Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) – Review

I decided to start out the year well and immediately start watching a Blindspot movie. When I saw that this movie was available through one of the on demand services I am subscribed to it was easy to decide which one to start with. I had already been warned by de Protagonisten, two fellow Dutch blogger, that this wouldn’t be an easy watch….and boy, were they right. There was nothing which could have prepared me for the emotions I’d be going through during the next 111 minutes.

Didier (Johan Heldenbergh), who lives in Belgium, is in adoration of America, he thinks it is the greatest country in the world and tries to live the American way. He drives a big pickup truck, dresses as a cowboy and plays bluegrass music with his band, which he thinks is the purest form of country music. He meets tattoo artist Elise (Veerle Baetens) and the two quickly fall in love. Elise steps into Didier’s world and starts singing in his band as well. They are blessed with a daughter, Maybelle, and although the first couple of years they are a happy family that all changes when their six year-old daughter is diagnosed with cancer. It is the start of a difficult period, which leaves its marks on everyone.

 Those marks are also left upon the viewer, because it’s a story that will move you to tears. Both main actors put so much emotion into their roles that you don’t doubt the struggle their characters go through for a second. The depth of the emotion simply can’t be ignored. By not telling the story chronologically, but regularly presenting new information to the viewer you start to understand both Didier and Elise better. The events that take place also resonate into the music the characters make. And although I don’t have any feelings about bluegrass music, it really adds a whole lot watching the performances, sung by the cast themselves. If you haven’t seen this film yet I urge you to mentally prepare yourself and see it as soon as you can. It’s a word I don’t use often, but to me this is a masterpiece as not many movies have managed to move me as much as this one did.