Synopsis
Through his work at a morgue, an incarcerated young man trying to build a new life starts to come to terms with the crime he committed.
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Cast
- Thomas SchubertRoman Kogler
- Karin LischkaMargit Kogler
- Georg FriedrichRudolf Kienast
- Gerhard LiebmannWalter Fakler
- Stefan MatouschGerhard Schorn
- Luna MijovićMona
- Georg VeitlJürgen Hefor
- Klaus RottLeopold Wesnik
- Peter RaffaltRichter
- Reinhold G. MoritzJosef Kallinger
Recommendations
- 80
Empire
Best known until now for Oscar-winning holocaust drama "The Counterfeiters," Karl Markovics flexes his muscles on the other side of the camera with terrific effect. A fine, moving debut for the new writer/director. - 80
The Guardian
The "breathing" of the title becomes a cleverly recurrent motif, and Markovics's script circles around the themes of death and life in thoughtful and elegant ways: it is a well-carpentered screenplay which bears every sign of having been a labour of love, worked on fruitfully over many years. - 80
Time Out
An Austrian actor whose Easter-Island mug has graced movies such as the Oscar-nominated "The Counterfeiters" (2007), Markovics shows a keen attention to performers that you'd expect from a thespian-turned-director. - 75
New York Post
The new film's strongest point is the assured performance by Schubert, who's in nearly every frame. Elegant cinematography by Martin Gschlacht, one of Austria's most sought-after lensers, gives Breathing added depth. - 70
The New York Times
As a collaboration Breathing owes much to the balanced compositions, lucid imagery and judicious use of color executed by Mr. Gschlacht, who brought a similarly clear gaze to morally fraught work by other Austrian directors (Götz Spielmann's "Revanche," Jessica Hausner's "Lourdes," Michael Glawogger's "Slumming"). - 60
Total Film
Thoughtfully shot by first-time director Karl Markovics, the only warmth comes from the stiffening cadavers. - 50
Slant Magazine
Can a film be faulted for being too sympathetic toward its characters, for limning a milieu with extraneous humanism? - 40
Village Voice
A film of unreconciled impulses, Breathing is by turns vaguely sentimental and cooly detached in a manner that's ultimately more off-putting than it is complementary.
