Perhaps Lars Von Trier’s most romantic film – and that’s stretching the definition to fit within his signature sickly style, though it’s certainly passionate – this winner of the Cannes Grand Prix follows a naive and extremely devout Scottish woman (Emily Watson) whose husband (Stellan Skarsgård) makes a strange request of her following an accident that leaves him paralyzed. Lines between religious and romantic devotion blur as she finds more and more purpose in fulfilling his lurid demands, and the community’s reaction calls up questions of faith, purity, and the true nature of good and evil. – Lina Fisher
