Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
The Broken Circle Breakdown
2012
· Movie
· 111 min
B
MEANRANK
77/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #1102
- IMDb #767
- Rotten Tomatoes #1225
- Metacritic #1131
- Letterboxd #850
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #1763
+7 more
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience #1161
- Metacritic Critics #1468
- Metacritic Audience #676
- Criticker #664
- Kinopoisk #2070
- AlloCiné #143
- Trakt #711
Every rating
62–86
out of 100
A passionate love story between a tattoo artist and a bluegrass musician is told through a non-linear narrative. Their relationship is a whirlwind of music and romance, but it is tested to its absolute limits when their young daughter becomes seriously ill. The film explores how grief and tragedy can strain the strongest bonds.
Details
- Director
- Felix van Groeningen
- Studio
- Topkapi Films, Menuet
- Released
- 9 October 2012
- Country
- Belgium, Netherlands
- Language
- Flemish, English, Dutch
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Box office
- $5.5M
- Awards
- 7 wins, 9 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (9) →
Awards & nominations
See all 16 →1 major award won · 7 wins from 16 nominations across 9 ceremonies
| César Awards 2012 | Best Foreign Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Winner |
| Academy Awards 2012 | Best Foreign Language Film | Belgium | Nominee |
| Denver Film Critics Society 2012 | Best Foreign Language Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Nominee |
| European Film Awards 2012 | European Actress | Veerle Baetens | Winner |
| European Film Awards 2012 | European Actor | Johan Heldenbergh | Nominee |
| European Film Awards 2012 | European Screenwriter | Carl Joos, Felix van Groeningen | Nominee |
| European Film Awards 2012 | People's Choice Award for Best European Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Nominee |
| European Film Awards 2012 | European Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Nominee |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Beyond the numbers
All lists →
30 October 2026
Why Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of all time
The case rests on comedy, emotional precision, versatility and sustained achievement, tested against the strongest rival claims.
30 October 2026
Denzel Washington is more than an actor: a global Black cultural icon
How global visibility, artistic freedom and a commanding public presence gave his career a meaning that reaches beyond the films.
29 October 2026
MCU canon explained: the main timeline, other universes and the TV shows
Daredevil counts. Alternate universes are not automatically non-canon. A practical guide to Marvel continuity without treating every cameo as a blanket answer.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — The Broken Circle Breakdown
×Full cast — The Broken Circle Breakdown
×
16 awards — The Broken Circle Breakdown
×
César Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Winner |
Academy Awards
1 nomination
| Best Foreign Language Film | Belgium | Nominee |
Tribeca Film Festival
2 nominations, 2 won
| Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film | Veerle Baetens | Winner |
| Best Screenplay for a Narrative Feature Film | Carl Joos, Felix Van Groeningen | Winner |
European Film Awards
6 nominations, 1 won
| European Actress | Veerle Baetens | Winner |
| European Actor | Johan Heldenbergh | Nominee |
| European Director | Felix Van Groeningen | Nominee |
| European Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Nominee |
| European Screenwriter | Carl Joos, Felix van Groeningen | Nominee |
| People's Choice Award for Best European Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Nominee |
Lux Prize
1 nomination, 1 won
| — | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Winner |
Satellite Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Language Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Winner |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Language Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Winner |
San Diego Film Critics Society
2 nominations
| Best Foreign Language Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Nominee |
| Best Original Score | Bjorn Eriksson | Nominee |
Denver Film Critics Society
1 nomination
| Best Foreign Language Film | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Nominee |