There are few tragedies more harrowing or debilitating than the sickness and death of a child. The mourning process begins with the diagnosis and continues long after the final parting.
The Broken Circle Breakdown is the Belgium entry for Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Awards. In the Flemish city of Gent, Didier (Johan Heldenbergh), a banjo player in a bluegrass band, and Elise (Veerle Baetens), who works in a tattoo parlor, are told by a doctor that their six-year-old daughter Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse) has cancer. Through a series of flashbacks, we see how this couple met and the many challenges they face over the years.
The initial attraction between Didier and Elise is sexual and playful. He is quite turned on by her incredible body and variety of tattoos. She is drawn to the beautiful music he creates with his bluegrass band, and she joins with them as the lead singer.
Didier's initial reaction of shock to news of her pregnancy plants a seed of doubt in Elise's mind about the durability of their intimate relationship. But after the birth of Maybelle, they both are in sync as loving parents. This makes the child's sudden and surprising sickness and eventual death even more painful to bear.
Colin Parkes and Robert Weiss, authors of Recovery From Bereavement, have written: "The pain of grief is just as much a part of life as the joy of love; it is, perhaps, the price we pay for love." Director Felix van Groeningen draws out two poignant performances from Johan Heldenbergh as Didier and Veerle Baetens as Elise. Whereas she clings to a poetic connection with her daughter after death, Didier rages against God and Christian fundamentalists who opposed the stem cell research which may have saved Maybelle.
It is sad to watch the disintegration of this couple's relationship. Here not even the beauty and the inspiration of bluegrass music can keep Didier and Elise from tearing each other apart. In The Broken Circle Breakdown, the grief over a child leads to even more losses.
Special features on the DVD include an interview with director Felix van Groeningen
