on stem-cell research. Elise should've just told him that the US is not obligated to save a Belgian baby or spend money on cancer research. It is their country and their money. It doesn't matter what their reasoning is, whether it is Jesus or Santa. Europe is not a third world backwater. Elise should've told Didier that if he wants to research stem cells, he should perhaps study science rather than play in a band.The child's battle with cancer is not explored. The child faced a dead-end with treatment. We could've seen something like this:It would be better for the film to show something like this: Child: "I'm done. I want out. I can't take this anymore.. I won't get better." Dad: "How do you know you won't get better? You don't know that." Child: "The same way you know there is no God. I just do."Didier wants his child to keep on believing and hoping when there is no doubt that death was imminent. Show him as a hypocrite who wants the child to believe in an unrealistic and impossible future but not an afterlife. If the child shouldn't believe in a life after death then how would she believe in ever seeing an 18th birthday when science says that won't happen? Didier's hypocrisy is never explored.The parents' blame game was not explained. When Elise screams at Didier for his family having cancer genes he says nothing. He doesn't tell her "I told you I didn't want a baby. You insisted." This is all true, so why didn't he say it? She wanted a baby with a man with cancer genes. He told her he didn't want one. How can she yell at him for the child getting cancer?Elise, the mother, drank and smoked while she was pregnant. Didier started drinking heavily near the end of the pregnancy and when Elise was in labor. Why not show these things? Why do we get this information through dialogue?The news shown in the background could've been handled much better. In this film we first see news of 9/11 and the war on terror, which Didier ignored. Then we see the ban on stem-cell research which incensed Didier. It's too contrived. Didier's kid gets cancer, there's no hope but stem-cell research, then he turns on the TV and guess what? Bush banned stem-cell research. What are the chances?A better way of showing all these things is to simply rearrange them. We see the war on terror and Didier is indifferent because it doesn't affect him. We then see Bush ban stem-cell research on the news and Didier is indifferent again because his kid doesn't have cancer and this means nothing to him. Then he hears of stem- cell research and discovers that it has been halted. Then he gets angry. Then subsequent news about the war in Afghanistan or Iraq would incense him even more, than money goes to death rather than saving lives. Make him a hypocrite, make him flawed. He didn't care about the halting of stem-cell research or the wars before, now it's all he talks about. The rearrangement would've told a better story without adding anything new.But the film is clearly on the side of Didier, rather than a neutral look at the situation. The conflict between secularism and atheism in this film is not linear. Didier is angry at the Catholic church and certain American denominations (condoms, abortion, stem-cell research) but takes out his anger at his wife who believes in her own religion of reincarnation (her child could come back as a bird or star). He groups all faiths together, but that makes no sense. People that believe in reincarnation of children as birds are not the ones who halted stem-cell research. Ranting at Belgians for the actions of Americans is like screaming at Indians for Japan's actions in WWII, or ranting at a Muslim belly dancer because of the Taliban's dress code or ranting at a Belgian director about this year's Oscars. Belgians, Christians or not, had nothing to do with the election of Bush or stem-cell research. Didier is in an imaginary war against all faiths because his daughter died and the film presents him as somewhat reasonable by not having anyone challenge his beliefs or arguments. They are presented as valid. Some religious folks in one particular country stopped stem-cell research. Other religious folks in the US did not. The rest of the world had nothing to do with it either way, especially ones that believe in reincarnation-as-birds whose religion has nothing to say about any kind of research whatsoever. China, Japan and India are also religious and have non- rational belief systems. They're still doing lots of research. Why can't he see that? Oh, because it's not relevant to the plot.A highly-contrived religion vs secularism story filled with massive grouping of unrelated groups together, false equivalence, collective responsibility, etc.

'The Broken Circle Breakdown' is director Felix Van Groeningen's new Belgian film, following a young married couple comprised of Didier (Johan Heldenbergh), a bluegrass banjo player, and Elise (Veerle Baetens), a free-spirited tattoo artist who joins Didier's band.Their relationship changes dramatically with a death in the family, forcing both to reconsider everything. Didier is mad about all things American, but takes a dim view of the then-president George W. Bush's Christian beliefs on stem-cell research. Elise, surprisingly, has always been religious. With her eyes always in the sky, she sees the dead reincarnated in animal form, much to Didier's annoyance.As much in love with his music as he is with his wife, Didier can't fathom the connection between Elise's religious beliefs and the often devotional bluegrass songs they play. Any spiritual beliefs Didier has lie in the music, which strengthens their bond when they perform together. This powerful film is occasionally heavy-handed in its use of metaphors, the bluegrass music elevates this often troubling and emotional film into an uplifting experience. It is a subtle but very effective driver throughout the film, where both the pleasure and the pain of bluegrass is woven into the fabric of their relationship.The central performances of Heldenbergh and Baetens have much to admire, especially the latter, in a stirring relationship full of intensity. 'The Broken Circle Breakdown' is full of touching scenes, striking images and wonderful music, with characters we would want to care about. It reminds us that we are a strange species, where anything can be interpreted differently by various people for their own needs, where rationale plays second fiddle to belief. For many, such things help us to function in our daily lives, guiding us through situations we otherwise wouldn't be able to understand. For others, belief is just not enough.

Hello everyone, I have just seen The Broken Circle Breakdown, a Belgian and Dutch movie from 2012. It is a drama and there are two leading actors : Johan Heldenbergh as Didier and Veerle Baetens as Elise.Didier is a musician, he plays the banjo and he is in a bluegrass group, he sleeps in a caravan close to his old farm. Elise has her own tattoo shop. He is atheist and she has a tattoo of a big cross in her neck. But in spite of their differences, they loved each other as soon as they met for the first time. Elise can sing pretty well so she joins the group. When Elise announces to Didier that she is pregnant, he is surprised but they are both delighted. Didier repairs his old farm to welcome the newborn child. Maybelle is born, we can see how they take care of her and how happy they are. But when she turns 6 or 7, Maybelle becomes seriously ill and she finally passes away. After this tragedy, Didier and Elise react completely differently. Will their relationship survive even if they are going on different paths ?I really enjoyed watching this movie. It is rare that I watch a movie from my country and after having seen this one, I will maybe change this bad habit. The actors are really talented and it's about a story that can happen to all of us. This movie was really moving and gripping and the music was well-chosen and beautiful.In conclusion, I can only recommend it to all of you but be careful, you will need tissues!