''The Broken Circle Breakdown'' (also known as ''Alabama Monroe'') is a 2012 Belgian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Felix van Groeningen with a screenplay by Carl Joos and van Groeningen. It is based on the stage play of the same name by

Johan Heldenbergh Johan Heldenbergh (born 9 February 1967) is a Belgian actor, playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and film director. He gained international fame by starring in films, including ''A Day in a Life'' (2007), '' Moscow, Belgium'' (2008), ''T ...

and Mieke Dobbels. The film garnered critical acclaim and was selected as the Belgian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

86th Academy Awards The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2013 and took place on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...

, and was on the nominated shortlist. The film was the winner of Best Foreign Film at the 39th César Awards. It was the winner of the 2013 Lux Prize.

Plot

The film is set in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, in the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, and chronicles the lives of Didier (Johan Heldenbergh) and Elise (Veerle Baetens) over seven years as they fall in love through their passion for

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...

. Didier meets Elise in her tattoo parlour and invites her to the performance of his Bluegrass band. They soon fall in love. When Didier discovers Elise has a wonderful voice, she joins their band as a singer. After a few months, Elise discovers she is unexpectedly pregnant. Even though it comes as a shock at first, the couple is happy. Their daughter Maybelle is born and for a few years, they live a happy life and have success with their band. After her sixth birthday, Maybelle develops cancer and her health quickly deteriorates. She succumbs to it within a year. The death of Maybelle has a devastating effect on Didier and Elise's relationship and their lives. Didier focuses on

scientism Scientism is the opinion that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality. While the term was defined originally to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to natural scientis ...

, especially after George W. Bush opposes

embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre- implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist ...

research under pressure of

creationists Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation.#Gunn 2004, Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' say ...

and the

anti-abortion movement Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

. Elise finds solace in

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...

and

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

. The two grow further and further apart until Elise attempts suicide. She is rushed to the hospital but she is found braindead. Didier agrees to stop the artificial respiration. Finally the band plays a song around Elise's deathbed.

Cast

as Didier Bontinck / Monroe *

Veerle Baetens Veerle Baetens (born 24 January 1978) is a Belgian actress and singer probably best known for her role as Elise/Alabama in ''The Broken Circle Breakdown'' and as lead detective Hannah Maes in the crime drama '' Code 37''. She has also starred in ...

as Elise Vandevelde / Alabama * Nell Cattrysse as Maybelle * Geert Van Rampelberg as William * Nils De Caster as Jock * Robbie Cleiren as Jimmy * Bert Huysentruyt as Jef * Jan Bijvoet as Koen * Blanka Heirman as Denise

Production

The film was shot from 18 July to 8 September 2011 in Belgium.

Soundtrack

The bluegrass soundtrack includes traditional songs as well as music composed for the film by Bjorn Eriksson. All the music in the band scenes is performed by the actors. # "

Will the Circle Be Unbroken? "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" is a popular Christian hymn written in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon with music by Charles H. Gabriel. The song is often recorded unattributed and, because of its age, has lapsed into the public domain. Most of the ...

" See also " Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)" # "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn" by

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass- country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed wit ...

, Pat Brayer, Jerry Douglas, Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, and Ron Block # "Dusty Mixed Feelings" # " Wayfaring Stranger" # "Rueben's Train" # "Country In My Genes" # "Further On Up The Road" # "Where Are You Heading, Tumbleweed?" # "Over In The Gloryland" # "Cowboy Man" # " If I Needed You" # "Carved Tree Inn" # "Sandmountain" # "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" # "Blackberry Blossom"

Reception

Critical response

''The Broken Circle Breakdown'' has an approval rating of 83% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 103 reviews, and an average rating of 7.30/10. The website's critical consensus states, "''The Broken Circle Breakdowns reach occasionally exceeds its grasp, but overall, it's an intoxicating, finely wrought romance -- and one with a terrific soundtrack to boot". It also has a score of 70 out of 100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Boyd van Hoeij of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

wrote: "Sophisticated cutting brings out the story’s complex emotional undercurrents, though “Breakdown’s” less convincingly scripted second half sputters more often than it shines." David Rooney of

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

wrote: "The non-linear structure works extremely well, making the drama a bracing emotional roller coaster of feel-good/feel-bad turns."

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broken Circle Breakdown 2012 films 2012 drama films Belgian drama films 2010s Dutch-language films Films about cancer Belgian films based on plays Films set in Belgium Films shot in Belgium Films shot in Ghent Ghent in fiction Best Foreign Film César Award winners Films directed by Felix van Groeningen