THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN

Belgium, 2012, 111 minutes, Colour.
Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens, Nell Cattrysse.

Directed by Felix van Groeningen.



This film was Belgium’s nomination for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It deserved to be.

There is so much joy, so much sorrow, so much anger in under two hours that the film has quite a profound effect on its audience. It is based on a play by the lead actor, Johan Heldenbergh (Didier), who is obviously at home in his performance, his character, words, singing, deep emotions.

Somebody who found the film sometimes difficult to follow noted that it was “chronologically impaired”. For those caught up in the film, this is not really a difficulty, even though the film has many flashbacks and flashforwards. There is always something to anchor audience attention as to the time in the narrative, starting in the late 1990s and moving through to 2006.

During the opening credits, there is an introduction to the Bluegrass Music which pervades the whole film, the song about the circle being broken. the lyrics indicate something of the themes for the film and this is the case someone to come and ease the pain, as well as the song in the final credits about a soul never dying.



Didier is a banjo player (and there is a substantial justification for the use of the banjo and its history), who performs the song songs with a group of friends. He loves America, idealises it. At a tattoo shop, he comes across a vivacious young woman, Elise (Veerle Baetens), and invites her to one of the concerts. She doesn’t quite believe that he is a performer but is caught up with his music. They live together and, within a short time, she becomes pregnant. His immediate reaction is not enthusiastic and she is taken aback, but he comes to terms with his becoming a father and they go through a wedding ceremony.

The film also shows what is happening in 2006. Their lively young daughter, Maybelle, become sick and is diagnosed with cancer, needing hospitalisation, chemotherapy and stem cell treatment. The screenplay has a great deal of moving backwards and forwards from the time that Maybelle was a baby, beginning to walk, growing up with her loving parents as well as with the band and her father’s mother. Nell Cattryse’s acting as Maybelle is absolutely convincing, the audience readily believing how sick she is, suffering, yet often playful, grieving when a bird flies into the glass on their terranda and dies. Which serves as a symbol for what is happening to her – and her mother later putting stickers of birds on the glass so that they will not crash, her husband incomprehending about a bird’s DNA not stopping them hitting the glass.

A warning. This review will now add a detail which audiences anticipating the film may note not want to know and leave the review until after viewing.

Halfway through the film, Maybelle dies.

We have shared the joy and the pain in an intense way, so convincing are the performers, so well-written are the scenes – and so touching the songs.

Now, audiences will be anticipating the tensions between husband and wife as they try to come to terms with the death of the child. The mother withdraws, blaming herself, blaming her husband, saying that he did not want the child, telling him that there was cancer in his family and not in hers. The husband tries to reach out to his wife but is prone to outbursts of anger, confronting his wife, and then in an extraordinary outburst during an on-stage performance at the end of the film, after watching George W. Bush on television vetoing legislation that would allow stem cell research and usage. The father, so angered by Bush, lashes out verbally against him, against fundamentalist Christians, against God, one of the most vitriolic attacks on Yahweh and the perceived merciless dictatorial action of God on people who suffer.

The mother has an emotional and imaginative faith, thinking of her dead daughter as a star, or as a bird who will come to visit her. She stands up to her husband, expressing the “faith” of a person who does not have strong religious beliefs but has hope.

Earlier, there has been a surprise when Elise is seen in an ambulance with the medical staff trying to revive her. This is explained later, after she moves away from her husband, yet still performs songs with him, especially the song about coming to ease the pain. But, it is all too much for her. The father does murmur to his wife that when she sees Maybelle, she give her his love.

Many will find the film quite emotionally draining – but it would probably repay viewing, the audience understanding better the time shifts, empathising more deeply with the characters and their joys and sufferings.

1. The impact of the film? Seems? Emotions?

2. The title, Blue Grass music, the lyrics? Didier and his praise of the music and the United States?

3. The insertion of the songs throughout the film, the opening, illustrating characters, the themes of suffering and pain, the final credits song and the soul surviving?

4. The structure of the film, 2006, the action going backwards and forwards, the initial meeting, the music, the relationship, the child, the child growing up, illness, the treatment, the child’s death, burial? The second half of the film and the husband and wife dealing with the tragedy? Coping or not? The flash-forwards to the ambulance sequence, back to the action? The effect of this kind of movement in time throughout the film, the screenplay giving enough clues as to where the action was?

5. Didier and Elise, singing, the relationship, the film going back to the tattoo shop, the initial meeting, the invitation to the gig, Elise’s response? Then moving in together, their love for each other, the caravan, work, songs, the group of friends, the band, Elise singing, her talent?

6. Her pregnancy, Didier’s reaction, the disappointment, his returning, the decision to work on the house, the renovation, her asking for a veranda, his building a teranda, the glass, the reaction? The bird flying into the glass and the later reaction of Maybelle and Didier and his explanations about birds, the foolishness of crashing into glass, DNA and instinct? Maybelle and her grief?

7. The marriage ceremony, the humour? Didier’s mother and her support? The birth of Maybelle? Yet the later discovery that Didier had been drinking, briefly at the hospital, 10 days before we came back? The issue of whether he loved the baby or not? Once born, his love for Maybelle?

8. Maybelle, as a baby, the parents with her, her growing up, birthday, singing, the gifts of the boots, and happy life?

9. Maybelle and illness, going to the hospital, treatment by the doctors, the diagnosis, the different stages of treatment, her reaction, fear of the needles, the nursing care, happy and in hospital, her hair loss? Going home, the chemotherapy, the explanation of the blood and its going into the cells to help? The sadness of her death?

10. Maybelle at home, the bird the glass, sad, Didier and his arguing, her grief for the bird?

11. The funeral, the singing, the sadness?

12. After Maybelle’s death, Elise, withdrawing, and leeaving, not caring? Didier and his arguments, at home, his going out?

13. The issues, blame, and no cancer in her family, yet in Didier’s family?

14. The fast forward, the ambulance, Didier in the ambulance, the treatment for Elise?

15. Elise moving out, changing her name? Yet singing with the group? The pathos of the songs? Audience response?

16. Didier and his grief, the surprising outburst on the stage, the condemnation of Yahweh, issues of suffering, the cruelty of God and the effect on people? Elise walking off the stage?

17. Elise, the pills, her collapse, the ambulance, her death?

18. Didier speaking to her, his previous condemnation of her belief afterlife, that Maybelle was the star, or in a bird on the sill? His telling Elise to give his love to Maybelle?

19. The cumulative effect of such emotions and joy, sadness, anger?