Breathing (Atmen)

Cannes Film Festival Premiere: 19th May 2011

Watched in Cinema: Monday 24th October 2011

Rating: 15

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 1hr 30mins

The directorial debut of Austrian actor Karl Markovics, Breathing is an assured, intelligent work that has deservedly picked up a number of prizes in Europe since it premiered at Cannes earlier this year.

BFI Plot Synopsis: The directorial debut of Austrian actor Karl Markovics, Breathing is an assured, intelligent work that has deservedly picked up a number of prizes in Europe since it premiered at Cannes earlier this year. It concerns Roman, an institutionalised young offender in Vienna, serving time for a violent crime with a surly, uncommunicative attitude, blankly accepting of the solitary conditions. Parole is a prospect, though without any family or connections, Roman doesn't appear to be a prime candidate for reintegration into the community. Given the option of a work-release programme, he takes up a job in a mortuary, shifting dead bodies. The work is physically and emotionally draining, and his co-workers are unfriendly, though he finds reason to be there when he comes across a body bag holding a woman who shares his surname. It occurs to Roman that this may be the mother who gave him up for adoption, and he begins to explore his past. The restrained observational direction and the emotional intensity of the performances, particularly non-actor Thomas Schubert in the lead role, are the marks of a notable film with integrity and weight.

My Review: Breathing was my first experience of London Film Festival, and it couldn’t have gone better. In a smallish screen that was packed but completely silent throughout, hooked by the intensity of the film they were watching. The film itself was ‘quiet’ too. There was subtitles which I usually enjoy as you don’t miss any part of the script, which was beautiful ,clever and funny with an unusual subject matter. It was terribly affecting, almost entirely due to Thomas Schubert who played Roman, a 19 year old living in a detention centre who starts a job at a funeral makers. The plot is simple, and like the best films the simplicity means it gives the actors space to breathe and the director a chance to experiment with some interesting and captivating shots. The atmosphere of the film was faintly depressing but in a good way. It was engaging right up until the end. One of the things that stood out to me was the sound, every minute detail, a feast for the ears. The editing was also very good: the sharp cuts between scenes gave the minimal plot an engrossing pace. It is a hard film to describe to others, because not much happens necessarily (compared to Hollywood, at least) - it is more about the progression in the character. How he turns into a boy into a man, with many incidents and events, including getting to grips with his new colleagues and finding the mother who abandoned him when he was a baby. It was really moving and out of all the films I saw at the festival, has left me with the best memories.

Score: 8/10