best film: Breaking the Waves from Lars von Trier
Breaking the Waves is a monumental cinematic achievement and even with some very stiff competition, the pinnacle of Lars von Trier’s career thus far. It sets the tone for the Dogme 95 movement as well. Emily Watson’s debut (she had a tv credit two years prior) is on the same tier as Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc as one of the best performances all-time. Roger Ebert and Martin Scorsese did a top 10 of the 1990s show together and they both named Breaking the Waves on their top 10 of the decade. The only other films to get mentions on both lists were Malcolm X, and Fargo. Ebert named Goodfellas on his list, but Scorsese did not name his own film of course- praise to you Marty. On the surface, Breaking the Waves is a sort of bizarre, extremely well acted spiritual drama. However, if you consider the dedication to the aesthetics involved (again foreshadowing the Dogme 95 realism movement) combined with its grand formal structure and ambitious themes- it is also a candidate for the being THE great novel on film.

Emily Watson as Bess McNeill on von Trier’s journey

von Trier uses repetition in the shot distances and character blocking– ostracized

the church on a hill in isolation

von Trier forms the film with these breathtaking paintings by Danish artist Per Kirkeby paired with seventies rock ballads — an incalculable part of the brilliance of Breaking the Waves
most underrated: Speaking of dedication to an aesthetic… The Dardenne brothers’ first archiveable film, La Promesse, is an important film in the film realism movement. It is a worthy carrying the torch passed down from Rossellini and De Sica. Despite this, it cannot be found anywhere in the TSPDT consensus top 1000. The English Patient from Anthony Minghella is handsome period piece romantic epic with a classical style that needs top be on the TSPDT top 1000 and is not. Add it to the growing list of Oscar best picture winners that did not deserve to win best picture, but has gone so far the other way, it is now underrated.

The English Patient is a much stronger work of art than its placement on the TSPDT would indicate
- It is certainly fitting that the first image in their first major film is Jérémie Renier – the most recognizable Dardenne actor (along with co-star Olivier Gourmet here). In true neorealist lineage tradition (Bicycle Thieves), Renier (playing Igor) steals a purse from a old nice lady.
- Though not their debut, 1996’s La Promesse was the artistic breakthrough film for Belgium realists Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.
- Renier is the perfect young actor for the authenticity the Dardennes are going for—he is no beauty, he looks dirty constantly throughout the film.
- There is a credit for the music but I don’t recall a score being used at all—this is not a melodrama, it is gritty realism.
- The Dardenne’s utilize the cinema verité style—this is a grainy, unpretty 16mm, unfussy design, tight handheld camera — the Dardenne brothers made documentaries in the 1980s. Their camera is shaking in the back seat of the rickety van as Roger and Igor drive along
- the subsequent efforts of the Dardenne brothers over the next few decades help create a cohesive vision as well. It is better seen as part of the body of work.
most overrated: There are only six films on the TSPDT top 1000 from 1996—so the consensus is spot on about 1996 being a weaker year— but even then they make a few mistakes and include both A Moment of Innocence and Secrets & Lies when they should not.
gems I want to spotlight: Jane Campion’s The Portrait of a Lady simply needs to be rediscovered. It was Campion’s follow up to The Piano in 1993 and it underwhelmed critics and audiences alike at the time of its release. Upon closer examination and study, it may be just as strong as Campion’s previous effort.

one of 1996’s richest cinematic paintings- from Jane Campion’s Portrait of a Lady

Yet another example of an underrated film that followed up a director’s best work

again and again symmetry in the compositions, rich detail in the period costume work…

…and plush interior design
trends and notables:
- 1996 produced the single best film of the 1990s and the year is solid across the top six of seven films of the year—but the depth is not there. If you made a top 25 of 1995 and 1996 combined some 15-19 would be from 1995.
- 1996 is truly the year of Breaking the Waves and auteur enfant terrible Lars von Trier. It lays the foundation for Dogme 95- which may not be as important as Italian neorealism or the French New Wave (or others, I can think of two separate German movements more significant)- but its rigid set of rules proved to be both effective and a vital Hollywood antithesis. I think it is noteworthy to mark The Dardennes again as well- though they are not part of the Dogme 95 movement, these are two (von trier and The Dardeens) strong voices in verité, handheld styles- a focus on the grit, on realism.
- Right behind von Tier for 1996 is the story of the first time archiveable films (many of them debuts) for some of the greatest auteurs in contemporary cinema. A remarkably high number of them got their start in 1996. I am sure I’m missing years but 1959 was the start of Truffaut and Resnais. In 1984, the Coen Brothers, von Trier, Cameron, Miyazaki and Zemeckis all had their first film in the archives,. Well, in 1996 both Wes and PT Anderson got their start. That alone is worth pausing on- soaking in- as they are both all-time greats. Hard Eight (PT) and Bottle Rocket (Wes) are not earth-shattering debuts, but their talent was evident (with bigger things and their true breakthroughs to come in their sophomore efforts). They are much older and overall do not stack up quite to the level of PT and Wes but certainly the Dardenne brothers land with a big splash in 1996. David O. Russell is next with Flirting with Disaster. Nicholas Winding Refn (who could you not be a great auteur with a name like that?) arrives with Pusher. Olivier Assayas with Irma Vep, Alexander Payne with Citizen Ruth (love the bold move of paying homage to Citizen Kane in the name with your debut). The Wachowskis’ Bound is actually a stronger entry than most of these others, and Baz Luhrmann’s penchant for color and production design is evident in Romeo + Juliet. This is quite a class of incoming filmmakers.

with a fierce dedication to color (black- even the lipstick here), overhead angles, Bound actually makes for the most promising of all the debuts in 1996

Romeo + Juliet – cinematic opulence- Baz would do it all better in 2001’s Moulin Rouge!, his masterpiece, but this is more than just a flawed rough draft—it’s a gorgeous and inspired precursor.

The opening is a jaw-dropper—Luhrmann showing off- jump cut heavy, freeze frames, during a sort of gun-play showdown he emphasize parts of the body in close-up (eyes, feet only) like a Leone film. Flourishes of primary color, expressionistic lighting- fireworks—all Luhrmann trademarks. We have the occasional intentional high-speed overacting which is effective.
- 1996 marks the bounce back films from Cronenberg and the Coen Brothers. When great auteurs fall flat in their prime (Lynch, Dune in 1984)—watch out for their next film! (Blue Velvet for Lynch). For Cronenberg his M. Butterfly in 1993 broke a streak of seven archiveable films (four landing in the top 10 of their respective years). Crash marks a brilliant return to form- right there with his finest work. The Coen brothers had made four straight top 10 of the year films to start their career but had fallen back to earth a little with The Hudsucker Proxy (still a fine film)- their biggest budget film to date. It is the least of their films at that point in their career—and they return in full fury in 1996 with Fargo– their finest.

Cronenberg’s oblique angles and jarring jumps absolutely impact mood and atmosphere in Crash

these are characters in a haze– an erotic, and dangerous tidal wave pull they cannot quite pull away from- Cronenberg conveys this with his shot choices

Fargo features these stunningly gorgeous reoccurring shots of snow filled parking lots. It a architecture as character It may also be Carter Burwell’s greatest achievement with the film score— it builds and rolls over the top like Bernard Herrmann’s Taxi Driver score
- Twister and Independence Day– both sort of disaster films, land as the #1 and #2 films at the box office. It is worth noting what a great year Tom Cruise had in 1996. He is phenomenal in both Jerry McGuire and Mission Impossible– both of them absolute box office smashes.
- 1997 is really his breakout film with Good Will Hunting, but Damon’s first archiveable film (seems inevitable he’ll get to 30 in his career total at least) is 1996’s Courage Under Fire. He is solid here, and frankly benefitted from some good PR when the story broke that he collapsed while preparing physically for this role. It is the first time in the archives for Emily Watson of course in Breaking the Waves but she has never quite had a vehicle or performance to touch this one- but this would be true for just about any actor- an impossible act to follow. Edward Norton went from unknown to one of the most respected actors of his generation in just a few short years—that all started in 1996 with no less than three archiveable films. For Norton it was Primal Fear (a deserving Oscar nom), Woody Allen’s’s Everyone Says I Love You and The People vs. Larry Flynt. With the first film from the Dardennes and Nicole Holofcener, their frequent collaborators Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet (both Dardennes) and Catherine Keener (Holofcener) get their first archiveable films.

you have the admire the ambition of Kenneth Branagh – a 4-hour, 65mm version of Hamlet — the most notable large format film in the 1990s (admittedly, not a ton of competition here)
best performance male: The strength in 1996 as far as acting goes is on the female side. Yet, these five actors are certainly worthy of praise. Young (just 25 in 1996) Ewan McGregor may have the strongest work in this category in 1996 for his part at the center of Danny Boyle’s wild trip down the path of heroin addiction in Trainspotting. Ralph Fiennes is here again for the classic David Lean-like size desert epic The English Patient. Steve Buscemi remains absolutely pivotal to the 1990s indie film movement with his performance in Fargo. Buscemi gives the second performance in Fargo and William H. Macy gives the third (both below the untouchable Frances McDormand). Elias Koetas (who is also marvelous in Exotica in 1994) has his Frank Booth or Bobby Peru moment (albeit in a Cronenberg film instead Lynch) as the scarred and mangled Vaughan in Crash. He is mesmerizing on screen.

Trainspotting is loaded with memorable characters- leading the way is Ewan McGregor as Renton, but also, Ewen Bremner as Spud, Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy, Kevin McKidd as Tommy, Robert Carlyle as Begbie, Kelly Macdonald as Diane and one of my favorites, Peter Mullan as Swanney.
best performance female: As mentioned in the “best film” section Emily Watson gives one of the best performances in cinema history in Breaking the Waves. It would take something that big to outpace Frances McDormand in Fargo. These are the best two performances of the year, male or female. Kudos to the academy in 1996 not only for awarding McDormand, but also Juliette Binoche (supporting win) and Kristin Scott Thomas (nom) in The English Patient. Kristin Scott Thomas’ works exceeds Binoche’s—but they are both worthy of mention. The final slot here goes to Nicole Kidman for her work in The Portrait of Lady– this is a 144-minute epic and Kidman is in virtually every scene.

Nicole Kidman was very close to landing in this category for 1995’s To Die For as well.
top 10
- Breaking the Waves
- Fargo
- Crash
- Trainspotting
- The English Patient
- The Portrait of a Lady
- La Promesse
- Lone Star
- Bound
- Flirting with Disaster

just one of the many indelible images from Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting

Danny Boyle is even more well known for his editing and pace than his compositions (which are sublime in Trainspotting)- the film opens with running on the street, voiceover narration, very low average shot length

another stunner from Boyle’s film- still his best work to date
Archives, Directors, and Grades
A Summer’s Tale- Rohmer | R |
A Time to Kill – Schumacher | R |
Big Night- Tucci, C. Scott | R |
Bottle Rocket – W. Anderson | R |
Bound- Wachowski | R/HR |
Breaking the Waves- von Trier | MP |
Broken Arrow – Woo | R |
Citizen Ruth- Payne | R |
Courage Under Fire- Zwick | R |
Crash- Cronenberg | MP |
Everyone Says I Love You- Allen | R |
Fargo – Coen | MP |
Flirting With Disaster- D. Russell | R/HR |
Fly Away Home- Ballard | R |
Hamlet- Branagh | R |
Hard Eight – P.T. Anderson | R |
Irma Vep- Assayas | R |
Jerry McGuire- Crowe | R/HR |
La Promesse – Dardenne | HR |
Lone Star- Sayles | HR |
Michael Collins- Jordan | R |
Mission Impossible- De Palma | R |
Primal Fear – Hoblit | R |
Pusher- Refn | R |
Romeo + Juliet – Luhrmann | R/HR |
Scream – Craven | R/HR |
Secrets & Lies – Leigh | R/HR |
Shine – Hicks | R |
Sling Blade – Thornton | R/HR |
Swingers – Liman | R |
The Birdcage – M. Nichols | R |
The Crucible- Hytner | R |
The English Patient- Minghella | MS |
The Funeral- Ferrara | R |
The Ghost and the Darkness – Hopkins | R |
The People Versus Larry Flint- Forman | R |
The Pillow Book – Greenaway | R |
The Portrait of a Lady- Campion | HR/MS |
Trainspotting- Boyle | MS/MP |
Walking and Talking– Holofcener | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-See- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
Breaking The Waves should have been nominated for Best Picture
@Randy– von Trier is more Cannes than Academy Awards.
Von Trier is not even cannes, I am pretty sure he has been expelled for a long time and is considered “Persona non grata”
@Aldo- He was but I think he was allowed back because The House that Jack Built debuted there in 2018. Lars has won everything at Cannes… I think he’s won six times there for various thinks and his films almost always premiere there
Sorry for my ignorance but could you please explain the difference between Cannes and the Oscars? I don’t pay attention to these award ceremonies so I don’t know much about them.
I guess you don’t need to explain the Oscars, as for Cannes, the Palme d’Or is the most important prize in cinema, although like Oscar they hardly ever hit it haha, although they usually reward better movies, it is an international award, unlike the Oscars that mostly award movies in English or American
Some notable winners are :
The Third Man
Viridiana
The leopard
Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Blow-up
The conversation
Taxi driver
Apocalyse now
Pulp fiction
The Tree of life
I may forget someone else, but these are the best
I always felt that Cannes were much superior to the Oscars. They have awarded and recognised practically all notable filmmakers. Meanwhile the Oscars are typically ignorant. Cannes is the place where directors like Von Trier, Kieslowski, WKW, Angelopoulos, Haneke and all those incredibly talented people get the recognition they deserve. The Oscars are prestigious, but not nearly as inclusive, brave and open minded as Cannes. The Oscars cannot even imagine awarding a film like Dancer in the Dark, Antichrist and so forth (too purists for that, with rare exceptions). I agree with Aldo, in Palm d’Or being the most important prize in cinema (even if it’s too not always right)
@Aldo and Georg– I think if you look over any 10 year stretch it’s pretty close actually in terms of who picked the better winner. 2010, 2011 and 2012 are great winning years for Cannes over the Oscars but prior to Parasite (chosen by both in 2019) at Cannes the 4 previous winners were Shoplifters, The Square, I, Daniel Blake, Dheepan– hardly amazing—-
If you pull them up side by side over the decades it is the same- for every Taxi Driver (Rocky) and Apocalypse Now (Kramer vs. Kramer) there’s a Chronicle of the Years of Fire (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and Padre Padrone (Annie Hall)
@Drake – I can’t say you’re wrong here, you make a very fair point. But it is also true that Cannes can only award the Palm d’Or to a film that premiered there. So, if Annie Hall premiered there and they didn’t give it the top award I’d say that it was a serious miss. But if it didn’t, then there is really not much I can say – maybe Padre Padrone was the best film that premiered at Cannes in 1977.
@Georg– For sure- I mean one is an awards show (Oscars) and one is a film festival (Cannes) so one can essentially pull from everything and the other selects the best of the movies at its festival– I think both have good years (I was so impressed with 2019 Cannes for example after feeling it was getting passed by Venice and maybe even Toronto in recent years prior) and bad. I personally prefer festivals as just a calendar event because I’m more about the movies themselves than the awards and love hearing the buzz from new releases. Cannes (which I really miss this year) is great, and then in the fall the Venice, Toronto, Telluride, festivals are so exciting. I’m really hoping we still have that this year.
@Drake – oh right, I completely forgot while posting those that they didn’t go through with the festival this year! Yeah you are absolutely right. I think very highly of Venice, though I think I give the edge ever so slightly to the Cannes festival. I would say Toronto is not exactly there, but it is definitely underrated – I think it has a long history of incredibly strong indie darlings, if I’m not wrong (I haven’t really kept up with it in recent years)
My god how can you even make up your mind about these….I did catch up with Fargo (that’s self isolation for you) and I reckon that 1996 was a wonderful year, but the race on best film (Fargo Vs Breaking the Waves says it all) and best actress is especially tight. I mean how can I even choose between Blethyn, McDormand and Watson when their individual performances are better than the #1 performance of several other years. It’s hard because Watson is just out of this world in Breaking the Waves, but then again McDormannd’s was a pitch perfect performance (if there ever was one). And Blethyn was also unbelievable.
Do you think Tom Cruise or Ralph Fiennes should have won the oscar over geoffrey rush in the shine?
@Janith- absolutely
What is your ranking of ralph fiennes 3 best performances?
Is A Bigger Splash (2015) his next best performance?
I am a little bit unsure about watching The Crucible(1996).Only 2 stars from Roger Ebert.You haven’t written a page on it too.Is it good?Is it the 11th best performance of Day Lewis career or is it his weakest one from his 13 starring roles?
Doesn’t Daniel Day Lewis deserve a mention for The Crucible(1996)?That “Because its my name”speech is one of the most moving moments of his career.It maybe his best work after his impressive top 10.
Macy’s performance (and character) in Fargo makes me think of a black comedic version of Lamberto Maggiorani’s protagonist in Bicycle Thieves. Do you think these two are an adequate comparison?
Surprise of the day. The portrait of a lady. I adored that film. But yk, you should mention Barbara Hershey as well. She was stupendous. Even better than Nicole in her limited screen time.
Nice list. I still feel pretty good about Crash as my #2 of the year until I get a better look at the Coens than I have so far (haven’t seen any of their work since 2020). Really cool to see that about Trainspotting as well!
Now the waiting game: will Drake raise Lost Highway to a MP next year?
Looking forward to a rewatch of Breaking the Waves tonight…only seen once, very impressed
2nd viewing…so much too praise here
the shot introducing each chapter deserve their own special praise
– these shots were Barry Lyndon-esque gorgeous.
– great rock songs, a large number of the artists and albums I listen to come from me
discovering them in films, A Whiter Shade Of Pale by Procol Harum was a revelation as was
Child In Time by Deep Purple
I’m not sure what more can be said about the performances, particularly from Emily Watson who was terrific in Punch Drunk Love (2002) but this was even greater
I’ve never seen a film that looked quite like Breaking the Waves, the cinematography particularly, the Criterion Channel has an excellent video titled “The Restless Cinematography of BREAKING THE WAVES”
From Roger Ebert “Not many movies like this get made, because not many filmmakers are so bold, angry and defiant. Like many truly spiritual films, it will offend the Pharisees. Here we have a story that forces us to take sides, to ask what really is right and wrong in a universe that seems harsh and indifferent.” well said Rog
Already looking forward to viewing # 3
Does breaking the waves still rank as your greatest movie of the 90s?
@James Robbins – It does; Drake mentions so at the top of the Trends and Notables section.
So… Tom Cruise is not here. It’s not here in 83’, 88’ & 96’. What’s left ? 1999. Still a top 100 actor ?
@KidCharlemagne- wild- I had not realized this as I was going along.
Do you still think Inside Llewyn Davis is the Coens’ best work now? Because if you do I would have to agree with you, as time has gone on I’ve let Fargo slip ahead of No Country for Old Men in my mind (actually a very recent development as I don’t think I would have said that just a couple days ago but I wouldn’t be shocked if I say NCFOM is better with a study), but I’ve never been able to find it in me to put it ahead of Llewyn. I say this because you say at one point Fargo is the Coen brothers’ finest film, but right earlier you mention Hudsucker being their weakest to date (in 1996), which makes me think you probably just mean Fargo is their best to date in 1996 as well.
@Zane- I think those two are #1 and #2- not sure of the order- both marvelous films.
The Film should be Jerry Maguire not Jerry McGuire
@Malith- Thanks- fixed
Rotten Tomatoes synopsis for The Portrait of a Lady(1996)
“Beautiful, indulgently heady, and pretentious, The Portrait of a Lady paints Campion’s directorial shortcomings in too bright a light.” – Damn