Breaking the Waves (1996)
(Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/France/Netherlands/Norway/Iceland/Spain/UK 1996, 159 min., 35mm)
Emily Watson gives an astonishing performance as Bess McNeill, a devout, naive young woman who marries a worldly, non-religious oil rig worker, Jan (Stellan Skarsgård), despite opposition from her Scottish Calvinist community. Bess has difficulty living without Jan when he is away on the oil platform so she prays for his immediate return. After being paralyzed in an accident (which Bess believes she has caused through her prayer), Jan persuades her to find a lover and describe her sexual experiences to him. Boldly mixing realism and melodrama, von Trier's breakthrough, critically acclaimed film launched his Dogme 95 movement and stands as one of the most important European films of the ’90s.