Grazia is a mother of three who spends suffocating days packing fish while her husband Pietro is at sea. Her oft-erratic behavior leads Pietro into thinking she may need medical attention, and he prepares to send her off to a psychiatric institute in Milan. Their son Pasquale, the one person who understand his mother the most, vows to do whatever it takes to foil his father’s plan.
Respiro is a 2002 Italian film written and directed by Emanuele Crialese and released in English-language markets in 2003. The film stars Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato, and Francesco Casisa. In the Italian language, respiro means a “breath”.
Writer / director Crialese won the Critics Week Grand Prize and the Young Critics Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was also nominated for the Best European Union Film at the César Awards and received other nominations and awards in various European award competitions.
Artist John Surman wrote the original score featuring sequenced synthesizer and alto saxophone. There was no soundtrack CD released, however part of the score can be found on his 1981 album The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon. The track is called “Part 1 – Nestor’s Saga (The Tale of The Ancient)”. The soundtrack also featured “La Bambola” performed by the Italian artist Patty Pravo.
About the Story
Grazia, played by Valeria Golino, is a free-spirited mother of three married to shy fisherman Pietro (Vincenzo Amato) and living on the idyllic but isolated island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean Sea. She shows signs of manic depressive behaviour—one moment she’s laughing wildly and swimming half-naked in the sea, while the next she’s curled in a ball on her bed. Out of her earshot, the adult members of her extended family vaguely discuss sending her to a facility of some sort in Northern Italy.
Grazia is closely shepherded by her oldest son Pasquale, played by Casisa, who appears to be about fourteen years old and often assumes more of a parental role with his mother. After Pietro puts down one of Grazia’s dogs because he thinks it might be dangerous, impulsive Grazia sets all the stray dogs free in the town’s makeshift kennel. After the dogs swarm over the island, the locals demand that Pietro do something about his wife. But when he tells her he plans to send her away to Northern Italy, she runs away and hides in a cave on the shore, where she’s secretly tended by young Pasquale, who brings her food every day.
Respiro (2003)
Directed by: Emanuele Crialese
Starring: Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato, Francesco Casisa, Avy Marciano, Veronica D’Agostino, Filippo Pucillo, Muzzi Loffredo, Elio Germano, Donatella Battiali
Screenplay by: Emanuele Crialese
Cinematography by: Fabio Zamarion
Film Editing by: Didier Ranz
Costume Design by: Eva Coen
Art Direction by: Beatrice Scarpato
Music by: Andrea Guerra, John Surman
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for nudity and thematic elements.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: May 26, 2002 (Italy), May 23, 2003 (United States)
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