E respirare normalmente

From the first frame of a film you know that the maker has a grasp over the medium and has made a relationship with it. This is the same with this film. The shots and scenes are never loose or slow and yet the film takes its own time and pulls you into living it at its own pace. The story of a woman from a first world country who is dealing with her own problems and is some kind of an immigrant in her own country, who helps out an immigrant from another country. But what's beautiful about this, as with all great tales is that it destroys all kinds of borders and leaves you with a beautiful human story about how the human spirit triumphs over everything in its way and can be so all encompassing, compassionate, inclusive and brave.

Two lives full of misfortunes, one a young single Icelandic woman with a child, who is also a border police employee, with many difficulties to make ends meet and the other an African woman fleeing from Guinea and who is caught in Iceland in transit to Canada holding a false passport, At the beginning they show mutual distrust, but in time sudden events make them close together.. It is neither an exciting nor a boring movie. If you fancy Iceland, an exotic corner of the world, just watch it

Very riveting viewing - have to hold your breath a few times. Brilliantly shot, every frame.

This slow, but correctly paced, film is one that every person should see. It's not the type of film for everyone though. This is one of those films that is straight forward basically one main plot and comes directly at you pushing its message as the main theme and leaves it for you to decide in the end. The message is clear.....life is hard and when you least expect it, there's good out there. This film shows the struggle of two different women and how they are working to make a better life for their families. One a native Icelandic, one an asylum seeking refugee, two totally different women, on seperate yet basically the same path that intersects and shows us that kindness and perseverance can prevail. The mood is somber, the scenery cold bleak, the pace slow. This film works though do to the controversial subject being explored and the way the actors, direction, production and script put it together. Won't be for everyone but worth the watch.

I enjoyed this film a lot. It touches very sensitive subjects nowadays from immigration to racism. It's sad to see how the fate of innocent people trying to flee they're country of origin is at the hands of bureaucracy and sometimes mere luck.