A beautiful Korean surprise reviewed for DVDsnapshot.com - and highly recommended.
A prisoner on death row and a woman who's drawn to
his plight go through their own spring, summer, fall and winter of love in
Breath, a typically quirky chamber drama by helmer Kim
Ki-duk.
Nominated for the Golden
Palm at Cannes, this emotional tour-de-force from the world-renowned Korean
auteur will sweep you away with restrained passions painted in seasonal colours.
Asian star Chen Chang (Red Cliff; Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon) leads an excellent cast that includes a Jung-Woo
(The Chaser) and Park Ji-a (The Coast
Guard).
Our
Take:
It's easy to understand why
Breath was nominated for the Palm d'Or at Cannes. Scenes in
films are composed to direct the eye where the filmmaker wishes the viewer to
look. Kim Ki-duk seems to thrive in oblique composition and scenes that almost
engage in misdirection. The subject is frequently happening right outside the
frame, off-center, or even the blurry foreground. With a spareness of both
visuals and dialogue, this plain quiet movie adds up to be surprisingly
rich.
Yeon is a frustrated wife
and sculptor who's just discovered her husband is having an affair, and decides
on a whim to visit Jang-jin. He's a death row inmate who'd tried to kill himself
to avoid his pending execution. Breath is the kind of film that
can make a character's affair perfectly clear from the beginning even if not
actually confirmed until the half-way point (and that is not a spoiler).
Jang-jin comes with three
very individual and silent cellmates, so stranger who keeps visiting him with
obtuse stories, seasonal decorations and song, does seem to put him a little out
of his wheelhouse. (That “spring” scene is the make or break point. If you find
it twee, turn the DVD off. If you can stand it, the film's worth staying with.)
Seemingly a little mad, she comes alive and forces seasons and color into his
cement world during their meetings.
The color palate only warms
up when she creates her little world for him, and this touch is part of the
beautiful look of this film, otherwise a chilly blend of snow and cement walls.
Ji-a Park, as Yeon, is either refreshingly subtle or a bit melodramatic, while
Chen Chang's Jang-jin is all confusion, fear, and impulsive love. It's the
silences they're allowed to act that make this film so effective, not the
moments of dialogue. Yeon and her husband do converse, if strained, while the
inmates barely speak. They're all expressive action. One character, the warden,
is a presence only experienced as a reflection in his monitor, which we get to
view as he facilitates their growing relationship.
This is an icy, composed
film of browns and grays that confines vibrancy to the relationship between the
central characters. As a visual representation of intimate relationships, that's
a lovely artistic choice. Breath is a heartbreaker and worth
your time... providing you can keep your imagination from substituting in
Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling during the quietest parts. I'll be seeking
out more work by Kim Ki-duk.
Special
Features:
Breath is
presented in 1.85:1 Widescreen with Korean 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 stereo
audio and English Subtitles. The DVD includes a making-of and two Cannes-based
featurettes, Interviews with the filmmakers and trailers.
Conclusion:
Baroque and nearly as
composed as a Peter Greenaway film, Breath also has a
surprisingly generous heart. A film about the relationships between a lost
housewife, her husband, and a man facing death, it's all warm moments snatched
from a very cold and unforgiving world. This one is quietly beautiful and sneaks
up on you.
Overall
Picture:
Movie:
A-
Extras: B
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