Breath

Breath (2007, dir.Kim Ki-duk)

Here we go again with a film of the Korean filmmaker that has captivated all the international circles, Kim Ki-duk. In “Breath”, he makes again a special depiction of love as a conflictive story. This time it will get involved 4 people: Jang Jin, Yeon, her husband and the young cellmate.

Jang Jin is a prisoner that has tried several times to commit suicide. The social repercussion in the news of his situation has attracted Yeon’s attention. Yeon is a docile housewife that takes care of her daughter and her husband. One day she discovers that her husband is having an affair what leads her to visit Jang in prison. When she gets there, she introduces herself to the prison officers as Jang’s ex-girlfriend. She will continue visiting him bringing different seasons in each visit like she was trying to build a relationship. When she goes to the prison she wallpapers the visit room as an outside area that reflects every season. When the husband realizes about what she is doing he try to separate them and he stops his affair. It seems that he realizes that he want to keep his family over everything.

Autumn visit

Each time that Yeon goes to prison, we can appreciate an unknown person that keep observing Yeon and Jang relationship through the security camera. In one scene, it is possible to appreciate the reflexion of the person in the screen (It is very curious so just have a look and discover him by yourself) . This ‘voyeur’ figure is not new for Kim ki-duk, in fact it is a current topic in his films. This film, ‘Nabbun namja’ and ‘bin jip’ are some examples of its representation.

There are not fixed feelings in the film. The movie has a ‘warm’ storyline; the characters keep changing their heart throughout the movie.

Kim Ki-duk repeats the same characteristic elements that have supported his cinema:

First, he shows again a film based on silence and visual representation. This quiet cinema, based on no dialogs, has given him his international success and he keeps improving this technique in each work.

It also includes trouble characters in the outside boundaries of society: Jang Jin, a prisoner that have tried to kill himself many times; the young cellmate, who feels a harmful love towards Jang Jin; Yeon, a housewife sick of her empty life; and her husband that cheats on her and hits her.

Moreover, it is evident Kim Ki-duk’s special taste for violent and cruel image. The film keeps a dark side all over the film besides the colourful scenes of Yeon’s visits to Jang Jin.

Breath brings out the personal view that the Korean director has of the world. This film illustrates as well how he keeps improving his work.