Breath

It may take time to see how Breath is regarded in the list of all-time best Australian movies but regardless of how Simon Baker's debut feature as director ends up being regarded in due time, Breath is easily one of the most impressive local film's in year's and arguably one of the best film's yet made about the power and alluring nature of surfing.

Based on Tim Winton's novel of the same name, Breath centres around teenage mates Pikelet and Loonie (played impressively by newcomers Samson Coulter and Ben Spence) who in a small coastal town in Western Australia begin a love affair with the waves and a friendship with the older and married surf loving Sando that will shape the course of their lives.

Its a personable and relatable tale, one that is very close to Winton's heart as an avid surfer and a long time resident of Western Australia and Baker not only does a great job at mixing in teenage coming of age scenarios but perfectly captures the majestic and ominous beauty of the ocean.

Breath looks beautiful, captured thoughtfully by Baker and his DOP's Marden Dean and Rick Rifici, its one of the more visually captivating local film's to come our way in sometime and therefore justifys an added reason to capture this adaptation on the big screen outside of its nicely crafted character drama.

With Pikelet and Loonie we have two teenage boys we've likely all come across before in our time, Pikelet the quiet and introverted type and Loonie the more carefree and rashly thinking troublemaker and as these two unlikely commrades attach themsleves to the lives of the somewhat sad Sando and his troubled wife Eva (played by Elizabeth Debicki), Breath creates a real and lived in world where things are set in course for the shaping of these characters lives.

Final Say -

Breath is a methodically paced and baggage free coming of age drama that is anchored by a respect and capturing of Australia's relationship with the sea.

An experience long removed from the world of The Mentalist, Simon Baker has here marked himself down as a director of note with what will be one of the year's best Australian films.

4 lamb chops out of 5

I read each new Tim Winton book as they come out. He's one of Australia's best writers and his work is certainly the most authentic Australiana. So, even though I've admired Simon Baker's work for many years, I worried that the film would be hard-pressed to match the quality of the written story. The anxiety was wasted; Breath the movie is a superb rendering of the book, managing to capture the moods, emotions, fears love and the allure of surfing in an understated and intimate way, even while omitting sections of the book, which was a complex 215 pages, and redirecting the thrust of the novel. At almost two hours, it's paced in a tempo that matches the period, the people and the lifestyle and flows past like the beautiful waves at Barney's. The young actors are brilliant but congratulations to all concerned because so is the film.

Loved it. Having grown up in Western Australia in the 70's I loved every bit of this movie. Every bit that I could relate to that is. The feeling of being dumped in the surf, the chopper style pushies with banana seats, the poppity clatter of an old Kombie motor, the sandy WA bush, slipping on the rocks, the feeling of going up and over a wave just before it breaks, the rush of catching a wave, dancing badly at the school social, suntanned young skin, holding a girls hand, getting up at dawn to go surfing.. and of course, holding my breath under water just that bit too long. Couldn't help but not relate to avocado's in WA in the 70's.. I don't ever remember them.. and I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to WA number plates.. the Kombi had black plates with white characters. The number format was right, even the first letter U was authentic, but sorry I don't ever recall black background with white letters.

A coming of age novel, for years this book languished on my bookshelves in spite of the exhortations from my daughter to read it. In expectation of seeing the film, I read it over a weekend and was captivated although wasn't a fan of Tim Winton before I read "Breath". The film is faithful to the book apart from the sanitizing of auto-erotic asphyxiation. Spoiler alert so I won't say any more. The film is masterful: Simon Baker's direction and his performance as Sando is believable and superlative; the young men playing Pikelet and Loonie are superb; the cinematography is beyond belief. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Debicki lets the side down. Looking like a younger, blonde version of Cher, she is barely audible or intelligible. Nonetheless this is a stunning contribution to the Australian film industry's history. Four stars.

One other reviewer writes:

"A particularly insipid example is early in the film the two teenagers get around on under-sized kid's BMX bicycles........." If it is the bikes I saw, they are not 'BMXs, they are classic 70s 'Dragsters" , in Australia often Malvern Star or 'Sportsworld' brand, banana seat,sissy-bar, 3 speed Sturmey gears. They actually would have obtained those bikes as authentic 1970s props. They are sort of the cycling equivalent of Pet Rocks.They are not out of place for the boys in film to be riding, I did not trade mine in until I hit 15 or 16yo.