Electric sexiness and very modern motifs overlie a wonderfully old-fashioned melodrama… a highly gratifying one, if you enjoy a good ol’ weep. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read or seen the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
It’s a love story, and not a particularly happy one, but it is highly gratifying… if you enjoy a good ol’ weep. Like a modern version of the 1941 Irene Dunne-Cary Grant tearjerker Penny Serenade, this is the tale of Didier (Johan Heldenbergh), a bluegrass musician, and Elise (Veerle Baetens), a tattoo artist, their romance and marriage, and how the diagnosis of cancer in their little daughter, Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse), strains their relationship. The electric sexiness of the chemistry between Heldenbergh and Baetens and the very modern motifs threading through the film — the deeply held significance...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read or seen the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
It’s a love story, and not a particularly happy one, but it is highly gratifying… if you enjoy a good ol’ weep. Like a modern version of the 1941 Irene Dunne-Cary Grant tearjerker Penny Serenade, this is the tale of Didier (Johan Heldenbergh), a bluegrass musician, and Elise (Veerle Baetens), a tattoo artist, their romance and marriage, and how the diagnosis of cancer in their little daughter, Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse), strains their relationship. The electric sexiness of the chemistry between Heldenbergh and Baetens and the very modern motifs threading through the film — the deeply held significance...
- 3/11/2014
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Here it is; Sound On Sight’s list of our favourite soundtracks released this year. Usually we post a list of 10 to 15 picks, but this time, we decided to only publish five. With that said, we also recorded a bonus Sound On Sight podcast to complement this very article. In it, Simon Howell and I chose 10 of the best tracks from 10 of the best soundtracks for your listening pleasure. You can listen to the podcast here.
Soundtracks that make an appearance on the podcast include Her, The Bling Ring, Afternoon Delight, Sightseers, Frances Ha, Spring Breakers, The World’s End, and Drinking Buddies.
Last year, the soundtrack to Rick Alverson’s cheekily titled The Comedy topped our list. This year, another hipster-indie gem does the same. Here is our list of the top 5 soundtracks of 2013.
****
5. American Hustle
While Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” was used in the first...
Soundtracks that make an appearance on the podcast include Her, The Bling Ring, Afternoon Delight, Sightseers, Frances Ha, Spring Breakers, The World’s End, and Drinking Buddies.
Last year, the soundtrack to Rick Alverson’s cheekily titled The Comedy topped our list. This year, another hipster-indie gem does the same. Here is our list of the top 5 soundtracks of 2013.
****
5. American Hustle
While Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” was used in the first...
- 12/21/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
★★★★☆ Through the sultry twangs of a bluegrass slide-guitar, two lovers Elise (Veerle Baetens) and Didier (Johan Heldenbergh) strike up a relationship that will take them through passion, parenthood, grief and back again. Belgian director Felix Van Groeningen's The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) is a rousing and intensely emotional story about an unconventional love affair set to bluegrass against a debate about stem cell research. In fact, the film's only minor let-down may well be in its combination of raw emotional drama and a strong political message, a marriage which often feels forced to the point of soapbox screaming.
Some rather heavy-handed metaphors - including a shot of the Twin Towers crumbling to the ground as a key family moment plays out - occasionally dampens what is an otherwise handsome and devastating European drama. Based on the acclaimed stage play by Mieke Dobbels and Johan Heldenbergh, The Broken Circle Breakdown follows...
Some rather heavy-handed metaphors - including a shot of the Twin Towers crumbling to the ground as a key family moment plays out - occasionally dampens what is an otherwise handsome and devastating European drama. Based on the acclaimed stage play by Mieke Dobbels and Johan Heldenbergh, The Broken Circle Breakdown follows...
- 10/24/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
A bluegrass-loving couple are joined in tragedy in this immensely moving drama
Belgium's submission for the 2014 foreign language film Oscar category is a powerful and haunting tale of love, death and bluegrass – a mournful song played on a broken instrument, with striking visual accompaniment.
Presenting its central relationship in a Blue Valentine-style broken-backed montage of past and present, this shimmering adaptation of Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels's play slips between the couple's first passionate encounters and their later battles against the illness that threatens to rob them of their most treasured possession.
He is hairy and obsessed with Americana; she is tattooed and wears a cross; they meet in the unexpected harmony of their voices, singing arcane songs about this world and the next to the accompaniment of bull fiddle, banjo and slide guitar. As the cruelties of life bite deep and their child is endangered, their worldviews diverge,...
Belgium's submission for the 2014 foreign language film Oscar category is a powerful and haunting tale of love, death and bluegrass – a mournful song played on a broken instrument, with striking visual accompaniment.
Presenting its central relationship in a Blue Valentine-style broken-backed montage of past and present, this shimmering adaptation of Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels's play slips between the couple's first passionate encounters and their later battles against the illness that threatens to rob them of their most treasured possession.
He is hairy and obsessed with Americana; she is tattooed and wears a cross; they meet in the unexpected harmony of their voices, singing arcane songs about this world and the next to the accompaniment of bull fiddle, banjo and slide guitar. As the cruelties of life bite deep and their child is endangered, their worldviews diverge,...
- 10/19/2013
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Award-winning Berlin title to open Sensoria Festival in September; full line-up unveiled.
Sheffield-based music and film festival Sensoria is to open with the UK premiere of The Broken Circle Breakdown on Sept 26, attended by director Felix van Groeningen.
Based on the theatre play of the same name by Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels, it marks van Groeningen’s fourth feature.
It follows Didier (Heldenburgh) and Elise (Veerle Baetens) who strike up an intense, passionate relationship and have a baby. But when their daughter falls ill, they respond in different ways and put their love to the test.
Review: The Broken Circle Breakdown
The film, which has a bluegrass soundtrack, debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival in February where it won the Label Europa Cinemas and Panorama Audience awards.
It went on to win the best actress and best screenplay awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Politiken’s Audience Award at Cph:pix.
StudioCanal will release...
Sheffield-based music and film festival Sensoria is to open with the UK premiere of The Broken Circle Breakdown on Sept 26, attended by director Felix van Groeningen.
Based on the theatre play of the same name by Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels, it marks van Groeningen’s fourth feature.
It follows Didier (Heldenburgh) and Elise (Veerle Baetens) who strike up an intense, passionate relationship and have a baby. But when their daughter falls ill, they respond in different ways and put their love to the test.
Review: The Broken Circle Breakdown
The film, which has a bluegrass soundtrack, debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival in February where it won the Label Europa Cinemas and Panorama Audience awards.
It went on to win the best actress and best screenplay awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Politiken’s Audience Award at Cph:pix.
StudioCanal will release...
- 8/30/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Fantasia Film Festival 2013: ‘The Broken Circle Breakdown’ is Unexpectedly Beautiful Musical Parable
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Directed by Felix Van Groeningen
Adapted for the screen by Carl Joos and Felix Van Groeningen from the play by Jonah Heldenberg and Mieke Dobbels
Belgium, 2012
The Broken Circle Breakdown is an unexpectedly beautiful musical parable about the contradictions of the universe. Rooted almost completely in a reality that seems like our own, it strips down the tropes of the Hollywood musical to paint an effective portrait of love, despair and pain. Elise and Didier fall in love, they sing together in a band, they have a beautiful daughter and then she falls ill; changing all what they knew about the universe. Using a non-linear format and beautifully utilized musical sequences, the film paints an exaggerated portrait of faith and love in the face of chaos.
This is a film that thrives on exaggerated contradictions. The characterizations and allusions may feel obvious but they ring true...
Directed by Felix Van Groeningen
Adapted for the screen by Carl Joos and Felix Van Groeningen from the play by Jonah Heldenberg and Mieke Dobbels
Belgium, 2012
The Broken Circle Breakdown is an unexpectedly beautiful musical parable about the contradictions of the universe. Rooted almost completely in a reality that seems like our own, it strips down the tropes of the Hollywood musical to paint an effective portrait of love, despair and pain. Elise and Didier fall in love, they sing together in a band, they have a beautiful daughter and then she falls ill; changing all what they knew about the universe. Using a non-linear format and beautifully utilized musical sequences, the film paints an exaggerated portrait of faith and love in the face of chaos.
This is a film that thrives on exaggerated contradictions. The characterizations and allusions may feel obvious but they ring true...
- 7/28/2013
- by Justine
- SoundOnSight
Straight from Belgium comes a heartbreaking story of a relationship with powerfully emotional performances. Or, if you prefer – Felix van Groeningen‘s latest movie The Broken Circle Breakdown, which will premiere in the Panorama section at this year’s Berlinale. How (and can) love conquer fate? Find that out in the rest of this report, because we have two videos and some great images to share with you! Felix van Groeningen directed the movie from a script he co-wrote with Carl Joos, and the film is based on the theatre play with the same name by Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels. Described as an intense melodrama,...
- 2/9/2013
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
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