The Broken Circle Breakdown (2013)
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Critics Consensus: The Broken Circle Breakdown's reach occasionally exceeds its grasp, but overall, it's an intoxicating, finely wrought romance -- and one with a terrific soundtrack to boot.
Critics Consensus: The Broken Circle Breakdown's reach occasionally exceeds its grasp, but overall, it's an intoxicating, finely wrought romance -- and one with a terrific soundtrack to boot.
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Movie Info
The Broken Circle Breakdown is the new film by Felix van Groeningen. The film is based on the stage play with the same name by Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels, with which they filled all manner of theaters, church halls, public houses and cultural centres. (c) Official Site- Rating:
- Unrated
- Genre:
- Art House & International , Drama
- Directed By:
- Felix Van Groeningen
- In Theaters:
- Nov 1, 2013 Limited
- On DVD:
- Mar 11, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $30.7k
Cast
-
Veerle Baetens
as Elise -
Johan Heldenbergh
as Didier -
Nell Cattrysse
as Maybelle -
Geert Van Rampelberg
as William -
Nils De Caster
as Jock -
Robby Cleiren
as Jimmy
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Critic Reviews for The Broken Circle Breakdown
All Critics (90) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (17) | DVD (1)
The movie swings like a pendulum between elation and despair, with little time devoted to anything in between.
Traditional bluegrass songs of loss and grief provide the inspiration and score for this innovative Belgian, Flemish-language musical drama.
It's the music that really brings Broken Circle to life, an excellent collection of old-timey country classics and originals that reconnects the broken bits of the story and resonates with its deepest emotions.
Breakdown gets the music right and has the benefit of strong acting, but its unapologetically melodramatic plot has a tendency to throw everything at you but the kitchen sink.
Invigorating musical elements and the lead actors' potent chemistry can't entirely protect this tragic relationship drama from its encroaching shortage of subtlety.
Breakdown's less convincingly scripted second half sputters more often than it shines.
More so than its music, Broken Circle's greatest merit are the compelling performances Van Groeningen cultivates from both his leads.
I wish the patience and grace of the director's techniques in the film's strongest non-musical moments were matched in his depictions of the amazing music on display.
It's a film about a couple whose tumultuous relationship is severely challenged, and the performances are excellent.
Where the Coen brothers gently mocked th[e] music in O Brother Where art Thou?, this plucky little Belgian film reconnects that music to the sorrows that produced it. Just brilliant.
There are plenty of touching, powerful moments in director Felix Van Groeningen's child-with-cancer drama...though [it's] somewhat laboured. The 2012 French film Declaration of War dealt with a similar topic in more lyrical, more affecting manner.
In spite of the bleak premise the film isn't an emotional force.
It is for most of its length a strong involving narrative with wonderful performances from the two leads, Heldenbergh and Baetens and a simply lovely one from young Nell Cattrysse.
Despite the miserable subject matter, writer-director Felix Van Groeningen manages to mostly strike the right chord, eschewing unchecked histrionics for honest, bittersweet emotion.
The juxtaposition of bluegrass music in this heavy-hitting drama about love and loss brings with it an unexpected and exquisite timbre. Take a tissue - this is an affecting film that touches the heart
A devastatingly sad movie that is beautifully constructed and performed.
"Broken Circle Breakdown" ends with a communal song in a confined space, not a dirge, but with hushed voices raised in envoi, and Groeningen's camera trickles down to pick out one last, final, lasting image. It all comes full circle.
It's a powerful film that builds to intense, overwhelming emotions with a very human core.
Sensibly written and thoughtfully directed, intuitively acted, bitter-sweet like Belgian chocolate, and propelled by incredible bluegrass music.
Electric sexiness and very modern motifs overlie a wonderfully old-fashioned melodrama... a highly gratifying one, if you enjoy a good ol' weep.
Raises itself far above its Lifetime Movie of the Week premise.
The Broken Circle Breakdown doesn't jerk tears. It attempts to extract them by using enhanced interrogation techniques.
Groovy German bluegrass, if you can believe it.
Audience Reviews for The Broken Circle Breakdown
It's hard to tell whether The Broken Circle Breakdown was born from Bluegrass or if the likeness between the story and the music came later, regardless, both work in harmony beautifully. You may struggle if you take prudence to Bluegrass but then again, it may convert you. Either way, you can't hide from the intensity of the romance and the good and bad that comes with it. It's a thinking persons romance, the antidote for the usual Hollywood 'Rom-com'. It's style and practicality, the perfect romance is often not perfect and that's why it works. There are no ridiculous situations, no comedy in-laws, no talking Dog etc, only the ridiculousness of every day life, much like in Bluegrass, we sing about the good and sing about the bad, only the tempo is different. Don't misunderstand me though, I'm not going to give away the story but The Broken Circle Breakdown pulls no punches and has more depth than any film I've seen in the last few years and deserves to be seen.
http://cinephilecrocodile.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-broken-circle-breakdown-dir-felix.html
Super Reviewer
The deepest emotions are explored in this tragic drama: love, grief, the joy of parenthood, the depth of music, and the capacity of the human heart. The story follows Elise and Didier, who fall in love, sing in a country western band, love America but not their policies on stem cell research, have a child, get married, and deal with their daughter's illness as best they can. The story grasps at every emotion in the spectrum, and plunges deep into the heart to get the viewer's response. Threading through a story told mostly in flashbacks are performances of country western music, and we piece together a picture of their love story, and the gloomy ending of said story. It's a beautiful film that makes me tear up, as I write about it. This is not a film for the faint of heart, easily identifiable as a tearjerker and a musical masterpiece.
MoreSuper Reviewer
"The Broken Circle Breakdown" is a hard one to review, because it's overwhelmingly depressing tone will definitely make you not want to watch the film, especially because it get's more and more depressing as the film goes on. It is essentially about a man and a woman's love story, told very non-linear as they fall madly in love, have an unexpected daughter, and have to deal with the fact that she has cancer and may not make it out. Growing up as country singers, each time they sing on stage was in English which was great shift in tones, and the performances are some of the best to come from 2013. It is definitely one of the best films of 2013, but it is just very very hard to watch. I highly recommend watching this film, but at the right moment.
MoreSuper Reviewer
An emotionally intense, realistic and expertly edited drama about love, loss and sorrow, with two great heartfelt performances and a stirring bluegrass soundtrack. It is just a shame, though, that in the third act it simply chooses to embrace a dishonest spiritual conclusion.
MoreSuper Reviewer
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