And breathe normally

 

This is an independent film directed by the filmmaker Isold Uggadóttir, who, debuting in a feature film, won the Best Direction award at the Sundance Festival. Very good performances accompanied by a camera that accompanies them in the maximum of their emotion.

The story of this woman in constant balance between stability and economic misery. A single mother, she begins a job at the passport control of an airport, where her first intervention causes the arrest of an illegal immigrant. The lives of these two women will be intertwined little by little, showing that poverty has many shapes and skin colors, which are outside and within our borders, although some refuse to recognize them. But despite this, there is always that warmth in the human heart that helps others, even on the edge of the law.

One aspect of the director's finesse and subtlety is how she approaches the issue of drug addiction or sexual orientation, with such empathy and compassion; in other words, with a very human character and that is opposed to the freezing climate of the country and the cold treatment of the institutions, which hide behind the laws. Public officials are civilized and impassable. There is no violence or bad words, nor is there palpable racism, but there are bureaucratic procedures that leave many people helpless in society. The system is unable to respond to some of the most urgent problems in the contemporary world, such as immigration.

Synopsis:

In Iceland, the lives of two women intersect while they are both caught in unforeseen circumstances. One is an Icelandic mother (Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir) in distress, the other an asylum-seeker from Guinea-Bissau. A delicate bond will form between the two.

Data sheet

Original title: Andið eðlilega (And Breathe Normally)

Year: 2018

Duration: 102 min.

Country: Iceland

Direction: Isold Uggadóttir

Script: Isold Uggadóttir

Music: Gisli Galdur

Photography: Ita Zbroniec-Zajt

Cast: Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir, Babetida Sadjo, Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Arnar Jónsson, Sveinn Geirsson, Helga Vala Helgadóttir, Guðbjörg Thoroddsen, Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir, Bragi

Production Company: Zik Zak Filmworks

Genre: Drama | Immigration

Available at: NETFLIX

Awards:

2018: Sundance Film Festival: Best Director - Drama (World Cinema)

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Comment originally posted on signis.cl