Subscriber-only title: The Broken Circle Breakdown 2012
9.1
K
I just watched this movie and am left dumbfounded. It cuts through to unfathomable depths and reaches fantastic emotional currents in a manner that is llustrative of the human condition as it is evocative of reflection on humanity’s greatest existential questions. Not for the faint of heart, this portrayal is illuminating as it is strikingly bewildering, in a most sensible fashion.
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This was amazing. I loved how the movie was cut and put together, the collage of the scenes is extremely well thought-through.
Bittersweet like Belgian chocolate, this is a coming-home movie. It will leave you raw and empty as well as full of life, and it will most certainly have you appreciate the mournfulness of bluegrass music. Based on a play co-written by Johan Heldenbergh, who also stars as Didier, the male lead, this is intricately written, thoughtfully directed, viscerally acted cinema. Bluegrass enthusiast and band leader Didier falls passionately in love with Elise, a spirited tattoo artist. They sing together, start a life together. But when their little girl falls gravely ill, everything changes. Because this gem of a film by director Felix van Groeningen excels at creating intimacy and empathy between us viewers and this beautiful family’s fate, you will feel everything you see. Incredibly well-made and gut-wrenching drama.