Italy / France,
2002, 90 min
Shown in 2003
CREDITS
- dir
-
Emanuele Crialese
- prod
-
Dominic Procacci
- scr
-
Emanuele Crialese
- cam
-
Fabio Zamarion
- editor
-
Didier Ranz
- mus
-
John Surman
- cast
-
Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato, Francesco Casisa, Veronica D’Agostino, Filippo Pucillo
- source
-
Sony Pictures Classics, 550 Madison Ave., 8th Fl., New York, NY 10022. FAX: 212-833-7911. EMAIL: sony_classics@spe.sony.com.
OTHER
Life is unforgiving on Lampedusa, a tiny, sun-washed island south of Sicily where time seems to stand still. The fishermen work hard, the boys play rough and the wives strain to keep everything on an even keel. All except Grazia (Valeria Golino of Rain Man), who keeps losing her balance. Given to bizarre behavior and erratic judgment, she’s fortunate to have a loving husband, Pietro, and three savvy children to intercede before her lapses lead to calamity. Other family members have proposed sending Grazia to a sanatorium in Milan, though Pietro is firmly opposed. But when Grazia misguidedly frees a group of stray dogs, a chain of events is put in motion with unexpected repercussions. “Respiro” means “breath” in Italian, and every frame of this delicate, sensual film shimmers with the hot, languid rhythm of Mediterranean life. Talented writer-director Emanuele Crialese deftly insinuates us into the world of Lampedusa; if Grazia is a woman under the influence, by film’s end, we’re also under the sway—of sun, sky and ocean. Golino’s nuanced, enticing performance is captivating; beyond avoiding cliché at every turn, she makes Pietro’s devotion to Grazia crystal clear. For at its core, Respiro is a profound and deeply felt love story.
—Michael Fox
FACTOID #28
A print of Tonight and Every Night, to be shown at the Rita Hayworth tribute in 1972, was stolen out of a truck on its way to the theater.
