Let me start out by saying that you can disagree with someones opinion, but that doesn't stop you from admiring the passion and beauty that they put in to their argument. This is the first Lars Von Trier film I've seen and, after seeing how well put together this one is, I hope too see many more to come.
The film's main themes all about God, fate and the power of true love to conquer all, however I think there are more interesting subtleties to it than just this. I think it is also about the role of women in religion, with the main character, Bess, being portrayed almost as the female version of Jesus. There are too many similarities for it to be purely coincidental, however I do not particularly want to go into details in fear of ruining an amazing story for anyone who does decide to watch the film.
The film takes a very minimalistic yet realistic style, with an almost documentary feel to it at times. The picture quality a lot of scenes is not great but I think it is done intentionally to help emphasise the feelings of dreariness and hopelessness that are a major part of the film. Something that makes me more sure of this are the stunning still shots of the chapter titles, with some of them actually being extremely bright to give the viewer a sense of hope and calm when it is needed. The title shots themselves are extremely symbolic and are not just put in for the sake of being wondrous natural imagery. One shot towards the end of the film stuck with me in particular, a shot where you see a glorious sunrise with a lush pink sky fading away to a ghostly blue. This to me was symbolic of death, with the blood fading away just to leave a cold reminder of what was once so alive and wondrous.
All the cast put in quality performances, managing to come across as extremely genuine in roles that were very hard to do without going over the top and becoming too melodramatic. Emily Watson in particular, who played the character Bess, was sensational. In her first proper film role she managed to transition from moments of innocence, madness and passion seamlessly and without a performance as good as the one she gave, it would have completely ruined the film. The dude who plays the crippled husband was also pretty nifty as well.
The film is fairly long, clocking in at over 2 and a half hours, but it really didn't feel that long at all. It is important that if you want to watch it that you really set yourself some time aside to do so as the film does require your concentration and undivided attention. If you can find the time to watch it then you will be vastly rewarded. It is a a sad beautiful film that is extremely emotionally draining. You better watch it.
The film's main themes all about God, fate and the power of true love to conquer all, however I think there are more interesting subtleties to it than just this. I think it is also about the role of women in religion, with the main character, Bess, being portrayed almost as the female version of Jesus. There are too many similarities for it to be purely coincidental, however I do not particularly want to go into details in fear of ruining an amazing story for anyone who does decide to watch the film.
The film takes a very minimalistic yet realistic style, with an almost documentary feel to it at times. The picture quality a lot of scenes is not great but I think it is done intentionally to help emphasise the feelings of dreariness and hopelessness that are a major part of the film. Something that makes me more sure of this are the stunning still shots of the chapter titles, with some of them actually being extremely bright to give the viewer a sense of hope and calm when it is needed. The title shots themselves are extremely symbolic and are not just put in for the sake of being wondrous natural imagery. One shot towards the end of the film stuck with me in particular, a shot where you see a glorious sunrise with a lush pink sky fading away to a ghostly blue. This to me was symbolic of death, with the blood fading away just to leave a cold reminder of what was once so alive and wondrous.
All the cast put in quality performances, managing to come across as extremely genuine in roles that were very hard to do without going over the top and becoming too melodramatic. Emily Watson in particular, who played the character Bess, was sensational. In her first proper film role she managed to transition from moments of innocence, madness and passion seamlessly and without a performance as good as the one she gave, it would have completely ruined the film. The dude who plays the crippled husband was also pretty nifty as well.
The film is fairly long, clocking in at over 2 and a half hours, but it really didn't feel that long at all. It is important that if you want to watch it that you really set yourself some time aside to do so as the film does require your concentration and undivided attention. If you can find the time to watch it then you will be vastly rewarded. It is a a sad beautiful film that is extremely emotionally draining. You better watch it.