#sandra voe

Breaking the Waves (1996) Lars von Trier

The Winter Guest (1997)

365 Day Movie Challenge (2017) - #369: Breaking the Waves (1996) - dir. Lars von Trier

Breaking the Waves is an experience both emotional and religious, reminding me of the power that cinema contains to move me almost beyond words. Prior to seeing the film, I had seen Emily Watson in only a handful of performances - my favorite was probably as “Her Ladyship” in the recent TV adaptation of The Dresser - but I had no idea that she had a character like Bess McNeill in her. And as a big-screen debut... wow, what a way to be introduced to the world.

To say that Watson is brave in Breaking the Waves is a colossal understatement. We are introduced to Bess shortly before her wedding to an oil rig worker, Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgård); Bess is a virgin who has never been intimate with any men, whereas Jan is older and has had quite a few conquests. The time is the early 1970s and the setting is a remote village in the Scottish highlands where the residents take their Calvinist religion extremely seriously. (Men and women sit in separate pews and women are forbidden to address the congregation for any reason during services.) Bess and Jan’s marriage is frowned upon by the church elders because Jan is an outsider, but both the town and Bess’s family, including her mother (Sandra Voe) and sister-in-law, Dodo (the late, lovely Katrin Cartlidge), accept Bess’s new life.

After a brief period of marital bliss and sexual awakening for Bess, Jan returns to his job on the rig. The separation is intensely difficult for Bess, but she endures, mostly by waiting for Jan’s daily call at a pay phone on the outskirts of the village. Tragedy strikes, however, when an explosion on the rig forces Jan to return home and for he and Bess to confront a new reality: he is paralyzed from the neck down, maybe permanently.

Despite spite of Bess and Dodo’s best efforts to care for Jan (it helps tremendously that Dodo is a nurse at the local hospital), he is inconsolable. In an impulsive moment, he suggests to Bess that she take a lover so that she won’t have to forgo sex. The proposition infuriates Bess, who would gladly remain dedicated to Jan in abstinence, but when he reframes the request - telling Bess that having sex with other men and telling him about the encounters afterward will help keep him alive - Bess sees Jan’s plea as a holy quest that will save him.

Holby City star Catherine Russell has said she found her assisted dying storyline a struggle because her own views on the subject are different to her character’s. The actress plays deputy CEO Serena Campbell in the BBC One hospital drama and the plot involved her character’s mother Adrienne (Sandra Voe), who has vascular dementia, asking Serena to help her die.

“I personally feel very strongly about dying with dignity,” said Catherine. “It’s appalling that people with terminal illnesses in the UK have to ship themselves overseas at great expense and upheaval.”

“But my beliefs are not the same as Serena’s, so it’s been challenging playing something I don’t agree with. I’ve had to be in Serena’s mind and ignore my views.”

However, Catherine added that fan feedback and working with Sandra had helped. “The feedback I’ve had from the audience has been quite moving. They’ve all been telling me about their own relatives and friends. They’ve said that the way we’ve played the story is how it really is in true life. Although it’s upsetting, I think it’s quite cathartic for people to see a familiar story on TV.”

In case anyone’s interested, here’s the list of the episodes that Serena’s mum, Adrianne is in:

S15E18 Spence’s Choice - P2 S15E20 Unravelled S15E21 Recovery Position S15E25 The End of the Beginning S15E45 All At Sea

S16E32 Keeping Mum S16E33 Crush S16E40 The Spirit… S16E43 Affair of the Mind S16E50 Mummy Dearest

S17E03 The Science of Imaginary Solutions S17E05 We Must Remember This S17E06 Severed S17E07 Flesh & Blood (Adrianne’s not technically in this one in terms of physical presence, but an emotional one on its impact on Serena)

These episodes really give good insight into Serena’s character and her mother’s affect on Serena.