Respiro

Emanuele Crialese made his début in 1998 with Once We Were Strangers, shot in New York in English. For Respiro, he returned to his homeland of Italy. The story is set in a small, isolated community on the island of Lampedusa where time seems to have stood still. The rather unworldly Grazia is married to the fisherman Pietro and the mother of three children. Grazia’s behaviour largely contravenes the strict codes of the village community. She dives in the sea topless and spontaneously climbs aboard a sailing boat with two men for a trip. This infuriates Pietro and their youngest son. The eldest son Pasquale protects her from the most serious consequences of her girlish behaviour. However when Grazia opens the gates of the dog pound and lets masses of stray dogs roam the island, Pasquale can no longer protect her. The family decides that Grazia has to be committed to a clinic. She flees, helped by Pasquale, and goes into hiding in a cave. When her dress is then found, apparently washed up on the beach, Pietro is desperate.Crialese says he tried to introduce a magic-realistic mood in his film, but he remains far removed from supernatural pomposity. The characters, even that of Grazia, stand with both feet firmly on the ground and the fable that forms the basis for the plot is entirely credible.