'THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Critically acclaimed Belgian drama film based on the play 'The Broken Circle Breakdown Featuring the Cover-Ups of Alabama' by Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels. It tells the story of two bluegrass musicians who fall in love, have a child and have to cope with that child's battle against cancer (at the age of just 6). Heldenbergh co-stars in the movie with singer/actress Veerle Baetens. It was directed by Felix Van Groeningen, who also co-wrote the screenplay (with Carl Joos and Charlotte Vandermeersch). The film has been nominated for 'Best Foreign Language Film' at the 2014 Academy Awards and I think it deserves all the acclaim and award recognition it's been getting. It is a really hard movie to watch though.
Heldenbergh plays Didier Bontinck, a singer and banjo player of a popular local bluegrass band (in Ghent, Belgium). Baetens plays Elise Vandevelde, a tattoo shop owner who's also a very talented singer. They meet and fall in love instantly. She later joins his band. The two are very happy together and things continue to go well even through an unexpected pregnancy. But when their daughter, Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse), develops cancer at age 6 they're perfect life comes crashing down. The story is told mostly in flashbacks and Bontinck's atheist beliefs also play a huge part in how he deals with the drama.
The movie reminded me a lot of the great 2010 film 'BLUE VALENTINE'. It's not quite as memorable but it is reminiscent in style and feeling. This flick also has some beautiful bluegrass music though (all American songs performed in English), which is one of it's highlights. It's very emotional; uplifting and romantic at times but mostly extremely depressing. There are very strong words against religion (and how it ruins the lives of everyone) throughout the movie. Being a very spiritual person I can't say I agree with this message but I think the character is justified in feeling that way. It's definitely a very powerful film but it's also a heartbreaker.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTUUB4nMD6M
Critically acclaimed Belgian drama film based on the play 'The Broken Circle Breakdown Featuring the Cover-Ups of Alabama' by Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels. It tells the story of two bluegrass musicians who fall in love, have a child and have to cope with that child's battle against cancer (at the age of just 6). Heldenbergh co-stars in the movie with singer/actress Veerle Baetens. It was directed by Felix Van Groeningen, who also co-wrote the screenplay (with Carl Joos and Charlotte Vandermeersch). The film has been nominated for 'Best Foreign Language Film' at the 2014 Academy Awards and I think it deserves all the acclaim and award recognition it's been getting. It is a really hard movie to watch though.
Heldenbergh plays Didier Bontinck, a singer and banjo player of a popular local bluegrass band (in Ghent, Belgium). Baetens plays Elise Vandevelde, a tattoo shop owner who's also a very talented singer. They meet and fall in love instantly. She later joins his band. The two are very happy together and things continue to go well even through an unexpected pregnancy. But when their daughter, Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse), develops cancer at age 6 they're perfect life comes crashing down. The story is told mostly in flashbacks and Bontinck's atheist beliefs also play a huge part in how he deals with the drama.
The movie reminded me a lot of the great 2010 film 'BLUE VALENTINE'. It's not quite as memorable but it is reminiscent in style and feeling. This flick also has some beautiful bluegrass music though (all American songs performed in English), which is one of it's highlights. It's very emotional; uplifting and romantic at times but mostly extremely depressing. There are very strong words against religion (and how it ruins the lives of everyone) throughout the movie. Being a very spiritual person I can't say I agree with this message but I think the character is justified in feeling that way. It's definitely a very powerful film but it's also a heartbreaker.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTUUB4nMD6M