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Breaking the Waves

1996 film by Lars von Trier
Movie film Q538412
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Breaking the Waves

Summary

Breaking the Waves is a film[1]. It ranks in the top 3% of film entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (6,467 views/month).[2]

Key Facts

  • Breaking the Waves received the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix[3].
  • Breaking the Waves received the Amanda Award for Best Nordic Feature Film[4].
  • Breaking the Waves received the Silver nugget for the best foreign film[5].
  • Breaking the Waves received the César Award for Best Foreign Film[6].
  • Breaking the Waves received the European Film Award for Best Film[7].
  • Breaking the Waves received the European Film Academy Critics Award[8].
  • Breaking the Waves's instance of is recorded as film[9].
  • Breaking the Waves was directed by Lars von Trier[10].
  • Lars von Trier wrote the screenplay for Breaking the Waves[11].
  • Peter Asmussen wrote the screenplay for Breaking the Waves[12].
  • Breaking the Waves's genre is drama film[13].
  • Breaking the Waves's genre is romance film[14].
  • Breaking the Waves's genre is art film[15].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Emily Watson[16].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Stellan Skarsgård[17].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Katrin Cartlidge[18].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Jean-Marc Barr[19].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Adrian Rawlins[20].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Udo Kier[21].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Roef Ragas[22].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Sandra Voe[23].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Gavin Mitchell[24].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Mikkel Gaup[25].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Phil McCall[26].
  • A cast member of Breaking the Waves was Robert Robertson[27].

Body

Authorship and Creation

Producers include Peter Aalbæk Jensen[28] and Vibeke Windeløv[29]. Breaking the Waves was directed by Lars von Trier[10]. Screenwriters include Lars von Trier[11] and Peter Asmussen[12]. Cast members include Emily Watson[16], Stellan Skarsgård[17], Katrin Cartlidge[18], Jean-Marc Barr[19], Adrian Rawlins[20], and Udo Kier[21].

Publication

Publication dates include May 18, 1996[30], August 23, 1996[31], July 5, 1996[32], November 13, 1996[33], and October 3, 1996[34]. The original language of Breaking the Waves was English[35]. Genres include drama film[13], romance film[14], and art film[15]. Its part of the series is recorded as Golden Heart trilogy[36]. It was distributed by video on demand[37].

Subject and Themes

Main subjects include love[38], altruistic suicide[39], sexual morality[40], innocence[41], social exclusion[42], and guilt[43]. Breaking the Waves's part of the series is recorded as Golden Heart trilogy[36].

Reception

Awards received include Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix[3], a class of award[44], in France[45], founded in 1967[46]; Amanda Award for Best Nordic Feature Film[4]; Silver nugget for the best foreign film[5]; César Award for Best Foreign Film[6], a César Award[47], in France[48], founded in 1976[49]; European Film Award for Best Film[7], a European Film Awards[50], founded in 1988[51]; and European Film Academy Critics Award[8], a class of award[52]. Reviews include 8.2/10[53], 85%[54], 82/100[55], and 7.8/10[56].

Why It Matters

Breaking the Waves ranks in the top 3% of film entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (6,467 views/month).[2] It has Wikipedia articles in 24 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[57] It is known by 16 alternative names across languages and contexts.[58]

FAQs

What awards did Breaking the Waves receive?

Honors received include Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix[3], Amanda Award for Best Nordic Feature Film[4], Silver nugget for the best foreign film[5], and César Award for Best Foreign Film[6].

Related Entities

Denmark Emily Watson film France Iceland Lars von Trier Netherlands Norway Stellan Skarsgård Sweden Udo Kier

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [10] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [3] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [53] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [54] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [55] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  43. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  44. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [44] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [45] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [46] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [47] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [48] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [49] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [50] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [51] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [52] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [57] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [58] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Breaking the Waves. Retrieved October 1, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/breaking-the-waves
MLA “Breaking the Waves.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 1 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/breaking-the-waves.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_breaking-the-waves_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Breaking the Waves}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/breaking-the-waves}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-01}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Breaking the Waves — https://4ort.xyz/entity/breaking-the-waves (retrieved 2026-10-01)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 4w ago · MsMorale · 2026-08-30 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14821 → 115751
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P14821]]: 115751, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/269764|batch #269764]]"
  2. 6w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-08-22 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Review score → 8.2/10, 85%, 82/100 +1
    Filmová databáze film id → 13803
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P12879]]: 13803, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/269265|batch #269265]]"
  3. 12w ago · ならちゃん · 2026-07-05 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14567 → SID0026975
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P14567]]: SID0026975, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1783235507106"
  4. 13w ago · ならちゃん · 2026-07-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14587 → 56
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P14587]]: 56, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/296211316|奇跡の海 (#296211316)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/8113|1SCREEN movies]] #mix'n'match"
  5. 14w ago · Yirba · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Set in period → 1970s
    Production designer → Karl Júlíusson
    Publication date → +1996-05-18T00:00:00Z, +1996-08-23T00:00:00Z, +1996-07-05T00:00:00Z +2
    Screenwriter → Lars von Trier, Peter Asmussen
    + 40 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/38225|batch #38225]]: MovieLens IDs (part 1)"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.