The Broken Circle Breakdown (15)

D'ya know what you should watch, said a smart-arsed chum of mine, that Belgian flick - the one based on a play. Got loads of country music in it. Heard it's good.

Well, with a sales pitch like that, who's to say no?

Turns out he was on about The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium's entry in the Film Not In The English Language category at next year's Oscars.

And it's not country, it's bluegrass.

Granted, ol' cloth ears may have got the genre of music wrong, but after that he was on the money.

It is indeed based on a stage play - one written by Johan Heldenberg, who stars in the film as Didier, a man who's life we follow for an hour and 50 minutes.

Didier is banjo player in a bluegrass band, who has fallen in love with first Elise (played by Veerle Baetens, seen here recently in The White Queen) and then their daughter Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse).

Didier never planned on this being his life, but equally he never planned for the highs and lows the following years throw at him - but with a wonderfully strong performance by Heldenberg, we share everything with him.

Let's be clear early on, though - this is not a gentle, easy film to watch. It's a bugger to explain because so much of what happens would be plot spoilering to the nth degree - and the real beauty of this film is not knowing what's coming.

You get a few hints, sure, but the warmth of this film will keep you entranced and full of hope.

If emotionally tense dramas are not your thing, particularly ones in Flemmish with subtitles and lots of bluegrass, then chances are you're going to struggle - but you should still see it.

You really, really should. And here's why.

The Broken Circle Breakdown is a brutal, warm, funny, traumatic, sweet, tragic, beautiful film. It tugs on your heartstrings and will have you bawling your eyes out inside the hour.

It's simply stunning.

And it's stunning for simple reasons - the characters are lovable, the story is heartfelt and passionate, the central three performances are amazing, it's beautifully shot, it's not too long... and the music is great.

In Baetens we have a woman who can be sexy and fragile, strong and weak, who captivates in every scene she's in. Alongside Heldenberg, that's no mean feat. And boy can she sing.

The film is stolen, though, by young Nell. Not only does she melt your heart with a performance of fragile beauty, her performance carries a depth and weight that belies her tender years.

If I seem to be gushing a bit here, I am. Partly because it's not easy to type when your eyes are a tad moist - but mainly because, much like Broken earlier this year, I feel like I have been on a huge emotional journey.

In a very, very good way.

The whole of life is in this film, the whole gamut. Every extreme high, every worst low, and because of the power of the writing, the strength of the performances and the warmth that flows from every frame, you feel you've gone through the emotional wringer.

There are wider themes at play here as well - God is given both sides of the debate, George Bush Jnr gets to trash a pro-American's dreams, different approaches to grief are explored, but none of it is done in a heavy-handed manner.

And the deft touch adds more weight to the drama.

This film could have been maudlin, depressing (and doubtless some people will still see it that way), but it's not.

The Broken Circle Breakdown is, ultimately, a celebration of life and love. With added bluegrass music.