Breathe (Respire) (Mélanie Laurent, 2014): France, Belgium.

Reviewed by Vanessa Rason. Viewed at AFIFest 2014

go see Respire. Whether you loved or hated the film, one thing I would dare to guarantee for almost every viewer in AFI’s premiere of this film is that it’s one you won’t ever forget. What starts out as a cliche french coming of age drama about a teenage girl, ends up as a psychological thriller .  The first scene taken place at Charlie’s school is in a Philosophy class. The professor remarks on passion, talking about love and obsession. Is it better to be passionate and in danger of death or safely living yet lacking any passion at all ?  The theme is set and   Josephine Japy as “Charlie”, is the perfect lead to show the spectrum of both an emotionally  dead girl who internalizes every emotion with a solemn expression and a purse of the lips to a passionately living animal alive with a vengeance and threatened by an impulse to sin.

Charlie is a reserved, quiet, well-behaved teen with insecurities,  loneliness, self esteem. She is dealing with her parents rocky dysfunctional relationship and asthma, a  simply being a “normal teen”. One day at school  Sarah (Lou De Laage)  is seated next to Charlie. The two form a friendship.   As the relationship develops , so opens Charlie’s world and mind to exploring herself and her peers in a way she hadn’t previously experienced with her other friends. Sarah quickly takes the place of her previous best friend, and even becomes a favorite friend of Vanessa (Issabelle Carre).Sarah is beautiful chic, free spirit, but hiding a a few secrets. Sarah becomes the scarlet raven dressed in floral patterns and a red dress on NYE, she is the classic cool beauty., it seems everybody loves her. Since Sarah’s mom isn’t around, Charlie invites her on a holiday RV camp trip with her mom and friends.  Charlies relationship with Sarah is like a rollercoaster that steadily takes her up and  down and loops her around.  Teen bullying borderlines abuse when Sarah turns against Charlie later on in the film.  While most teenagers emotional lives parallel the ups and downs of a rollar coaster,  it seems there is something unique about Charlie. She keeps everything inside just as  she had always been doing for example with her parents incredibly draining relationship, you can feel her internalizing everything, as if a conductor for energy , asking everything and storing it. As the bullying increase, so do troubles with Charlies asthma issues with her acceptance of her Mothers relationship to her Father.

Breathe is Melanie Laurent’s second feature premiered for its first American showing at AFI. A long time favorite of the AFI film members, she is rapidly growing in popularity in her native country France.  Her preceding feature , Adopted, 2011 was a favorite among AFI members and premiered also at the festival.The film is beautifully shot with memorable scenes such as an overhead plane scene and beautiful shots of the plain in the contryiside of France.I definitely recommend Breathe, the movie will have you thinking about friendship,  passion, and  revenge.