Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Respiro

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Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 06-21-2003, 04:05 PM:

I went to see Respiro ("I Breathe") in the 27th day of rain in NYC (out of the last 50) because the cold damp and fog was getting me down. Flood-watch warnings daily, the reservoir dams are overflowing, and my Queen Elizabeth roses are rotting on their stems. Wish we could ship the clouds to Arizona where it's needed!

The film is set in a sun-drenched, rocky-cliffside fishing village on an island West of Sicily. The villagers are a Catholic, close-knit community, wherein everyone works at catching and canning, and knows everone's business. The children and early adolescent boys indulge in physical bullying and sadistic group mischief, climb the rocks, and pile onto motorbikes and scooters.

Poopers wouldn't approve of the way they manage the out-of-control canine population, nor would the ASPCA. (Despite all the live and dead fish, there's nary a cat in sight.)

In this population, reminiscent of the villagers of "Cinema Paradiso" but much closer to the elements and without movies or TV, Grazia stands out. She's a sexy mother of three, a free spirit who reminds me of Melina Mercuri in "Never On Sunday"
with a touch of Ana Magnani or the youthful Sophia Loren. She enjoys swimming topless, sex and shameless flirting. But when enraged she becomes uncontrollable, despite the efforts of her husband Pietro and her children. Therein lies the plot...

The film reminds me of "Il Postino" in its sunny landscape and characters, and of "L'Aventura" in its sense of mystery, for its gritty realism rises from a legend or myth. (One reviewer
recalled "Stromboli.") The dialog is in Italian and Sicilian dialect, with English subtitles. My wife liked the haunting musical theme, while I was unaware that there was any music at all--perhaps a characteristic of an effective score.

I enjoyed the film, with its mixture of humor and sadness for the situation of a free spirit who cannot breathe freely yet
must struggle. The abrupt ending took me by surprise, and is open to interpretation.

At the Kew Gardens Theatre, 2nd week. Show ran 1 hour 45 min, including two film ads (darn Movifone Chimps again!) and about five forgettable, noisy trailers. Script visible on tape splices, and much dirt on policy trailer. but feature was clean,
bright and sharp.

Posted by Mike Pennell (Member # 1692) on 06-21-2003, 07:11 PM:

Please ship the clouds out here. Im sick of seeing my mountain go up in flames. [Frown]

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-23-2003, 10:13 AM:

Mike (and any others in the Tucson area):

Are any of your neighborhoods affected by the wildfires? News says hundreds of home up in flames. [Eek!]

Good luck to you all.

Posted by Mike Pennell (Member # 1692) on 06-24-2003, 03:57 AM:

John, No, we're quite safe. The fires are devastating the Mount Lemmon ski and cabin areas which are quite aways from Tucson proper. Id say at least 15 to 20 miles away from us (I could be wrong, my sense of distance is poor.) There were news reports that it "might" affect the town of Oracle which is north of Tucson. The news reports that no more homes have been torched, but that could change with the wind. If I can figure out how to work the picture download I'll post some pictures on Film-Yak so the movie review can continue.