Breath (2017 film)

Breath
Theatrical film poster
Directed by Simon Baker
Produced by Mark Johnson
Simon Baker
Jamie Hilton
Screenplay by Gerard Lee
Simon Baker
Tim Winton
Based on Breath (novel) by
Tim Winton
Starring Simon Baker
Elizabeth Debicki
Samson Coulter
Ben Spence
Richard Roxburgh
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography Marden Dean
Rick Rifici
Edited by Dany Cooper
Production
company
Gran Via, Windalong, See Pictures
Distributed by FilmRise
Release date
  • 10 September 2017 (2017-09-10) (TIFF)
  • 1 June 2018 (2018-06-01) (United States)
Running time
 115 minutes
Country Australia
Language English

Breath is a 2017 film adaptation of Australian author Tim Winton's novel Breath. It premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2017 Zurich Film Festival, and was released on 1 June 2018 by FilmRise.

Plot

The film is set in the 1970s and two teenage boys form a connection with an older surfer.[1] The boys Pikelet and Loonie have grown up in a small town and through surfing met up with Sando, who challenges them to take greater and more dangerous risks.[2]

Cast

Includes:[3]

Production

The film is the directorial debut of Simon Baker, who also acted in the film and produced it[3] with Mark Johnson and Australian Jamie Hilton. Johnson met Tim Winton in America where he was on a book tour and obtained an option on the book. Winton wrote the first screenplay with the final script by Gerard Lee, Baker and Winton [1][4] Financing was provided by "the Australian art councils and... from Screen Australia to ScreenWest",[1] Great Southern Development Commission and Autumn Productions. The West Australian State Government contributed $2.3 million dollars in a bid to promote Western Australia as a premier filming location.[5]

Themes

Producer Mark Johnson said, "It's got universal themes—about being desperately afraid that you're ordinary, about being afraid as a young man that there's nothing exceptional about you—and I think that has great application in a universal way, but this is also a specifically Western Australian story".[1] Simon Baker's view is that, "Tim's book viscerally captures the restless curiosity and yearning for identity that often defines our coming of age".[4]

Filming

The Western Australian coastal town of Denmark, part of the Great Southern region, is the location for filming.[5] For Tim Winton this was an ideal location, "The Great Southern region has had an enormous impact on my life and work so I'm very pleased this film is being shot on the beaches and streets and forests that inspired the book".[4]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77%, based on 44 reviews, and an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A coming of age drama with a surfing twist, Breath navigates seemingly familiar waters — but has surprising depth below the surface."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7] James Brotheridge from Exclaim! praised the film's themes of risk and reward, saying, "The questions of Breath are crucial: of juggling risk and adventure with cost and reward, in surfing and love and life. The moments of unspoken observation tell the story much better than when the points are trumpeted loudly."[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Windsor, Harry (23 March 2016). "Breath producer on Simon Baker tears and Tim Winton's 'extraordinary' novel". IF.com.au. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Tracks Magazine (1 December 2010). "Wanna be a movie star? Tim Winton's Breath needs actors". Tracks Magazine. Nextmedia. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Simon Baker to produce and direct film adaptation of Tim Winton's novel Breath". The Daily Telegraph. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Maddox, Gary (12 April 2016). "Elizabeth Debicki, Richard Roxburgh join cast of Simon Baker's film Breath". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 Cinema Australia (10 July 2015). "Simon Baker to film Tim Winton's Breath in Denmark, WA". Cinema Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Breath (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "Breath Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. ↑ Brotheridge, James (20 August 2018). "'Breath' Review: Exploring Macho Aussie Surf Culture". Exclaim!. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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