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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...

Nominated for the foreign film Oscar is Belgian entry "Broken Circle Breakdown," a breakout hit in Belgium before it won the Panorama audience award at the Berlin Film Festival last February. The improbable bluegrass musical romance went on to delight global festival audiences, winning best screenplay at Tribeca. It had a limited release stateside this past November (Tomatometer ranking: 80%).This crowdpleaser is a four-hankie love story between a sexy tattoo shop owner (Belgian star Veerle Batens) and a freewheeling banjo player (Johan Heldenbergh) who start a family and must confront their different ideologies when their daughter (Nell Cattrysse) gets sick. Van Groeningen stopped by Sneak Previews this past fall semester after a screening of the film left many audience members in tears. Anne Thompson: You showed in Berlin last February and won the audience award. That must have been a surprise, or was it? Felix van Groeningen: It had been out in Belgium for.

If you stop to absorb the lyrics of most bluegrass songs, you’ll find they’re not just sad, they’re heart, gut and soul-wrenching. This gives you an idea of what to expect from The Broken Circle Breakdown, a romantic drama that uses bluegrass music to frame its characters' tumultuous lives.

Directed by Felix van Groeningen, The Broken Circle Breakdown follows two young creatives, Elise and Didier, as they meet, fall in love, play in a band together and soon enough end up married and parents to a little girl. As life continues to throw surprises at them, they find the strength to keep going in different ways.

Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh play the leads, and each brings great charisma and energy to the screen. Physically tiny compared to Heldenbergh's towering, banjo-playing figure, Baetens exudes passion and heart as Elise, an impulsive tattoo artist with a lovely singing voice and superstitious leanings.

One of the frontrunners for the foreign film Oscar is Belgian entry "Broken Circle Breakdown," which was a breakout hit in Belgium before it won the audience award at Berlin last February. The improbable bluegrass musical romance went on to delight global festival audiences, winning best screenplay at Tribeca. Now the Felix van Groeningen film leads the field with five nominations for the 26th European Film Awards, which were announced Saturday morning. It's currently playing in limited release stateside (Tomatometer ranking: 80%). This crowdpleaser is a four-hankie love story between a sexy tattoo shop owner (Belgian star Veerle Batens) and a freewheeling banjo player (Johan Heldenbergh) who start a family and must confront their different ideologies when their daughter (Nell Cattrysse) gets sick. The film is also nominated for the European Film Awards' People’s Choice prize. It...

The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium's Submission Academy Award Nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film. U.S. : Tribeca Films. International Sales Agent: The Match Factory

Told in a fragmented fashion through a series of disconnected memories and driven by soulful Bluegrass songs, Felix Van Groeningen’s latest feature tells the story of a doomed romance. Interestingly enough, The Broken Circle Breakdown introduces its characters at the breaking point in their love story before the dynamics of their relationship are clear. Elise (Veerle Baetens) and Didier (Johan Heldenbergh) have a young daughter, Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse) who is battling leukemia. Departing from this heart-wrenching event, the film traces back their story together alternating between their joyous past and how they cope with the little girl’s death.

Elise uses her body as a canvas to exhibit her emotional battle scars in the form of tattoos. She has one for each man she has ever loved, or thought she had. But as soon as each ephemeral misconnection is over, she covers up the name with more ink and moves along to the next one; yet, she is now marked forever with a visible reminder of her past. On the other hand, Didier is infatuated with America as a mystical land of promise, but he is, ironically, also a man of facts who doesn’t believe in God or any religious establishment. This ideology contrasts with his deep love for Bluegrass music, which is essentially an outlet for sadness and longing to find comfort when logic can’t provide any.

Being a real life singer, Baetens brings a fantastic dose of honesty to her performance as Elise. Not only does she physically resemble Reese Witherspoon in the Johnny Cash-biopic Walk the Line, but she also truly surrenders herself to the character in all her complex facets. Throughout her ordeal she goes from a sexy, confident young woman in search for love to an amazing country singer, a loving mother, and lastly a hopeless soul unable to find peace or a reason to live. Equally authentic is her co-protagonist Johan Heldenbergh, whose connection to the story goes even deeper, given that he wrote the original play upon which the film is based. A devoted fan of Bill Monroe’s melancholic tunes, his character Didier can’t accept how life ripped his daughter away from him. His inability to empathize with Elise’s more spiritual coping mechanisms leads him to search for someone to blame, and inevitably the search breaks his spirit.

Musically the film is spot on. The song selection effectively heightens each profoundly moving sequence. Baetens delivers several tear-jerking performances that prove that although country music is unequivocally American, the feelings expressed through the songs are universal. Definitely the standout number out of all the memorable renditions in the soundtrack is the lovers’ duet, “If I Needed You”. Besides being the vehicle for Heldenbergh’s character to break down over his broken life circle, it summarizes the unlikely, yet undeniable love between these two flawed people.

Even if a supernatural element in the last part of the film seems a little out of place in relation to the pragmatism used throughout, it is a forgivable incident when considering the strengths of the piece overall. The Belgian writer/ director deliberately arranged the pieces of this deeply emotional puzzle to emphasize its effect. He juxtaposes the darkest moments in the couple’s relationship with their happiest encounters thus creating a comprehensive mosaic of their time together. Rarely does the editing become such a crucial character in the story as it does here. By leading the viewer between the past and present in such a beautifully orchestrated way the film reaches heights that could have not been achieved in a traditionally linear narrative.

Van Groeningen presents heaven and hell as the two sides of the same coin, a duality that puts to the test all promises of everlasting love. Such is the pain the characters experience that it is hard not to feel for them and their irremediable heartbreak. The Broken Circle Breakdown is a compelling work of visceral emotion, blessed with outstanding performances and delivered with an original stylistic vision. Who would have thought Country Love could be so powerful in Flemish and across the Atlantic.

Read more about all the 76 Best Foreign Language Film Submission for the 2014 Academy Awards

Sales to date by The Match Factory include: France-Bodega Films, Hong Kong (China) - Edko Films Ltd, Iceland - Heimili Kvikmyndanna - Bio Paradis, Italy - Satine Film So. Korea - Sycomad, Norway - Film&Kino, Slovenia - Demiurg, Spain - Golem Distribución, Sweden - Maywin Films Ab, Switzerland - Filmcoopi Zurich Ag, Turkey - Kurmaca Film, United Kingdom - Studiocanal (Uk), Usa - Tribeca Enterprises...

  The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) Film Review, a movie directed by Felix Van Groeningen and starring Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens, Nell Cattrysse, Geert Van Rampelberg,  Nils De Caster, Robbie Cleiren, Jan Bijvoet, Blanka Heirman, and George W. Bush. The Broken Circle Breakdown told two distinct stories, from beginning to end, but [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012): Music Unifies Tragedy...

Title: The Broken Circle Breakdown Tribeca Film Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on RottenTomatoes.com Grade: A- Director: Felix Van Groeningen Screenwriter: Carl Joos, Felix Van Groeningen Cast: Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh, Nell Cattrysse, Geert Van Rampelberg, Nils De Caster, Robbie Cleiren, Bert Huysentruyt, Jan Bijvoet Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 10/3/13 Opens: November 1, 2013 Belgium’s candidate for the Foreign Language Oscar is not only a gem from that small country but is the most powerful film of the year to date. A shattering tale of how the death of a six-year-old daughter from cancer leads to a marital Armageddon is intense, riveting, absorbing, engaging in every frame. [ Read More ]

The post The Broken Circle Breakdown Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Those who have an interest in football, will be fully aware of the meteoric rise of gifted Belgian players of late, as a nation certainly contending to have the finest national side in the world. Well it seems their cinema isn’t half bad either at present – also going through something of a golden age, as following on from the likes of Our Children, Bullhead and Rust and Bone – comes Felix Van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Breakdown, a gripping and emotionally devastating piece of cinema.

We look upon the romance between tattoo artist Elise (Veerle Baetens) and musician Didier (Johan Heldenbergh) from two contrasting angles – one in flashbacks, as we see the pair first meeting and falling hopelessly in love with one another, to the present day, where our protagonists have since had a daughter called Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse). However the six-year-old girl has been diagnosed with cancer, as...

The European Film Academy will hold the 26th European Film Awards in Berlin on December 7th, 2013. To make fans part of the celebration every year the audience gets to choose the winner of the Efa People's Choice Award. This  year one lucky fan will also have the chance to attend the awards ceremony and be part of a fantastic event that brings together Europe's greatest film stars, directors, actors and actresses.

Audiences in the past have  awarded the honor to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's beloved Amelie, Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark, and incredibly 3 times to Spanish master Pedro Almodovar (All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Volver).

To vote and for a chance to win a trip to the 26th European Film Awards click Here

The Nominees Are:

Anna Karenina

UK, 124 min

Directed By: Joe Wright 

Written By: Tom Stoppard 

With: Keira Knightley, Aaron Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander

The Best Offer (La Migliore Offerta)

Italy, 130 min

Written & Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore 

With: Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks, Donald Sutherland

The Broken Circle Breakdown

Belgium, 100 min

Directed by: Felix van Groeningen 

Written by: Carl Joos & Felix van Groeningen 

With: Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh, Nell Cattrysse, Geert van Rampelberg, Nils de Caster

The Deep (Djúpið)

Iceland/Norway, 92 min

Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur 

Written by: Jón Atli Jónasson & Baltasar Kormákur 

With: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jóhann G. Jóhannsson, Stefán Hallur Stefánsson, Björn Thors, Thorbjorg H. Thorgilsdótir

The Gilded Cage (La Cage Dorée)

Portugal/France, 90 min

Directed by: Ruben Alves 

Written by: Ruben Alves, Jean-André Yerlès, Hugo Gélin

With: Rita Blanco, Joaquim de Almeida, Roland Giraud, Chantal Lauby, Barbara Cabrita, Lannick Gautry

I'm So Excited (Los Amantes Pasajeros)

Spain, 90 min

Written & Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar

With: Javier Cámara, Carlos Areces, Raúl Arévalo, Lola Dueñas, Cecilia Roth

The Impossible (Lo Imposible)

Spain, 114 min

Directed by: J.A. Bayona

Written by: Sergio G. Sánchez & María Belón

With: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast

Kon-Tiki

Norway, Denmark, UK, Germany, Sweden, 113 min 

Directed by: Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg

Written by: Petter Skavlan

With: Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Bassmo Christiansen, Tobias Santelmann, Gustaf Skarsgaard, Odd-Magnus Williamson, Jakob Oftebro, Agnes Kittelsen

Love Is All You Need (Den skaldede frisør)

Denmark, 111 min 

Directed By: Susanne Bier

Written By: Anders Thomas Jensen & Susanne Bier

With: Pierce Brosnan, Trine Dyrholm, Paprika Steen, Kim Bodnia

Oh Boy

Germany, 83 min

Written & Directed by: Jan Ole Gerster 

With: Tom Schilling, Marc Hosemann, Friederike Kempter, Michael Gwisdek

Searching for Sugar Man

UK/Sweden, 83 min

Directed by: Malik Bendjelloul...

There are some really sad Bluegrass songs out there, but none of them come anywhere close to the morose depths of The Broken Circle Breakdown. Let's just say that it starts with the realization that Elisa (Veerle Baetens) and Didier's (Johan Heldenbergh) 6-year-old daughter (Nell Cattrysse) has cancer, and it all goes downhill pretty quickly from there. The Broken Circle Breakdown thankfully takes a cue from Blue Valentine and offsets the horribleness of the present with flashbacks to the idyllic happiness of the recent past. If we were to reorganize the film into linear form, it would start with Elisa and Didier's first meeting. Elisa tries to convince Didier to get a tattoo while Didier tries to convince Elisa of the significance of American Bluegrass music. By the end of the conversation, Didier's enthusiasm wins Elisa over. It is not long before Elisa is fronting Didier's Bluegrass band... They are hopelessly in love.

Tribeca’s 12th annual festival, running from April 17-28, is now underway and we have a wide variety of films to look forward to. Below lists some of the selections we are most looking forward to and will be covering throughout the festival. For a full list of our coverage, please check it out here. Cheers to a great year at Tribeca!

Adult World

Directed by:

Scott Coffey

Starring:

Emma Roberts, Evan Peters, John Cusack, Armando Riesco, Cloris Leachman, Shannon Woodward

Synopsis:

Amy is naïve, awkward and anxious to get her poetry career off of the ground in a post-grad existence that is going nowhere. Living with her parents in a seemingly bland upstate New York town and desperate for income, she begrudgingly accepts a job at Adult World, the local, wood-paneled sex shop. Owned by a frisky elderly couple and staffed by diva transvestite Rubio and sweet local boy Alex,...

Belgian film "The Broken Circle Breakdown" has won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European Film in the Berlinale's Panorama section. It is directed by Felix van Groeningen, and centers on the stormy relationship between a bluegrass musician and a tattoo artist. Synopsis below. The film will now receive support from the Europa Cinemas Network, with incentives to theatrical exhibitors to extend its run on screens. It is co-written by van Groeningen and Carl Joos, and stars Jonah Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens and Nell Cattrysse. Didier and Elise’s relationship is stormy and passionate; it’s love at first sight. Didier plays the banjo in a bluegrass band, lives in a caravan in the Belgian countryside and idolises America as the ‘land of the free’. Elise owns her own tattoo parlour. Her body is plastered with images – little mementos of past lovers whose names have been carefully covered up by new tattoos.