Breaking the Waves (1996)The first entry in Lars Von Trier's Golden Heart Trilogy, this heartbreaking depiction of a young, naive woman living in rural Scotland in the 1970's who comes face to face with the true nature of faith and devotion is an overwhelmingly moving examination of the repercussions and rewards of self-sacrifice. Bess (played by Emily Watson in her deservedly Oscar-nominated screen debut) is newly married to Jan, a Scandinavian oil rig worker. After Jan is involved in an accident while on the job he is sent home, paralyzed from the neck down. A devastated Bess is convinced that after having prayed to God to bring Jan home, his injury is her fault. What follows, as Bess attempts to repent for her supposed sins, is a dark and painfully affecting set of events which ends in Bess' inevitable martyrdom. Trier's crowning achievement is one of great passion that has forever marked him as a master filmmaker. Final grade: A
Dancer in the Dark (1999) 
Lars Von Trier has managed to perfect the art of audience manipulation with his avant-garde parable starring Bjork as a poor Czech immigrant desperate to raise enough money to get her son an operation that could save his eyesight. Von Trier's film exists in a world where every American is cruel and heartless, while every foreigner is good and pure and ultimately punished for it. The movie actually works on the musical level; as Bjork cranks out a number of melodious tunes to the sounds of clinking machinery. Besides that, Von Trier's anti-American sentiments prove little more than cheap and unfounded attacks. Unfortunately, he utilizes an already engaging and beautiful film as a vehicle for his "Americans suck" dribble, a sentiment supported by little more than the actions of his fictional characters and in the end his diatribe overshadows the art. Final grade: C
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