''Breaking Point'' is a 1975 Swedish

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film written and directed

Bo Arne Vibenius Bo Arne Vibenius (born 29 March 1943) is a Swedish film director, most famous for his Exploitation film, exploitation classics ''Breaking Point (1975 film), Breaking Point'' and ''Thriller – A Cruel Picture'' (Swedish: ''Thriller – en grym fi ...

. In the film, an office worker resorts to a series of rapes to deal with his sexual urges. When he is taken hostage by

bank robber Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank ...

s, he proceeds to kill the robbers and to attack a police helicopter. Before rushing to the airport, where he is reunited with his returning wife and daughter.

Plot

A man named Bob Bellings rapes a woman in her apartment, then fatally bludgeons her with an

ashtray An ashtray is a wikt:receptacle, receptacle for ash from cigarettes, cigars, and other smokable products. Ashtrays typically are made of fire-retardant material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or rock (geology), stone. It ...

. The next day, Bob goes to work at his office, where he watches a newscast in which a

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, mood, emotion, and behavior. Initial psychiatric assessment of ...

expert explains that women should not resist being sexually assaulted, as that is what most predators want, and that 89% of surveyed women admitted to wanting to be raped at least once in their lives. One of Bob's fellow employees (who are all female) later teases him in a sexual manner, which prompts Bob into going out for his break, during which he stalks and has sex with a woman. Bob returns to work and watches another newscast, which announces that the government will be issuing requisition cards that authorized citizens can take to gun shops and exchange for

side arm Sidearm, side-arm or Side Arm(s) may refer to: * Sidearm (weapon), a backup weapon *Sidearm (baseball) In baseball, sidearm is a motion for throwing a ball along a low, approximately horizontal plane rather than a high, mostly vertical plane (Ov ...

s. After another encounter with his promiscuous coworker, Bob leaves work, rents a car, and follows another woman to her home and rapes her. She responds by stabbing him with a pair of scissors during the act. When the woman tries to escape, Bob uses his car to knock hers off of the road and into a house, causing a fiery explosion. Bob then goes home and masturbates into a coffee cup, which he tricks the employee who had been taunting him into drinking from. Bob proceeds to turn his requisition card in for a handgun, which the overzealous clerk provides explosive "fragmentation ammo" for. Upon leaving the munitions shop, Bob snatches a young girl from a playground, and eats candy with her in the woods before dropping her off at her house. Afterward, Bob practices with his gun, and picks up and has sex with a female hitchhiker, who at one point rides the gear shift of Bob's rental car (which Bob later returns, sans the gear shift's knob). Bob is subsequently mugged, and then taken hostage by a trio of bank robbers, who decide to execute him. Bob uses his fragmentation rounds to kill the thieves before shooting down a police helicopter and escaping in a hijacked car. The film ends with Bob going to an airport and reuniting with his wife and daughter, who were away on a trip. When his wife asks him what he has been up to in her absence, Bob replies, "Oh, you know nothing ever happens in this shit town".

Cast

* Andreas Bellis as Bob Bellings * Barbara Scott as Woman in Subway * Jane McIntosch * Susanne Audrian * Bertha Klingspor * Marlyn Inverness * Liza June * Adolf Deutch * Joachim Bender *

Per-Axel Arosenius Per-Axel Daniel Rank Arosenius (7 November 1920 – 21 March 1981) was a Swedish film and television actor, primarily known for his supporting roles. His most prominent film role was that of Soviet defector Boris Kusenov in the thriller film ' ...

as Guns and Ammo Dealer

Release

Created primarily for foreign markets, ''Breaking Point'', like Vibenius's previous film ''

Thriller – A Cruel Picture ''Thriller – A Cruel Picture'' () is a 1973 Swedish rape-and-revenge exploitation film written and directed by Bo Arne Vibenius under the pseudonym Alex Fridolinski, and starring Christina Lindberg and Heinz Hopf. It tells the story of a mute ...

'', was banned in its home country of Sweden.

Reception

Jack Stevenson, the author of ''Scandinavian Blue: The Erotic Cinema of Sweden and Denmark in the 1960s and 1970s'', noted that the film was "even more bizarre" than ''

'', and was "tasteless, violent, pornographic and some would certainly say

misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised ...

- all meant no doubt to reflect the sickness endemic in society at large". Daniel Ekeroth, author of ''Swedish Sensationsfilms: A Clandestine History of Sex, Thrillers, and Kicker Cinema'', similarly categorized ''Breaking Point'' as "completely crazy" and "one of the sickest and slowest films ever made". In a review written for ''Trash Cinema: A Celebration of Overlooked Masterpieces'', Michael Harris opined that the film "creates a fantastic sense of insecurity" and is "a wonderful achievement in simplicity and confrontationalism without being confrontational".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0072736, Breaking Point 1975 films 1970s heist films 1970s erotic thriller films 1975 black comedy films 1975 crime thriller films 1975 independent films 1975 horror films 1970s pornographic films 1970s psychological thriller films 1970s avant-garde and experimental films 1970s erotic drama films Films about rape Films about adultery Swedish crime thriller films Swedish horror films English-language Swedish films 1970s English-language films Films about mass murder Swedish erotic thriller films Films set in Stockholm Films shot in Stockholm Pornographic horror films Swedish independent films Crime horror films Office work in popular culture Swedish avant-garde and experimental films Films scored by Ralph Lundsten 1970s Swedish films Films about bank robbery Films about hostage taking English-language black comedy films English-language horror films English-language independent films English-language crime thriller films English-language erotic drama films English-language erotic thriller films