Breath

I hadn't/haven't read the book. My ideas about the themes and the story come entirely from seeing this film. It was about boys/young men and the influences and pressures on them when they are attaining "manhood" and what that involves, learning to say "no" to outside pressures and to stand on your own two feet and to decide what is right for you. The 2 leads were not actors, but their performances are terrific. Very natural and believable. "Loony" delivered some funny lines perfectly and conveyed behaviours consistent with his nickname with reckless abandon, but there were reasons in his life that drove his behaviour. Neither his lines nor his conduct were really funny when you thought about it afterwards (and I did think about the themes afterwards which, to me, highlights that a movie was good) The other boy "Pikelet" was a more cautious, thoughtful type and launching himself onto waves wasn't something that came naturally to him, he had to overcome his fears to give it a go. The character showed by his face the conflict of wanting to conform against his natural personality, quite an achievement for an actor, but for a non-actor even more so. The performances by the 2 young leads no doubt is attributable to Simon Baker's direction and he did a great job showing what was "going on" with the characters under the surface.

Both boys meet Sando, Simon Baker's character and he teaches them about surfing and taking risks on the water, how waves behave and that sort of thing. By their interactions with Sando and his American wife, who is depressed and frustrated after an injury, the boys also learn more about life and people. The story spans several years as the boys "grow up". I'm not into surfing, but the surfing scenes were "just right" not a second too long or boring to me as a non-surfer, visually stunning and interesting to watch and advancing the story. This isn't "light-hearted" entertainment, but if you want to see a beautifully shot story about people and what "makes them tick" and the influences on young boys/men, go to see it.

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.

I grew up in the South West of Western Australia where this was filmed. I could relate well to the material and clearly Simon Baker has a love for the material as well. This is essentially a 'coming of age' movie.

Valiant first directing attempt by Baker. This is worth watching for the scenery of the South coast of Western Australia alone. The surf sequences are also very well put together, and really draw the viewer into the waves and the ocean.

That's about where my praise ends though. Frankly, the film never quite achieves the heights that some reviews claim. Unlike the presentation of the scenery and surfing, the characters are not well drawn out, and struggle to develop any telling depth. The boy coming of age, the crazy mate, the high school girlfriend, the stereotyped parents, the mentor. All of them are frequently used templates by the author (Winton), this feels like the same tale he's told before, just with different characters and setting.

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.