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Breath
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| tigglewink01 |
Date: Thursday, 26-Apr-18, 0:06 AM | Message # 811 |
 Rip Snorter
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Thanks for the read and I congrat Simon on the award they gave him with the showing this week for selling all the tickets within 2 hours. |
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Thursday, 26-Apr-18, 12:49 PM | Message # 812 |
 Fair Dinkum
Messages: 1979
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Some comments on IG or twitter:
from @hanmacgee
Well that was a bit spesh! Front row for a Q&A screening of Breath with Simon Baker was the stuff of dreams. He’s beautiful. And the film is bloody brilliant too ☺️. The cinematography and the score were mesmerising. I was - dare I say it - breathless throughout the viewing. Corny as it sounds, I was so enthralled I took deep lungfuls of air and forgot to exhale in many of the ocean scenes. It’s just exquisite. Go see it
from @chereerobinson
@breathfilm go see it! Suited for ages 14+ and not a surf film but lots of awesome surfing all done by Simon and the two main stars. I really enjoyed it. Amazing storyline.
from @agnewinteriors
I saw Breath at Luna Cinema on Monday and still thinking about it! Enjoyed it on so many levels, stunning scenery , complex characters, funny , blasts from my past 70’s so much and more. congrats to all involved .
from @simonbakerfp
I saw it back in October at the Zurich film festival and even tho I wasn't born yet and never surfed in my life I was mesmerised by the scenery and the love for every single detail. Amazing acting, beautiful music..simply perfect. I am so glad the Australian audience likes it so much (so far). Good things come to good people I guess. Simon really deserves the success
from @catdezign
Such a privilege to be at the Central Coast premier of Simon Baker’s film BREATH adapted from the book by Tim Winton. It was also a Q&A event after the film and I was lucky enough to ask Simon a question. This photo courtesy of Avoca Beach Picture Theatre is when Simon was answering my question. He explained the film is his own enterpretation based on his life’s experiences and the cinematography brings you right in to the scenes feeling like you’re actually there with the characters. Wow.. brilliant film. Go see! Film release is May 3!
from @joannacoby
At the Breath screening with Director Simon Baker in his home town. As one of my favourite novels, and writers (Tim Winton) I felt the film remained true to the novel and was thoroughly enjoyable, sparking that deep passion for the ocean that we inherently know growing up on the coastlines of Australia...
from @l |
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| Deedee |
Date: Thursday, 26-Apr-18, 5:47 PM | Message # 813 |
 Bee's Knees
Messages: 704
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Does my heart good to read such glowing comments of Breath and such great reviews. Simon must be so happy and proud with its success not just at the film festivals although, of course ,that’s fantastic but with his own Australian audiences as well. If only we could have a rough idea when we might get to see it. It could well be when it goes to dvd. Thanks for all the postings DSP. |
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| tigglewink01 |
Date: Thursday, 26-Apr-18, 6:30 PM | Message # 814 |
Rip Snorter
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Thanks for posting DSP these lovely comments about Simon and Breath I also like Deedee would like roughly when we might be able to see it. Thanks again. |
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| bee |
Date: Thursday, 26-Apr-18, 7:19 PM | Message # 815 |
 Fair Dinkum
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Such wonderful comments. I've yet to see a bad review! I'm so happy for him as this movie has been a labour of love for him for so long and he thoroughly deserves this success. It just makes me more excited to see it! |
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Friday, 27-Apr-18, 9:59 AM | Message # 816 |
Fair Dinkum
Messages: 1979
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BREATH is a Cinematic Siren to the Ocean's Allure
April 27, 2018 | By saltypopcorn
https://saltypopcorn.com.au/breath-review/
We all know Simon Baker, an Aussie actor turned international actor probably best known as TV’s THE MENTALIST or in THE DEVIL
WEAR’S PRADA. A true Aussie surfer boy turned international star. He had never directed a film before but as a true Aussie he reads
all of Tim WInton’s work and when he read BREATH he stated to Channel 7’s Matt Tinney, “It felt a lot like someone had dug into my
soul and beautifully articulated the things I felt inside.” And so the seeds of a debut direction were sown. Baker captured and
understood the essence of BREATH and more so the psyche of Winton’s mind in delivering this Aussie masterpiece to the big screen.
BREATH isn’t cinema, it’s cinematic poetry and it releases in Australian on May 3 from Roadshow Films. It is rated M and runs for 115mins.
BREATH SYNOPSIS:
BREATH is a story about youthful recklessness and the lengths we will go, against our better judgment, to avoid feeling ordinary.
Bruce “Pikelet” Pike is a boy growing up in Sawyer, a small, charmless coastal town. Together with his unlikely friend Loonie, the boys
discover the adrenaline rush of surfing and fall under the spell of an enigmatic big-wave surfer named Sando, who takes the boys under
his wing and challenges them to take on bigger risks and ride waves beyond their control. As the boys mature into adolescence, each
discovers his own longings and limits, and the rift that develops between them threatens to push each toward self-destruction.
WINTON AND BAKER BRING THE SPIRIT OF THE AUSTRALIAN SURFER TO THE BIG SCREEN:
BREATH is a subtle approach into the soulful allure of the ocean by coastal living Australians. But it is much more if you know Winton.
The title “BREATH” always felt odd. Then you notice the entire movie looks at breathing and the feeling of being stifled.
The movie starts with Pikelet and Loonie (could they be any more Tim Winton in their naming?) competing as to who can hold their
breath the longest. When pummelled under the surf Pikelet regularly is gasping for breath and someone in the movie has a sexual
fetish to need to be choked during sex. Why a scene listening to Pikelet’s dad snore? And then there is Pikelet himself, whenever
he is stressed he does a breath “thing,” it’s on its way to panting. And the major nod to breath is the ocean itself – it comes in and
out, like air, and it’s size is determined by swell and ocean winds.
Sharing this theme is the beauty of youth and the erosion of age. And finally what it means to be extraordinary, by not wanting to
surf the biggest craziest break does this make Pikelet ordinary or smart, knowing his limits? Eva’s (Elizabeth Debicki) destroyed leg
and her inability ski anymore leaves her stifled and choking on life, she is decayed. Is Sando’s (Simon Baker) desire to push the youths
a way for him to re-assure himself that he still has his youth to some extent? It is almost primitive in his challenge to Pikelet.
Is Eva’s need to pull Pikelet closer to her the same reason? And how far will the boys go in their need to be more than ordinary?
Do you remember your mates egging you on to do something more dangerous than you would normally embrace?
LOVE STORY:
I spoke to a friend last night who was at the Sydney premiere and they had a QnA with everyone in the movie (where was my invite?)
but Winton explained it was a love story. At first I didn’t get it – but then as well as the breathing aspect of the themes love is noticeable
everywhere. The love of a best friend, the love of the more adventurous father figure, the first love, the sexual love, the family love,
the love of the ocean and eventually the love of one’s self. The only true love that survived this story was the one that also contained
respect. Nice one Mr Winton!!
TECHNICAL:
Following the themes of the movie it is, simply, a work of beauty. Such wonderful muted warm tones contrasted against the blue of
the ocean. All the fibres of the clothing are close to hand knit, and naturally fibrous. Marden Dean’s (BOYS IN THE TREES) land
cinematography is just superb, and as beautiful is Rick Rifici’s ocean cinematography.
The surfing is so poetically natural, it was like watching a ballet, except the stage is throwing tonnes of water at the dancers.
The water scenes are visually real and you can tell there is no green screen or cheap inserted green screen actors surfing. I could
have watched a four hour version of this movie with more surfing and more of the cast. Most of the film is shot in Denmark, Western
Australia, and what a beautiful town and beaches this place has. Wouldn’t mind living there myself!
PERFECT AND BRAVE CASTING:
It was a daring and beautiful move by Baker and Producers to cast Samson Coulter and Ben Spence, they cast the two leads for their
surfing and taught them to act. Coulter is actually a local to where I live and both boys are junior competitive surfers. Their acting is
more than acceptable, it’s raw and the lens eats them both up. Coulter’s Pikelet is an introverted thinker who knows himself and stands
for what he believes in, he has a lot of screen time and for a debut performance it was marvellous. I see one of the many AFI awards
coming to BREATH this year deservedly ending up in the hands of Coulter.
Ben Spence as Loonie, this kid was a complete flashback to my youth. I was Pikelet to some extent growing up on the Australia coastline,
I had two close friends at separate times that were both Loonie’s. Spence’s delivery of Loonie was at times hysterical, I would love to see
him do more movies after this! Sadly my friends’ outcome wasn’t far from Loonie’s.
Simon Baker is wonderful onscreen in anything, he is so laid back and his voice, it’s almost hypnotic. Let’s add to that how gorgeous he is,
I would love his hippy-by-the-beach lifestyle! And what a transformation for Elizabeth Debicki, from GATSBY to THE NIGHT MANAGER to
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2, all quite commercial and model-like beauty roles. To see her bare and stretching her range was fantastic.
My heart broke a little for her.
IN CONCLUSION:
BREATH is one of the most resonating Australian movies I have seen in years that deserves all the accolades coming its way. The film
is more than beautiful, it is a cinematic siren to the ocean’s allure and of how its beauty balanced with danger is a mirror for maturing
from child to adult. No movie has made me think this deeply since, like, forever haha. |
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| Deedee |
Date: Friday, 27-Apr-18, 12:12 PM | Message # 817 |
Bee's Knees
Messages: 704
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My goodness just read that review and it brought tears to my eyes! Just perfect. To say I really want to see this film this very minute! is an understatement. |
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Friday, 27-Apr-18, 10:19 PM | Message # 818 |
Fair Dinkum
Messages: 1979
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Another review Deedee, also very interesting and very well written.
The Camberra Times - April 27 2018 - 11:45PM
Simon Baker channels his teenage surf experience
in movie of Tim Winton's Breath
by Fiona Capp
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/enterta....2g.html
Like many Australians who came of age in the surf in the 1970s and 1980s, I was as much in love with surfing's spirit
of rebellion and the escape it offered from my safe suburban upbringing, as I was with the thrill of riding the waves.
To surf was to reject all that was solid and predictable and embrace the edgy and unknown.
When I returned to surfing as a mature woman after a 15-year break, it struck me that for all surf culture's obsession
with big-wave hunting and the quest for new frontiers, the oceanic and the domestic did not have to be mutually
exclusive. Freed from the machismo of seafaring mythology with its imperial ambitions of "ruling the waves", surfing
allows for a new conception of adventure and heroism in which you don't have to go "in far" in order to go "out deep",
to quote the poet Robert Frost. It is possible to commune with the sublime and still be home in time for tea.
n the film adaptation of Tim Winton's acclaimed novel Breath, directed by Simon Baker, the young protagonist, Pikelet,
finds himself growing up too fast when he is lured into what Winton calls the "gladiatorial realm" of big-wave surfing
and extreme sex. Through this painful getting of wisdom, he comes to the insight earlier than most of us that you don't
have to turn your back on the ordinary in order to do something as extraordinary as dancing across the face of a wave.
Although faithful to the book in many respects, the film offers a more optimistic take on Pikelet's ability to come through
his loss of innocence without being destroyed by it. In the novel, Pikelet is left emotionally and psychologically crippled
by his teenage encounter with hippy surf guru, Sando, and his wife, Eva (Elizabeth Debicki) – an ex-champion freestyle
skier who initiates him into the world of grown-up sex. In flight from the responsibilities of adulthood, the couple exploit
their mystique and their influence over Pikelet (Samson Coulter) and his mate, Loonie (Ben Spence), as they seek to
recapture the intense highs of the glory days of their youth.
While Baker – who also plays Sando – says he found the book profoundly moving and that it resonated with his
experiences as a boy surfing at Lennox Head, he wanted the film to explore the resilience that a character like Pikelet
could possess. As in many rites of passage stories, much of the narrative drive comes from the tension between the
boys' desire to push their limits and prove themselves in the adult arena, and the pull of the home environments that
have made them who they are. Pikelet draws his strength from his protective, loving family whereas the first time we
see Loonie he is sporting a black-eye courtesy of his violent father who runs the local pub.
In the book, Pikelet's solid background and introspective nature are not enough to stop him going off the rails, and he
spends his adult life reeling from the damage done in his adolescence. The film, however, takes Winton's preoccupation
with troubled masculinity in a different direction when Pikelet realises that a truce can be achieved between the lure of
danger and the security of home.
Baker is adamant the bravest and most heroic moment in the film would be when Pikelet stands his ground and resists
the pressure from Sando and Loonie to surf the unconquered big-wave break called Nautilus. "When I look back at that
time in my life," Baker says, "I certainly wish that I had more confidence in who I was to say, 'I'm not going to do that',
and not feel like I'd failed. I think we have evolved enough to be able to accept that as a strength. They're the moments
that define you and make you who you are and separate you from the mob."
In its defiant mood of rebellion, rejection of responsibility and worship of youth, surf culture has traditionally celebrated
the eternal adolescent in all of us: that secret part of the self that resists the pressure to be civilised and domesticated
and finds atavistic solace in the sea's savage mystery. While we don't need to relinquish it in order to grow up, there's
no escaping the fact that clinging to this inner adolescent has stunted surf culture. Localism, sexism, surf rage and
racism have been some of its uglier manifestations.
Along with Winton's eloquent essay on his own surfing experiences The Wait and the Flow, the novel and film of Breath,
offer a nuanced commentary on surf culture's own protracted coming of age. Winton started surfing in the early 1970s
(when the novel is set) and credits it with getting him through adolescence. "When I was lonely, confused and angry,
the ocean was always there, a vast salty poultice sucking the poison from my system."
At the same time, he believes the Aquarius generation's veneration of freedom came at a cost. "People forsook the
group in the late '60s and thus began the 'festival of me'. Surfers have always been the most gigantic narcissists, so it
was a perfect alignment. I'm not talking about hobby surfers here, but lifelong hardcore surfers who sublimate every
other part of their lives to the tides and the swell and the weather,"I he says. In their conception of themselves as
exceptional and not answerable to anyone, Sando and Eva epitomise this strand of arrested development in surf culture.
With its gentle pace and loving depiction of the seductiveness of the alternative universe the Sanderson's inhabit in
their wooden house on stilts surrounded by bush, the film presents a more oblique critique of this way of life.
While Baker agrees that surfing has, "always [been] a macho sport, particularly in the 1970s", his Sando is an alluring
enigma who goads the boys beyond their limits even as he tells them they have nothing to prove. "I wanted to play
around with the masculine ideal, the Australian male stereotype, to frame it and then step outside the frame and
basically subvert it, in a way that wasn't dishonouring it," he says.
The West Australian premiere of Breath took place in Albany on the state's south coast, 60 kilometres from the small,
close-knit town of Denmark where the film is set. Before the screening, Baker, Winton, Coulter and Spence lined up
on a strip of red carpet to be photographed and take questions from the media. Behind them stretched a larger-than-life
promotional poster of Sando and the boys with boards under their arms, surveying the surf.
I certainly wish that I had more confidence
in who I was to say, "I'm not going to do that".
Simon Baker
It is two years since the film was shot and while Baker looked much the same, the boyish faces of the 15-year-olds
in the poster had sharpened into the more angular features of young men. Although both are experienced surfers,
neither had acted in front of the camera before being cast. Weeks of media promotional tours lay ahead of them and
although they seemed remarkably composed, it was evident they were still coming to grips with the impact that the film
would have on their own coming of age.
At the beach during a photo shoot earlier in the day, they veered between goofing around – exchanging rings in a mock
wedding ceremony – and taking the spotlight in their stride. "Making the film was a rollercoaster ride," Coulter says,
"because it was such a big learning curve from start to finish." One minute he was at school and the next, he was on
the set, "being brought coffees all day and kind of being treated like an adult". Looking back, Spence felt he was able to
throw himself into his role as Loonie because he was still young enough not to feel too self-conscious.
The most challenging moment of the promotional tour was probably the Q&A after the Albany premiere when
Coulter was asked about the intimate scenes between Eva and Pikelet. To much nervous laughter from the
audience, he admitted that beforehand he was "scared shitless", but the professional atmosphere and support
of the cast and crew made it a positive experience.
In his signature, low-key way, Baker took Coulter out for a surf in advance of these scenes to sound him out
about how he was feeling about "the end of the script". The time Baker and the boys spent surfing together
was fundamental to the bond established between them. While Baker's directorial approach had much in common
with Sando's mentoring of Pikelet and Loonie, there was one crucial difference. Whereas Sando casually exploited
his influence over the boys, Baker was acutely conscious of his responsibilities in loco parentis.
"I didn't want the boys to feel any tension, any of that uptight rigour that can manifest on a film set. It was very
important for me that it was loose and organic," he says. "They were so willing and so free that it brought that
joyful excitement out in everyone. These young boys were up for anything, they were phenomenal and I am so
proud of their work."
Both the book and the film remind us that the business of growing up – in or out of the surf – never ends. And
that those like Sando, Loonie and Eva, who stay stuck in the past, unable move on to the next phase of life, risk
bitterness or self-destruction.
As his directorial debut, the making of Breath was itself a rite of passage for Baker. While he has directed episodes
of the television drama series, The Mentalist – in which he starred and for which he is best known as an actor –
Breath is his first feature film. "I'm almost 50 and I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm probably somewhere in the midst
of a midlife crisis," he says. "I'm grateful to have had something to channel it into."
Just as Breath explores the way the main characters deal with their fears and insecurities, Baker found himself
wrestling with self-doubt while making the film. A friend who is an artist urged him not to shut it off, comparing it
to meditation where you acknowledge your thoughts and feelings but don't let them take over. "You invite fear
on the journey with you. You just don't let it choose the music." |
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| tigglewink01 |
Date: Saturday, 28-Apr-18, 7:51 AM | Message # 819 |
Rip Snorter
Messages: 315
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Wow thanks DsP for the read and the link I'm from the UK but I cannot wait to see the film.
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| bee |
Date: Saturday, 28-Apr-18, 12:18 PM | Message # 820 |
Fair Dinkum
Messages: 1525
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Thanks DSP. Simon must be delighted with all these great reviews knowing that his work has been so well received especially with the Australian audiences. So happy for him. |
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Sunday, 29-Apr-18, 8:31 PM | Message # 821 |
Fair Dinkum
Messages: 1979
Status: Offline |
BREATH★★★
LIKE RIDING A BIG WAVE AND THEN WIPING OUT
THEATRICAL REVIEW
By Jake Watt
28th April 2018
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article....ing-out
Surfing films are few and far between. For every legitimate classic like 'Big Wednesday' by John Milius and John
Stockwell's 'Blue Crush' (a personal favourite), there are plenty of duds, like Morgan O'Neill and Ben Nott's 'Drift',
Curtis Hanson's 'Chasing Mavericks' and Sean McNamara's 'Soul Surfer'. Genre films with surfing themes, like
'Point Break' or 'The Shallows', usually achieve more success.
The new surfing film ‘Breath’ is the directorial debut of Australian actor Simon Baker, who shot to fame in
Hollywood as the star of the TV show ‘The Mentalist’. Based on author Tim Winton’s Miles Franklin Award-winning
novel, it's a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys, Pikelet (Samson Coulter) and Loonie (Ben Spence).
Bruce Pike and Ivan Loon are both lonely misfits in a small timber town near the West Australian coastline who
befriend each other one summer swimming at the river and dare each other to more and more extreme exploits.
When they ride to the coast on their bikes and see the local lads surfing, they know they have to give it a try.
Before long they draw the attention of Sando (Simon Baker, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, ‘L.A. Confidential’), a
mysterious older surfer and adventurer who takes them under his wing and encourages them to try more and
more extreme surf. It’s the 70s and Sando and his depressed American wife Eva (Elizabeth Debicki, ‘The Great
Gatsby’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'), are living a hippie lifestyle in a house set in the bush where Eva is also
trying to overcome her own demons.
This story is many things. It follows Pikelet and Loonie as they move through adolescence. It is also about the
attraction of extreme sport, the addiction to the endorphin and adrenalin rush that is hard to satisfy away in
retirement, and it is about the dangers of idolising those who seem adventurous and attractive to us. It is also
the story of relationships: between Pikelet and Loonie, Pikelet and Sando, Loonie and Sando, Sando and Eva
and Pikelet and Eva.
Richard Roxburgh (in his third Tim Winton film adaptation after ‘In the Winter Dark’ and ‘The Turning’) and
Rachael Blake (‘Gods of Egypt’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’) turn in finely-tuned performances as Pikelet’s parents, who
watch their boy mature into manhood before their eyes. Baker handpicked amateur actor Samson Coulter after
specifically seeking someone who could handle himself on a surfboard to play Pikelet. The similarly inexperienced
Ben Spence was cast as Pikelet’s scene-stealing larrikin mate, Loonie. Both Coulter and Spence are fantastic as
the scruffy coastal teenagers, particularly when you consider their inexperience and the complexity of their roles.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Tim Winton is an extremely evocative and descriptive writer. Reading his novel,
you can see the waves, feel the pull of the surf, be dazzled by the shards of light as the wave crashes and breaks
into pieces. His descriptions are beautiful, not in a romantic sunset-on-waves type of way, but in a tough and
muscular way. He doesn’t talk about frolicking in the surf, he talks about the breathlessness that comes from a hold
down to the point of blackout after a fall from a wave the size of a house.
To deliver this visually, Simon Baker called upon water cinematographer Rick Rifici to shoot the surf and underwater
scenes. The results are awe-inspiring (the majority of filming took place in Denmark, Western Australia, and features
well-known local landmarks Elephant Rocks and Greens Pool as well as the infamous surf break, The Right).
A single continuous take of Ben Spence surfing a left-hander across the face of a wave as it rushes past a stationary
camera, and then back up over the lip of the wave as it breaks, paddling towards the camera again (while delivering
dialogue!), had my jaw agape.
Winton’s novel is narrated by Pikelet as a divorced, middle-aged paramedic - the novel opens with him attending
the scene of a suicide. A kid has hanged himself, taken his last breath, and denied himself all others. It’s a mess.
But the experience prompts Bruce to recall his own youth, with the story taking the form of a long flashback in
which he remembers his childhood friendship with Loonie. Wisely, Baker’s film (narrated by Winton as an adult
Pikelet) takes place entirely in the 70s as a more traditional, less grim coming-of-age tale, gradually morphing
into a story of has-been sport stars trying to imbue knowledge and recapture past thrills by pushing his young
devotees into rash and treacherous situations.
And then a character puts Fleetwood Mac’s 'Rhiannon' on the record player and ‘Breath’ shifts into a third gear…
The only major bum note of the film (and the novel, in my opinion) is the handling of Eva, Sando’s surly, troubled
but ethereally beautiful wife whose role in the story is to usher Pikelet into manhood. Eva was an extreme skier but
now has a blown knee. Consequently, she’s bitter because her husband still gets to do what he loves and because
he’s not spending any time with her. Tired of being left alone, but probably unwilling to admit it, she seeks her own
gratification in a way that changes the young man’s life. But she is a wounded woman and, like the surfers, needs
to feel the rush of risk.
In the novel, Winton uses Eva as literary device to illustrate how deviant sexual practices can warp a teenage boy’s
sexual awakening, affecting his later life and relationships. Baker (and his co-screenwriters Gerard Lee, ‘Top of the
Lake’, and Winton himself) lightens this in the film adaption and vastly tones down the book’s graphic sex.
But the end result still leaves Debicki in a predictable, fairly one-dimensional succubus role. When coupled with the
fact that ‘Breath’ also loses the charismatic presence of Baker and Spence at this point in the story, focusing on
the interior struggles of the more introverted Pikelet and his relationship with Eva, the air is knocked out of the
film (pun intended) far too long before it's conclusion.
I left my screening of ‘Breath’ among a small crowd of people. Waiting for an elevator, I heard a woman next to me,
in mid-conversation with her friend, murmur: "...yeah, I’ve read his books before so I was prepared for all that
Madonna/whore stuff.”
Maybe I just hadn’t read enough Tim Winton to completely enjoy the entirety of the film, which is certainly confidently
directed by Baker, features impressive performances, is often beautiful to look at, and respectful of the Miles Franklin
Award-winning novel upon which it is based?
In any event, watching Simon Baker’s ‘Breath’ was like paddling out into pristine surf and catching a few big, clean
waves for an hour, only for the skies to suddenly cloud over and the wind to change, forcing you to reluctantly ride
some foam back to the shore. Hugely enjoyable up until it becomes strangely disappointing.
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Sunday, 29-Apr-18, 8:35 PM | Message # 822 |
Fair Dinkum
Messages: 1979
Status: Offline |
Breath Review
"Tim Winton's novel brought to cinemas by The Mentalist's Simon Baker"
By: Russ Matthews | Movie Reviews | April 28, 2018
https://www.entertainmentfuse.com/breath-review/
For those unfamiliar with the work of novelist Tim Winton, they should do all they can to get ahold of one of his books.
His writing manages to capture a side of the Australian soul that is unrivaled in modern literature. His novel Breath is
an example of his uncanny ability to convey the beauty of this land, especially of the western coast and the unique
aspects of the tough, but endearing elements of the Australian culture.
On the other side of the Pacific, Simon Baker had the opportunity to read Winton’s creation and it took him home.
Most people are unaware that the well-known actor is Australian himself and after reading the novel strived to acquire
the rights to the book for a film. He desired to take on the central character of the surfing guru and mentor, Sando,
but eventually realized that he should fulfill multiple roles of director, writer as well as the lead actor in the cinematic
production.
The salty story of the surfing community of Western Australia during the early 1970’s focusses on two young mates
who discover the thrill and euphoria of riding the coastal waves. Pikelet (Samson Coulter) and Loonie (Ben Spence)
have been friends for years and take on each new adventure with the passion and enthusiasm of teen boys with
wild abandon.
After securing their first boards and while riding back to town they come in contact with Sando (Baker) who lives in
a secluded surf shack near the beach with his wife, Eva (Elizabeth Debicki). The young pair discovers that this
reclusive surfer is a worldwide phenomenon on the waves and he takes a liking to the risk-taking boys. The seasoned
mentor begins to show them the physical and spiritual aspects of riding on the swells of the ocean and along the way
they learn how his wisdom applies to their lives.
The on-screen experience could be labeled a coming-of-age film or a beautiful surfing film, but the real heart of the
story portrays the importance of relationships and being comfortable with the limitations of life. Baker manages to
show his true cultural heritage by making Winton’s story his own and providing an immersive experience that shows
his love of Australia, the era he grew up in and the uniqueness of the surfing community.
As his directing debut, he stated that it was vital for him to tell a story that was close to his heart. Every choice made
seems to be done with care and consideration from the lighting to the type of boards they used in the surf. Baker chose
to use the actual actors for surfing the waves and not utilize any green-screen technology for the action sequences.
This subtle detail even came down to his casting choices, especially the first-time actors who portrayed Pikelet and Loonie.
Coulter and Spence are accomplished surfers who prove to have the acting chops to make the whole narrative come
together. These two young talents deliver many of the most influential scenes in the film and benefit from fantastic
support from Baker and Debicki who manage to encapsulate their characters well.
Fans of The Mentalist may find some of the content rather confronting. One aspect of Tim Winton’s writing that causes
Australian audiences to embrace his work is his raw depiction of the worlds he creates. His storylines contain the real
language of the culture that he wants to portray and Breath includes some confronting scenes of the sexual exploits of
some of the central characters. This course use of language and physical side of humanity will make this less accessible
to some audience members, but these elements do show the multi-layered world the famed author is trying to depict.
Simon Baker has managed to find the right tale for his directorial debut, his role in front and behind the camera proves
to be an exceptionally personal journey. He delivers a film that opens the world to an aspect of Australian culture, the
human experience of relationships and the importance of every aspect of life in our personal growth. Beyond some of
the mature content, this is a visually beautiful film that manages to touch the heart of humanity.
RATING: 7.5 |
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| tigglewink01 |
Date: Sunday, 29-Apr-18, 8:45 PM | Message # 823 |
Rip Snorter
Messages: 315
Status: Offline |
Wow I will have to come back and read tomorrow as I'm off to be dnow but thanks for posting them DSP. |
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Monday, 30-Apr-18, 2:37 PM | Message # 824 |
Fair Dinkum
Messages: 1979
Status: Offline |
Screen Australia
Simon Baker: multitasking on Breath
30 April 2018 By Caris Bizzaca
https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa....-breath
Director Simon Baker on making an Australian first-time feature
after two decades acting in the US.
You’ve heard of the saying ‘write what you know’? Well, it also applies to debut feature directors, says Breath’s
director, star, co-writer and co-producer Simon Baker.
Baker was first sent Tim Winton’s novel Breath by veteran Hollywood producer Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Rain Man)
who was interested in turning it into a film.
Baker, who grew up in coastal NSW town Lennox Head, says it had a “profound effect” on him.
“It felt very familiar and very close to me,” he remembers.
“I know now after this experience that on your first film I think it's very, very important that you work on something
you know well and you feel very confident [in].
“It's going to help you make millions of decisions that you need to make in keeping the thing on the rails and going
forward in the right direction. It was something that I felt I knew pretty well and that gave me confidence.”
Set in mid-70s Australia, it stars newcomers Samson Coulter and Ben Spence as teenagers who form an unlikely friendship
with an enigmatic surfer (Baker) and his wife (Elizabeth Debicki), who push them to take risks in this coming-of-age drama.
Baker co-produced Breath along with Johnson and Jamie Hilton, and he also co-wrote the feature alongside Winton and
Top of the Lake writer Gerard Lee. As such, by the time it came to making the film, he had lived and breathed the story
for so long, his vision for it was incredibly clear.
Even then, the shoot presented some unique challenges – not just for a debut feature director, but for any director.
Here are some of Baker’s observations from his time making Breath:
SHOOTING IN THE SURF
Marden Dean was the cinematographer for Breath, but a specific water cinematographer – Rick Rifici – was brought
on to capture the incredible surfing scenes, which provide pivotal moments for Pikelet (Coulter) and Loonie (Spence).
“We used one camera and we had one cinematographer,” Baker says of those shots (it was filmed on a RED at 6K).
“We were a small footprint. It was not a big crew, so we were fluid and flexible and able to be very nimble because
you are at the mercy of Mother Nature and it can turn on you like a robber's dog.”
The film, which has a raw, realistic and pared-back aesthetic, took inspiration from photography of the time.
“Because the film's set in the 70s, a lot of the photography was sort of based on the style of surf photography of that
particular period. So a lot of it was in the water and focal lengths were pretty similar to a lot of surf images from that
period, which simplified it.”
They also made capturing those shots a priority.
“We had four weeks of having our water crew there ready and available and when we got the right conditions we would
drop everything and jump over and shoot the scenes that are in the film. We had to drop the whole main unit and
just jump into the water,” he says
“Because principal cast members are in all those scenes, so there was no way we could farm it out.”
So even though in the story, many of those moments happen early in the day, they were filmed whenever they could
get them.
Baker says they just had to throw themselves into it.
“You can't will these things to happen. You’ve got to be patient and keep your wits about you and keep plodding away.”
But he also admits luck played a part. “If we didn't get the swell that we got, and the right wind directions and all of
those things then I don't know what we would have done.”
TV vs FILM
Baker has directed episodes of The Mentalist, which he starred in for seven seasons, and The Guardian. And he says
the biggest difference between film and television has been time.
“When I would direct an episode of TV, I would have six days to prep it [but] I'd be prepping it while I was shooting
an episode as an actor. So in a lighting turnaround I'd run over and do casting and then I'd… zip out at lunchtime and
look at locations.” he says, adding that TV directors usually get seven full days of prep.
“And then I was cutting [the episode] while I was shooting the following episode, so it was always a pressure cooker.”
He says comparatively it was a “joy” to have eight weeks of pre-production and six weeks to shoot it.
“[Then there was] a substantial amount of time to completely engage in all the aspects of post-production, that are
largely ignored for some reason but make cinema what it is, which is sound design and composing music and mixing,”
he says.
The experience of making a film like Breath, he says, “it feels far more complete. And it's far more what your vision
is, in a film.”
That said, he feels like the episodes of TV he’s directed are somewhat standalone pieces as well, even though they’re
part of something bigger.
“If you ever saw any of the episodes of TV that I directed I made little movies anyway,” he says, which made the
idea of his own feature even more thrilling.
“I was pretty keen to really kick into the next gear with bigger scale stuff.”
CONTINUALLY WRITING
Breath also marks Baker’s first screenwriting credit – he co-wrote the screenplay with the novel’s author Tim Winton
and veteran screenwriter Gerard Lee. Winton would call Baker while he was in between takes on The Mentalist and
they had a meeting in Perth about a year before cameras started rolling.
But even when the script was complete, Baker says the writing process doesn't stop.
“You're authoring the whole way through,” he says, often suggesting lines for the actors during production.
“When we were shooting there was a lot of spontaneity… By that point you know the story so well that all you're doing
is just creating more potent moments to express who these characters are…
“Even in post-production (Breath was edited by Dany Cooper), because you're either [keeping] a line here or losing lines.”
WORKING WITH FIRST-TIME ACTORS
Baker was adamant they find actual surfers to fill the roles of Pikelet and Loonie, and a national campaign was started
by Nikki Barrett casting, using both social media and traditional channels. After a year they had found the pair
– Samson Coulter, from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, was to play Pikelet and Ben Spence, from WA’s Margaret River,
would be Loonie.
Baker says as a director “you use every trick you can” to draw out the raw performances from the untrained actors.
“The main thing is you create an environment where they feel allowed to be able to be kids, to be themselves and
you encourage that in their performances,” he says.
“Then it's really just about collecting moments and sticking them all together in the edit and trying to make the
story cohesive.”
SHOOTING ON LOCATION IN WA
Winton gave permission to shoot Breath on the Californian coast, but Baker and Johnson were keen to keep it in
Western Australia.
“The coastline and the landscape in particular in our country, it really does help define who we are,” Baker says.
“It shapes the way we live. And it certainly had a major impact on me and the formation of who I am now.
So I think that's really one of the main characters in the film.”
During the writing process Baker would drive up and down the coast from Perth to Albany, searching for the beaches
that would make up their location for Breath – which is when he came across the town of Denmark.
Geographically and in terms of the look, it was perfect. And thanks to assistance from Screen Australia and Screenwest,
and government economic and social development agency Great Southern Development Commission, it made sense
from a logistical and budget point of view too.
“[Tim’s] relationship in his writing to a sense of place is very strong,” Baker says on the decision to shoot on location.
“You can't fake that. You just can't. I mean why would you want to if you can do it? It's also cheaper because you're
always dealing with a limited budget. So why not just get out there and do it.”
Breath is in Australian cinemas from 3 May. It’s distributed by Roadshow Films. |
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| tigglewink01 |
Date: Monday, 30-Apr-18, 7:11 PM | Message # 825 |
Rip Snorter
Messages: 315
Status: Offline |
wow thanks for the read and the pictures |
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