Although Lars von Trier's "Breaking the Waves" is undoubtedly one of the most impressive films of recent years, I have delayed commenting on it until now, as my feelings about it are far from clear. Certainly it has an arresting quality that held me in a vice-like grip for nearly three hours - no mean achievement as generally once over the two-hour threshold one is looking for the scissors. But, no, it has a mesmerising quality that reminds me of Dreyer's "Ordet" at times. Both are set in remote communities and deal with religious concepts which, even for a semi-believer, remain difficult to comprehend; in the case of Dreyer the miracle of a resurrection and here the hint at something similar in a final scene I will not reveal. Both films have a supposedly mentally unstable central character, a young man who talks as Christ in "Ordet" while Bess, the young woman in "Breaking the Waves" talks to God who answers her in her own voice's deepest register. Bess falls in lave with Jan, an oil-rig worker and the early scenes chart their wedding. When Jan has to return to the oil-rig the distraught Bess prays to God for his return, a prayer that is answered ironically when he returns paralysed from the neck down after an accident on the rig. How Bess lives with this situation is the subject of the second and third hours of the film. These have at times an almost unbearable intensity and at one point, where a group of children taunt Bess, we are in deepest "Mouchette" country. It is one of those very rare films where I feel the use of a hand-held camera to be completely justified as it gives extraordinarily emotional events a frenetic immediacy. However by punctuating the action with chapter headings set against long held landscape stills, moments of an almost trance-like repose are achieved between each onslaught on the senses. Whether the film is anything more than a quirky tale of sexual derangement bordering on morbidity is something that two viewings have left me uncertain about. That I have compared it to Dreyer and Bresson is evidence that it is not a work to be ignored, but at the moment I have a gut reaction that there is more than a hint of sensationalism here that somewhat diminishes its artistic integrity when set beside the work of the earlier masters.

Emotional power is one of the most difficult and complex aspects of film-making to succeed in. Very few films can manage to be emotionally destructive, while still retaining the viewer's concentration and dedication to the piece. Yet, Breaking the Waves is a film that holds more emotionally power that most films, it is not a film you will want to see again. One viewing is enough (at least for a long period of time). Bearing in mind, you will feel devastated by the film's self-destructive nature and after viewing such an unforgettable story of heart ache and sadness you will have etched into the back of your mind.

Breaking the Waves is a complicated story; it is one that studies love, regret, guilt, madness and religion. Breaking the Waves is set in a small religious town deep in Scotland and tells the sorrowful story of the innocent Bess (Emily Watson) and her lover Jan (Stellan Skarsgaard). Jan becomes paralysed in a freak accident at the oil-rig he is working on and asks his estranged wife Bess to have sex with other men and then tell him what it was like to keep their relationship stable.

Lars Von Trier, the founder of Dogme film-making creates a drama that remains in a league of its own. Though Breaking the Waves is not Dogme film-making (like The Idiots) it still has elements of Dogme film-making style littered around it. The film is separated into chapters, which work as wonderful mood and symbolic transitions. These sequences are a single shot focusing on something that is considerably impressive, with the added touch of a brilliantly chosen song to fit the mood. The film's general direction is one that feels like it has been shot with a hand-held style.

The film studies many questionable elements of life, including topics such as death, terminal illness, spirituality, emotions and hypocrisy in religion. These are just a view of the talking points that crop up throughout the long running-time. The film asks the viewer questions and most importantly tests how much harrowing devastation you can handle. There is no denying just how pure Breaking the Waves is.

Emma Watson gives a career defining performance with her pitiful role of a naive young woman, who just wants to be free from pain. The performance is very painful to watch because it is so unbearably realistic. You become apart of her journey and watch her emotions and sanity spiral out of control, even from the people who love her. Heartbreaking in every way.

Breaking the Waves is a difficult film and one that is not for everyone, though I say it is a film which deserves the critical acclaim it gets.