Surly nineteen-year-old Roman Kogler is hopeless. Having been brought up in institutions, he now awaits his parole hearing in a young offenders prison by night, while urged by his case worker to get a job during the day.
Battling a vague claustrophobia that sees him both repelled and attracted to airless spaces, he settles on a job with a funeral directors, and uses his day-release to find out more about his past and a woman who may be his mother.
Tender and tough, Breathing is a subtle and intelligent slice of social realism. Resisting any semblance of pity or cajoling on the script’s part, we are soon rooting for underdog Roman, played with compelling sensitivity by Thomas Schubert, in a realistic display of how easy it is to fall through the cracks in society.
Redemption too is played down as existing on a fine thread and Breathing resists spiraling into bleakness by settling on an honest resolution that raises the spirits.