The Broken Circle Breakdown (Felix van Groeningen, 2012)
Imdb
Date Watched: 04/26/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 13th HOF, ScarlettLion's Nomination
Rewatch: No.
I had no idea what to expect going into this film, but what I found was a really beautiful and intimate look at the relationship between two people with little in common but their love for each other and for the child they have together. And it's the relationship as a whole, from their instant attraction to each other to the tragedies that tear them apart.
I really liked the way this film was structured. It's not an entirely linear story - we see the relationship as it begins while also seeing it as it begins to unravel and the film cuts between scenes of the two, with some great bluegrass performances interspersed throughout. One moment we see a joyous scene and the next a heartbreaking one.
The central performances were really strong, too. Johan Heldenbergh as Didier and Veerle Baetens as Elise both fully embodied their characters. They both felt very human and very real. Making their performances even more impressive is the fact that both did their own singing. They sounded wonderful and the music is definitely one of the film's highlights.
While I can't say that I absolutely loved The Broken Circle Breakdown on this initial viewing, I definitely see a lot of potential for my appreciation of this highly emotional and well crafted film to grow if I were to watch it again.
+
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