German with English subtitles.
Karl Marcovic, the lead actor in the 2008 Oscar-winning drama THE COUNTERFEITERS moves behind the camera for his debut as director. The result is a compelling rites of passage drama; precise, confident and expertly photographed.
19-year old Roman can’t really get along with the living and ends up working in a mortuary in Vienna while awaiting release from a detention centre. Having grown up in an orphanage he has been institutionalised and resents authority. The work is physically and emotionally draining and his co-workers are unfriendly. Furthermore has to make the long journey from prison to mortuary and back each day and is constantly reminded he must be on time. Slowly and subtly the film’s assured pacing reveals more of Roman’s character, (performed by non-actor Thomas Schubert) and the suppressed feelings he has locked up inside. Through the solemn rite of bathing and dressing the bodies he starts to gain the respect of his co-workers and is motivated to seek out the mother who abandoned him.
BREATHING has deservedly won a number of prizes in Europe since it premiered at Cannes earlier this year; the restrained direction allowing the film’s themes of atonement, hope and reconnection to all emerge quietly and with real warmth.
