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Alabama Monroe

Original title: The Broken Circle Breakdown
  • 2012
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
45K
YOUR RATING
Alabama Monroe (2012)
 Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He's a romantic atheist, she's a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill, their love is put on trial.
Play trailer1:37
7 Videos
99+ Photos
TragedyTragic RomanceDramaMusicRomance

Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He's a romantic atheist, she's a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ... Read allElise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He's a romantic atheist, she's a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill, their love is put on trial.Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He's a romantic atheist, she's a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill, their love is put on trial.

  • Director
    • Felix van Groeningen
  • Writers
    • Johan Heldenbergh
    • Mieke Dobbels
    • Carl Joos
  • Stars
    • Veerle Baetens
    • Johan Heldenbergh
    • Nell Cattrysse
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    45K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Felix van Groeningen
    • Writers
      • Johan Heldenbergh
      • Mieke Dobbels
      • Carl Joos
    • Stars
      • Veerle Baetens
      • Johan Heldenbergh
      • Nell Cattrysse
    • 81User reviews
    • 176Critic reviews
    • 70Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 38 wins & 28 nominations total

    Videos7

    Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 1:37
    Theatrical Trailer
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: The Boy Who Couldn't Hoe Corn (Us)
    Clip 1:50
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: The Boy Who Couldn't Hoe Corn (Us)
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: The Boy Who Couldn't Hoe Corn (Us)
    Clip 1:50
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: The Boy Who Couldn't Hoe Corn (Us)
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: Bikini Surprise (US)
    Clip 0:52
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: Bikini Surprise (US)
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: Tattoo Shop (US)
    Clip 0:52
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: Tattoo Shop (US)
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: In The Gloryland (Us)
    Clip 1:29
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: In The Gloryland (Us)
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: Cowboy Man (US)
    Clip 0:54
    The Broken Circle Breakdown: Cowboy Man (US)

    Photos184

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    + 179
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    Top cast37

    Edit
    Veerle Baetens
    Veerle Baetens
    • Elise Vandevelde…
    Johan Heldenbergh
    Johan Heldenbergh
    • Didier Bontinck…
    Nell Cattrysse
    • Maybelle
    Geert Van Rampelberg
    Geert Van Rampelberg
    • William
    Nils De Caster
    • Jock
    Robbie Cleiren
    • Jimmy
    • (as Robby Cleiren)
    Bert Huysentruyt
    • Jef
    Jan Bijvoet
    Jan Bijvoet
    • Koen
    Sofie Sente
    Ruth Beeckmans
      Jan Hammenecker
      • Doctor
      Blanka Heirman
      • Denise
      Kirsten Pieters
      Yves Degryse
      Dominique Van Malder
      Marianne Loots
      Sanderijn Helsen
      Siham El Makhfi
      • Director
        • Felix van Groeningen
      • Writers
        • Johan Heldenbergh
        • Mieke Dobbels
        • Carl Joos
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews81

      7.744.6K
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      Featured reviews

      10steve-festen

      infinite sadness...

      I saw this movie yesterday, and must say that it's the first time that I'm really really impressed by a Belgian movie. If I had to compare it with another movie, I would say Into the Wild. Both movies are about passion, beauty and sadness. Whereas ItW has a lot more focus on beauty and passion (the sadness didn't really reach me), this one also has a lot of beauty (never knew I liked bluegrass music so much) and passion, but the sadness... oh the sadness... Half the movie you will be trying to hold in your tears. So don't expect a big story with plot twists and murder weapons; expect a story about real people, that puts your feet on the ground, and that shows you how little it would take for you yourself to end up like this. Now excuse me while I go and look for some Bill Monroe music...
      9markhes

      Very beautiful Belgian drama

      Yesterday i saw this beautiful movie about life, love and death. After half an hour i had the feeling i was looking to a amazingly well balanced and touching film. Every scene, switches in time, music and countryside setting, the actors, the Flemish language ... it all seems to fit together. All credits for that, because the content is rather heavy: the life of the the two leading persons turns completely upside down when their child becomes very ill. The good thing is that - despite the dramatic events - the film doesn't become sentimental at all. The enormous grief is shown beautiful in small details like a bent hand (in the song if i needed you) or the facial expressions of the main actors. Amazing (and yet, easy to believe) how two people can react so different on a tragic event like losing your child.
      9donalupe

      Makes you dissolve in thought!

      Powerful depiction of a dissimilar couple who faces softest and hardest moments of life. The little effect that leaves-by everyday when one's heart don't gets what is needed is counted on in the viewers' mind, culminating up to the extreme levels which require a faintest of pokes to fell down.

      Everything in this movie is a piece of art. It will make you laugh as well as sob if you're alone. For drama lovers, it's a masterpiece; just pick it if you liked Paris, Texas or The English Patient, Bonnie and Clyde or Wild at Heart..

      An Oscar deserving film, cleverly edited, acted and directed.
      10lorrijames

      A Worthy Oscar Contender

      I watched this The Broken Circle Breakdown (BCB) immediately after viewing American Hustle AH), which is a Best Picture nominee, and while I enjoyed the latter, what struck me about it, even while I watched the movie, is that it tried too hard. The scenes seemed crafted for Academy voters. This feeling was solidified as I watched BCB, which, on the other hand, is a movie in which the emotions feel real and the acting appears genuine rather than forced.

      Avid moviegoers are familiar with the happy-family-torn-apart-by-illness theme, but the marriage of that theme with American bluegrass music in a Belgian setting is novel. I have not seen any of the other Foreign Film contenders, but this one is more than worthy when juxtaposed against AH.
      9tigerfish50

      Voyaging into Love's Danger Zones

      There are few films which depict raw emotions as powerfully as 'The Broken Circle Breakdown'. Set in Belgium, and somewhat reminiscent of 'Betty Blue', it tells of the love affair between Didier and Elise - a bluegrass musician and a tattoo artist. The story begins with the couple attending to their young daughter's needs in a cancer ward as she battles for her life against the disease. Flashback sequences portray the couple's initial meeting, Elise's incorporation into Didier's band as a vocalist, the mad passion of their early romance and the arrival of daughter Maybelle in their lives.

      Back at the hospital seven years later, the child endures the toxic effects of chemotherapy, her health alternately improving and deteriorating, while the parents accompany her on this agonizing roller-coaster ride. Fracture lines appear in the couple's deep bond as atheist Didier rails against a god that could have inflicted such a cruel destiny upon the girl, while Elise struggles to hold onto hope. Somehow their epic odyssey into the deepest regions of pain is neither pessimistic nor depressing, and their story communicates profound insights about the need for love, forgiveness and understanding in extreme circumstances. By contrast, it makes most Hollywood productions look like trite insults to human intelligence. Perhaps they are - and maybe audiences should look elsewhere for authentic artistic expression. This film suggests Belgian cinema might be somewhere to start the search.

      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Johan Heldenbergh and Veerle Baetens did their own singing. Baetens is actually an accomplished singer in real life.
      • Quotes

        Elise Vandevelde: I always knew. That it was too good to be true. That it couldn't last. That life isn't like that, life isn't generous. You mustn't love someone. You mustn't become attached to someone. Life begrudges you that. It takes everything away from you and it laughs in your face. It betrays you.

      • Connections
        Featured in The Oscars (2014)
      • Soundtracks
        Will the Circle Be Unbroken
        Written by Ada R. Habershon and Charles Gabriel, often attributed to A.P. Carter

        Performed by The BCB Band

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      FAQ

      • How long is The Broken Circle Breakdown?Powered by Alexa

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • August 28, 2013 (France)
      • Countries of origin
        • Belgium
        • Netherlands
      • Official sites
        • Official Facebook
        • Official Site
      • Languages
        • Flemish
        • English
        • Dutch
      • Also known as
        • The Broken Circle Breakdown
      • Filming locations
        • Brabantdam, Ghent, East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium(tattoo shop at number 135)
      • Production companies
        • Menuet bvba
        • Topkapi Films
        • Belgacom
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Gross US & Canada
        • $175,058
      • Opening weekend US & Canada
        • $7,100
        • Nov 3, 2013
      • Gross worldwide
        • $6,041,503
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Tech specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 51 minutes
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Dolby Digital
      • Aspect ratio
        • 2.35 : 1

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