Directed by:
Lars von TrierScreenplay:
Lars von TrierCinematography:
Robby MüllerCast:
Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr, Adrian Rawlins, Jonathan Hackett, Sandra Voe, Udo Kier, Mikkel Gaup, Roef Ragas, Phil McCall (more)Plots(1)
A naive woman living in a remote Calvinist community on the Scottish coast, Bess (Emily Watson in an Academy Award® nominated performance) flaunts the will of the town's austere churchmen to marry Jan (Stellan Skarsgård) a lusty Swede working in a nearby offshore oil rig. Her purity is put to the ultimate test when Jan is crippled in an accident and she agrees to continue their love-making vicariously through other men. Pilloried as a harlot, Bess is committed to the asylum but not before she seeks Jan's recovery through one final act of faith. Captured through Robby Mueller's raw, relentless hand-held camera, this triumphant tale of tragedy, faith and redemption - the first in Lars Von Trier's “Golden Heart” trilogy on saintly heroines book-ended by Dancer in the Dark - is a cinematic tour de force. (Umbrella Entertainment)
(more)Awards
- Winner
- Nominations
Academy Awards
- 1997 - Emily Watson (Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role)
Independent Spirit Awards
- 1997 - Lars von Trier (Best International Film)
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
- 1997 - Emily Watson (Best Leading Actress)
European Film Awards
- 1996 - Lars von Trier (Best Film)
- 1996 - Emily Watson (Best Actress)
- 1996 - Lars von Trier (FIPRESCI Prize)
César Awards
- 1997 - Best Foreign Film
Goya Awards
- 1997 - Lars von Trier (Best European Feature)
Robert Awards (Danish Film Awards)
- 1997 - Lars von Trier (Best Danish Film)
- 1997 - Emily Watson (Best Actress in a Leading Role)
- 1997 - Katrin Cartlidge (Best Actress in a Supporting Role)
- 1997 - Lars von Trier (Best Screenplay)
- 1997 - Robby Müller (Best Cinematography)
- 1997 - Karl Júlíusson (Best Production Design)
- 1997 - Anders Refn (Best Editing)
- 1997 - Jennifer Jorfaid, Sanne Gravfort (Best Make-Up)
- 1997 - Per Streit (Best Sound)
Guldbagge Awards
- 1996 - Lars von Trier (Best Foreign Film)
Amanda Awards
- 1996 - Lars von Trier (Best Nordic Film (Nordic Amanda))
Golden Globes
- 1997 - Best Motion Picture – Drama
- 1997 - Emily Watson (Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama)
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
- 1996 - Best Film
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- 1996 - Emily Watson (New Generation Award)
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- 1996 - Lars von Trier (Best Director)
- 1996 - Emily Watson (Best Actress)
- 1996 - Robby Müller (Best Cinematographer)
- 1996 - Best Film
Cannes Film Festival
- 1996 - Lars von Trier (Grand Prize)
- 1996 - Lars von Trier (Golden Palm - Official Competition)