Ranking Every Lars Von Trier Film Worst To Best
2. Breaking The Waves (1996)
Breaking the Waves stands as von Trier's true break-out film. A deeply affecting tale of love, loss and compassion, the film stars a career-best Emily Watson as Bess, a beautiful and naive woman whose husband Jan (Stellan Skarsgard) becomes paralysed after an accident and begs his wife to find a new romantic partner.
It's a dramatic and heart-wrenching portrayal of faith and atonement, a mesmerising romance tied to a surreal and dream-like tragedy. The staggering imagery in this film is close to unrivalled in von Trier's filmography, but is amongst the beauty a troubling and disturbing tale of moral questioning and what we do in the name of love.
Like the vast majority of von Trier's films, Breaking the Waves is as magical as it is unsettling, but unlike many in his back catalogue, there is something almost hopeful about the horror taking place. It's not an easy watch (though is far easier to sit through than Antichrist or The Idiots), but is perhaps von Trier's most rewarding film.