Breaking the Waves

[Keith Brecher]

At 09:04 PM 3/19/97 GMT, Mike Weaver wrote:
>Me , I reckon there's a whole lotta shoehorning going on.  Some of you
>p-listers seem almost desperate to find TP's influence wherever you look.
>As if  *breaking the wave*  was likely to be original to our Tom.   Breaking
>the waves is a much more specific phrase and given the religious/miraculous
>aspect of the film, a biblical Red Sea miracle reference is more likely ( I
>haven't seen the film but a friend gave me a run down on it a few weeks back
>so any more substantial connections I'm ignorant of)

Mike--
Though your interpretation of BREAKING THE WAVES as an illusion to the
parting of the Red Sea is compelling, it does not necessarily refute the
origin of the title in TRP. It does not seem to me all that commonplace an
expression. Can you cite further examples of use of the phrase elsewhere?
Regarding whether BTW is a film version of Human Diastrophism in Love and
Rockets, I haven't read it but Von Trier has not so far mentioned it any
interviews. In some interview somewhere, I recollect he said BTW had its
origin in a children's book. And don't forget Carl Dreyer, particularly
Ordet which has a similar miraculous ending.