Breath is the fourteenth feature film by South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n director Kim Ki-duk

Kim Ki-duk

Kim Ki-duk is a South Korean filmmaker noted for his idiosyncratic "art-house" cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit. He is not related to the Kim Ki-duk who directed Yonggary in the 1960s...

.

Plot

A loner housewife, Yeon, deals with her depression and anger by beginning a passionate affair with a convicted man on death row. After discovering her husband’s infidelity, Yeon visits the prison where a notorious condemned criminal, Jin, is confined. She has been following the news reports of his numerous suicide attempts. Despite knowing Jin's crimes, Yeon treats him like an old lover and puts all her efforts into his happiness, even though she doesn't know him.

Cast

• Chang Chen
  Chang Chen
  Chang Chen is a Taiwanese actor, born in Taipei, Taiwan. His name is sometimes seen in the Western order . He is the son of a Taiwanese actor Chang Kuo Chu and brother of a Taiwanese actor, Chang Han .-Career:...
  
   ... Jang Jin
• Park Ji-ah
  Park Ji-ah
  Park Ji-ah is a South Korean film actress.-Filmography:* Jugineun Iyagi - Cameo* Bus, l'abri - Cameo* Oollala Sisters - Cameo* The Coast Guard - Mi-yeong...
  
   ... Yeon
• Ha Jeong-woo
  Ha Jeong-woo
  Ha Jeong-woo is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his role in The Chaser, the 2008 film loosely based on serial killer Yoo Young-chul.-Career:Born as Kim Seong-hun, Ha Jeong-woo comes from an acting family...
  
   ... Yeon's husband
• Kang In-hyeong ... Young prisoner
• Kim Ki-duk
  Kim Ki-duk
  Kim Ki-duk is a South Korean filmmaker noted for his idiosyncratic "art-house" cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit. He is not related to the Kim Ki-duk who directed Yonggary in the 1960s...
  
   ... Prison warden

Reception

Breath was nominated for the Palme d'Or

Palme d'Or

The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...

 award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival

2007 Cannes Film Festival

The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...

, although the prize was eventually awarded to the film "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a 2007 Romanian film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu. It won the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI Award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival....

". It has so far attained mixed reviews; Variety Magazine's Derek Elley concluded that the film was 'a far less ambitious work than "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring", one of the director's most internationally successful films from 2003 In a comment that may go part of the way towards an explanation of the film's reception, Twitch's reviewer Derek Todd professes:

I really wanted to love this film, but there’s just a little too much left unexplored and unexplained, and I was left with a feeling of wanting to have had more of these characters lives.

External links

• Breath at Festival de Cannes