82
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanTrue art is a journey to somewhere you've never been, and there has never been a movie quite like Breaking the Waves.
- 100NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenThere are few movies around that take such huge risks: this is high-wire filmmaking, without a net of irony.
- 100Film.comFilm.comIt was a bleak allegory -- a desperate, sullen, and moderately sick tale.
- 100San Francisco ChroniclePeter StackSan Francisco ChroniclePeter StackOne of the most haunting and vital movies of the year.
- 90Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter Travers"Waves" is a spellbinder.
- 90The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinA narrative path leading from the sincere to the ludicrous, and culminating in a final image of flabbergasting transcendance, gives Breaking the Waves its surprising power.
- 90The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsWhat Von Trier arrives at is a complex, contemporary, and deeply moving exploration of faith.
- 89Austin ChronicleRussell SmithAustin ChronicleRussell SmithWith this artlessly profound and affecting story of love, von Trier emerges as one of those blessed filmmakers who've managed to blend their early stylistic flamboyance with enough human empathy to make their work both visually and emotionally compelling.
- 80TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissIn its pagan fervor, this is an almost religious experience.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumYou won't come out of it indifferent, and even if it winds up enraging you (I could have done without most of the ending myself), it nonetheless commands attention.