The Broken Circle Breakdown Review – A Heartbreakingly Honest Emotional Love Journey

  • Print
Details
Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film
Published on Thursday, 24 October 2013 05:02
Written by Janet Walker

“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” from Menuet Productions and Topkapi Films and distributed by Tribeca Films, brings to the screen a heartbreakingly honest, deeply touching emotional love journey through life, loss and unquenchable sorrow.

“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” the official 2013 Belgium Academy Award Foreign Film Submission, stars Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh and Nell Cattrysse as Maybelle. With Geert Van Rampelberg, Nils De Caster, Robbie Cleiren, Bert Huysentruyt, Jan Bijvoet as members of The Broken Circle Breakdown Band and Blanka Heirman.

Flawlessly directed by Felix Van Groeningen, “The Broken Circle Breakdown” was beautifully written, with realistic and challenging dialogue by Carl Joos and Felix Van Groeningen and was adapted from the play of the same name written by Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels.

As the film opens Didier, played by Heldenbergh, and his Bluegrass Band, are gathered around a singular microphone signing “May the Circle be Unbroken.” The band is in perfect harmony, symbolic of life at the moment; good, working well in perfect harmony. No additions needed.

The scene fades to a hospital where a child, Maybelle played exceptionally by child actress Nell Cattrysse, is having her blood drawn and tested. In the same frame, her mom, Elise, embodied by award winning actress Veerle Baetens, is coaching her through the pain.

“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” presents the pinnacle moments in the lives of Elise and Didier and then returns through flashback filling in, the colors, the layers of life.

We meet our young family as they are meeting each other. A lifelong fascination with American stories birthed from sorrow and struggle, Didier leads a Bluegrass Country and Western band. Meeting Elise, a contemporary independent tattoo artist, with her own shop, livelihood and success, he attempts to interest her in his love for Bluegrass and America and she, looking for a sale, attempts to interest him in a permanent symbol of his fascination.  It is love.

Our young couple find themselves happy and as the quilt of a life together is crafted, the patchwork takes on shades of darkness of the ups and downs of passion.

The child they create and question as they didn’t know if they could be good parents or if they even wanted to break the bliss of lustful lovemaking with the interruptions of responsibilities, becomes the golden thread in the life these two free spirits are building.

“The Broken Circle Breakdown” is gut wrenching sad. We’re not even midway through the film when the first breech in the circle, the lovely child, Maybelle, becomes terminally ill.

The two recklessly try to find something, someone to cling to as the loss has irreparably destroyed a part of their life. The post traumatic stress that follows the devastation drives each of them to search separately and desperately for a lifeline to simply keep emotionally afloat. They question science, God, each other looking to shift the blame of personal, without cause, guilt to each other. 

The parallel story in “The Broken Circle Breakdown” is the rise in fame of the band, which is not mentioned by name. In the opening scenes the band is playing small venues, all the men singing around one microphone, at the end, in the final scenes, they are signing to a theater about the size of Radio City Music Hall. With the deep, fathomless, anguish, fame just isn’t enough.

Life becomes such a struggle Elise even attempts to the change her name to a trigger word from their lustful, youthful, pre-marriage past, and gives Didier a new name also, the object of his love. No longer Elise and Didier she becomes in fantasy Alabama and he Monroe. Her last act of love was to immortalize her heart, soul, love, life, present and past.

“The Broken Circle Breakdown” is an exceptional film.  Flawless, it is movie making perfection with all elements dialogue, direction, photography, talent each working together to produce a harmonious union.  

Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh give world class performances. They bring stunning portrayals, exhibitions of depth and range that one would expect from the best, most renowned and recognized talent. Child actress Nell Cattrysse is exceptional. The supporting cast shines also.

With an ode to American cowboy, “The Broken Circle Breakdown” blends the love of Bluegrass Music, acoustic strings, a great soundtrack of country and western tunes adding warmth to the outstanding film.

“The Broken Circle Breakdown” won top honors at the 2013 Berlin International Film festival, Panorama Audience Award, at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival the film was awarded Best Screenplay for a narrative feature and Veerle Baetens won Best Actress in a narrative feature and also Nine Ensor Awards of Flemish Cinema including for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Music.

“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” a poignant and deeply, excruciatingly, moving, cinematic masterpiece provides one of the most gripping performances by an ensemble cast in 2013.   See this film. You’ll hold your loves closer.

“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” in Dutch with English subtitles, opens in select cities November 1, 2013.

 

Haute News

Haute Tease

  • Randy Fenoli, Designer, and Star of "Say Yes to the Dress" Launching Bridal Collection

    Randy Fenoli, the most trusted source in the Bridal Industry, is proud to announce the launch of his namesake Bridal Collection, Randy Fenoli Bridal with unveiling's during New York’s Bridal Market and in Europe at Spain’s Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week.

     

  • Avec ses Propres Armes

    Confronté à une résistance ukrainienne sous-estimée et méprisée, Vladimir Poutine en est réduit à détruire des installations civiles dans l'espoir de briser les espoirs de Kiev. Plus que de guerre psychologique, ces actes démontrent surtout l'échec d'une opération militaire infondée et sans horizon.  

  • Paris Fashion: La Métamorphose SS21 Collection: Sultry, Dazzling, Exquisite

    Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2021 went viral with designers presenting their collections in environments highlighting the inspiration. La Métamorphose presented a spring summer 2021 couture collection among the flowers of a lush, blooming, thriving tropical garden.

     

  • Dashcam Review – An Entertaining, Suspenseful, Psychological Drama

    Dashcam, from Gravitas Ventures, brings to the screen a contemporary film noir, as the Covid pandemic has regulated life to remote, a Halloween evening assignment turns into the chance of a lifetime, or is it?

     

  • Medical Science: COVID-19 - Should You Rush to Inject Your Toddler

    As Americans diligently work to flatten the pandemic spread curve, the recent federal advisory committee authorizing COVID vaccines for toddlers and infants as young as six months old has many parents relieved that their babies can be vaccinated.

     

  • World News: Macron and The Legislative Elections

    French President Emmanuel Macron may have been elected to a second term, but June’s upcoming legislative elections are proving to be risky for the man who understands a successful presidency depends on a majority capable of serving him.