The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)

Drama, Music, Romance

Director: Felix van Groeningen
Writers: Johan Heldenbergh, Mieke Dobbels, Carl Joos, Felix van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch
Starring: Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens, Nell Cattrysse, Geert Van Rampelberg

"A Bluegrass Love Story."

After Didier, an atheist banjo player in a Flemish band that performs American bluegrass songs, meets Elise, a religious tattoo artist with her body covered in ink, they fall in love, bonding over their shared enthusiasm for American music and culture, and dive headfirst into a sweeping romance that plays out on and off stage. Their love is put to the test after their daughter is stricken by cancer, as the terrible illness threatens to rob them of their most treasured possession.

Based on the play written by Johan Heldenbergh, the actor who plays Didier, and Mieke Dobbels, the film is "a beautifully composed, soul-stirring drama about love, family, sex, sorrow, faith, and music," told in a Pulp Fiction-esque montage of past and present, going back and forth in time, between past and present.

Plot summary from IMDb: Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight. She has her own tattoo shop and he plays the banjo in a bluegrass band. They bond over their shared enthusiasm for American music and culture, and dive headfirst into a sweeping romance that plays out on and off stage - but when an unexpected tragedy hits their new family, everything they know and love is tested. An intensely moving portrait of a relationship from beginning to end, propelled by a soundtrack of foot-stomping bluegrass, The Broken Circle Breakdown is a romantic melodrama of the highest order.

Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 26 wins & 16 nominations.
Runtime: 111 min
Not R