Breath

'Breath' is an adaptation of the Tim Winton book of the same name. A coming of age story of two boys, in particular 'Pikelet' (Samson Coulter) and to a lesser extent 'Loonie' (Ben Spence). The boys live in a small coastal township in Western Australia and are taken under the wing of an itinerant drifter who teaches them about surfing.

As the lights went up after the session C turned to me and asked 'what do you think?' 'Lots of water' was my reply. There are plentiful scenes of surfing and surf and when not surfing 'Pikelet' is sometimes seen fishing. A rather slow moving film with not a lot of plot or exposition. According to C, who had the advantage of having read it, the book contains more description and detail which the film either alludes to obliquely or doesn't include at all.

I did enjoy the ocean images, although some might find them tedious, and the film is saved by excellent performances from Coulter and Spence, both first time actors.

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