Broken Circle Breakdown (contains major plot spoilers)


On the weekend I saw Broken Circle Breakdown I was also leading services at Chester and Warrington in which I spoke on the importance of taking religious belief seriously (see my Confessions of a New Unitarian blog for more on this). In Broken Circle Breakdown Johan Heldenberg plays a man who in his regular daytime life is utterly dismissive and even contemptuous of religious belief but at night he's a singer and musician in a Belgian bluegrass band, passionately performing a repertoire that includes many revivalist gospel tunes such as Will the Circle be Unbroken and Over in the Gloryland. Both of these, incidentally, are songs that really move me, and which I can sing with gusto even though I am theologically / intellectually far removed from them. Heldenberg's character, (Didier Bontinck offstage and Monroe onstage) lives in a noticably compartmentalised world. When he is singing the world is full of beauty, possibility and hope but the rest of the time his world is grey, cold and uncaring. Indeed, to me he seems an ugly character in an ugly world and the greyness of his existence almost seeps out of the screen into the audience as we travel with him through the loss of the two people most precious to him in the world. Make no mistake, watching this film is not a cheery experience.

Towards the end of the film Bontinck's antagonism towards his more spiritually-inclined partner leaves their relationship in tatters. Numerous scenes demonstrate his conviction that religious belief does not protect a person from tragedy and, therefore, religion is no good.

In the end, though, belief and religion are not synonymous terms. Some things cannot be rationalised; some experiences are best understood as beyond understanding. At the end of Broken Circle Breakdown, Bontinck is in a desperate place as he faces the trauma of switching off his partner's life support machine, but in the ritual of music he catches at least some glimmer of hope. If religion can offer even this, it is a powerful thing.

After watching this film I thought about changing the address I planned to give at Chester and Warrington so that it put more stress on the idea that there is so much more to religious experience than what beliefs we have or how we choose to exercise our intellect. Then I remembered that worship often works because we don't put everything into words, and some of the most meaningful moments occur in silence, stillness or music. With that in mind, I offer the final scene of Broken Circle Breakdown.


Rated '15' in the UK for strong language, nudity, sex scenes and the depiction of a suicide attempt. 
Full details on BBFC rating 

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