The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)

Directed by: Felix Van Groeningen
Country: Belgium / Netherlands

Review: A couple pursues balance on their relationship after the death of their little daughter due to cancer, mixing tears of joy and sadness in a dramatic story containing a rich musical side. The same hippie mood and Ruben Impens' cinematography, are the noticeable common aspects with “The Misfortunates”, Van Groeningen’s previous film, but here we are dealing with a much more intimate and sensitive matter. Even using a non-linear structure, we can divide this story in two different parts. In the first one, we get to know Didier, a bluegrass musician, his tattooed wife Elise, who owns a tattoo-parlor and also sings in the band, and their cancerous six year-old daughter Maybelle. This part is all about hope, the ups and downs related to Maybelle’s sickness, and a dive in the couple’s past. The second part is associated with the pain that remained after the child’s death, depression, and the ways found to deal with extreme suffering. The bluegrass music works as a vehicle of expressing feelings, enhancing the circumstantial happiness or sadness. At the same time that the film tries to avoid sentimental manipulation, it leaves a sensation of familiarity, with its faith issues, and shattered American dreams. The ending keeps up the intensity: sadness, depth, but also beauty.