Sometimes foreign language films can be surprisingly moving because you're forced to engage more with the facial expressions and unspoken acting than you would with your native language based films. The Broken Circle Breakdown is exactly that. Heartbreaking, relentlessly emotional, and undeniably honest, you never feel comfortable watching this film and are constantly challenged to feel some sort of happiness with the dread that's happening on screen. Although all these things are true, I do feel like there wasn't enough explanation of what the point of all this was. Or just simply, what the film was trying to say. Is it just telling us that amidst all that's good and lovely with the world is an insane amount of sadness and despair. And I guess that's fine, but I could have used a bit more depth.7.5/10

This is a very expressive but believable sexy drama that attracts you from the beginning. The language in which feelings and emotions are exposed is rich as well as effective: the movie gets to you in many different ways. Its musicality makes it a very vivid film. The plot is about a passionate relationship in an environment in which the cult of beauty and pleasure is professed. The charm of the main characters, the lifestyle of a couple who have it all worked out, who are happy, seduce you from the first minute. But as the movie goes on the vertigo seizes you as much as them; the feeling that things can break down at any moment, that they can only get worse, that glory is not forever, increasingly cause a lump in your throat. The movie follows an almost-circular narrative structure, placing the sacrifice in the middle of the footage. After enjoying so much passion and beauty the tragedy hurts more. That's when catharsis happens: A sea of tears with bluegrass playing in the back. Thank you for such a beautiful and pleasant drama.

Two bluegrass musicians meet, fall in love and wrestle with their emotions as their daughter is diagnosed with cancer in this compelling drama from Belgium. Johan Heldenbergh is excellent throughout as the very emotionally torn husband and the film utilises music interludes very well, but it is the non-linear structure of the film that stands up best as the film plays out a more a stream of consciousness tale than a traditional narrative, as if the whole film is Heldenbergh's own personal reflections on his life. The ups and downs of his tale also benefit from the film taking place out of order; they are more enthralling and tragic knowing what is to come. The politics of the film are, however, very heavy-handed, and with quite a bit of speechmaking and angry rants on Heldenbergh's behalf, his grief is sometimes uncomfortably pushed into the backdrop. While hardly the happiest film ever made, it should perhaps be noted that 'The Broken Circle Breakdown' is not quite as bleak as all that. There is ample time spent on his happy moments to the point that one can see the film about cherishing good memories and trying to not let bad memories overpower them. The film finds an excellent child performance in Nell Cattrysse too. The scene in which she refuses to let go of a dead bird, realising that it could very well be her, is absolutely heartbreaking.

It may have taken a while for The Broken Circle Breakdown to reach Australian cinema screens, but it was most certainly worth the wait. This Belgian film is a powerful warts-and-all treatise on the power of love, both as a force of great joy and as the catalyst for the events in our lives that cause us the most pain. Following a slew of award wins at festivals around the world, the film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2013 Academy Awards (where it somehow lost to The Great Beauty) and it is easy to see why this story has found so much favour with festival audiences and critics alike. This is the heartbreaking love story of Didier (Johan Heldenbergh), a banjo player in a bluegrass band, and Elise (Veerle Baetens), the sexy, vivacious tattoo artist for whom he falls head over heels.Our couple settle into a life of domestic bliss in a ramshackle caravan situated in rural environs somewhere near the Flemish city of Ghent; a picturesque setting in which chickens wander aimlessly around the yard. Soon enough, daughter Maybelle is born and the relationship between Didier and Elise only seems to strengthen as they embrace parenthood and set forth on repairing the dilapidated house that Didier has neglected for too long. However, happy families and home renovations do not an engaging drama make and when Maybelle is diagnosed with cancer, the relationship between Didier and Elise becomes strained. The tension in the story escalates but, despite claims to the contrary by some, it never drifts excessively into the melodrama realm because nothing seems exaggerated and the characters are far from stereotypical. Most movies that deal with cancer are sickly sweet and overly simplistic in their handling of such scenarios, but not on this occasion. Superb performances, particularly from Baetens and the young Nell Cattrysse as Maybelle, imbue the film with a sense of realism that makes you forget these are just characters; you feel as though you are watching real people. Director Felix van Groeningen has created an intimate world in which our connection with the family is palpable. Heldenbergh, who co-wrote the play from which the film is adapted, plays Didier as a stoic, quietly spoken musician whose personality is at odds with the much more outgoing Elise, her body adorned with tattoos that symbolise her life thus far. Despite their differences, the relationship works and Elise soon finds herself part of the band, bringing a new dimension to their concerts.The film opens at the hospital when Elise and Didier learn that Maybelle has cancer. Next, we are privy to the moment when Didier first takes Elise home to his country compound and, from this point, the story continues to skip around in time, jumping forward and backwards to slowly reveal the full sequence of events. The decision to present the narrative in a non-linear style is a challenge at times, with fantastic editing seamlessly melding one scene into the next, even though they may be set months, or years, apart. In the end though, it all comes together beautifully. Set in the early years of the 21st century, we see the twin towers attacked on television at one point and it is George W. Bush's decision to prohibit stem cell research - which we also see via a television broadcast - that sends Didier into fits of rage that serve as a renouncement of his love affair with America. The bluegrass music, presented via a series of terrific concert sequences, is fantastic. Although the songs – all of which are performed in English - may reflect upon the sorrows and hardships of life, they never feel depressing or downbeat in the hands of this motley group of musicians.It is rare to find a film that is dramatically, politically, emotionally and musically rich, but The Broken Circle Breakdown delivers on all fronts. Whereas Joel and Ethan Coen preferred to parody such musical styles and sensibilities with O Brother Where art Thou?, this film takes a much more reverent approach. This is a soul-stirring drama rich in heartache that never tries to accommodate genre tropes or audience expectations. This is a film about love but it is also a film about faith, with Didier particularly strident in his beliefs regarding god and religion. Whilst this is that very rarest of beasts in that it is a love story worth watching, it is much more than that. The Broken Circle Breakdown is just a fabulous film in every respect.