A Breath

Without a real perspective for her future, the young Greek Elena (Chara Mata Giannatou) sees only one way out: she wants to emigrate to Germany to finally earn good money and be able to make a decent life for herself. But no sooner has she arrived in Frankfurt than her dream is threatened with collapse. During a health check she finds out that she is pregnant. No job, no health insurance - that's not exactly what Elena had in mind for her life in a foreign country. But then, through a friend, she gets a job as a nanny for the well-off couple Tessa (Jördis Triebel) and Jan (Benjamin Sadler). Although she clashes with Tessa time and again, as she can never fully live up to her perfectionist ideas, Elena enjoys the time she gets to spend with little Lotte. But then a brief moment of carelessness changes everything. The young woman tries to escape the consequences by rushing back to her home. But there are some things you just can't escape - like the desperation of a mother who is willing to fight for her child, no matter the cost.

With Ein Atem, director Christian Zübert (Hin und weg, Dreiviertelmond) has staged a very intense, but also difficult drama. The somewhat convoluted narrative, through which Zübert creates the story from both Elena's and Tessa's perspective, could well make the film seem a little too unwieldy for some viewers. But on the other hand, this is exactly what gives the whole thing a certain charm. When you as a viewer get to know Tessa, you very quickly form a picture of her that seems to be very clear. But when you experience the same situation again from her point of view a short time later and get told the closer circumstances, things look quite different. Especially in the first half, this creates a very rousing portrait of two very different women, which makes it clear that one should be careful with rash judgments.

I personally find it difficult to judge the second half of the film objectively. As a fairly recent father of a young daughter, who also still lives not far from the area where the drama surrounding Tessa's daughter takes place, I was of course particularly moved and carried away by this twist in the tale. Where other colleagues have been bothered by a plot that was too contrived, I went through an emotional rollercoaster. I could relate to Elena and her panicked reaction, but especially to Tessa and her despair. And that's why this second half of the movie, which shifts the action to Athens, was extremely moving and gripping for me. That this will not be similarly intense for all viewers, I can only assume at this point, because here - and this is truly rare - I simply lack the professional distance that I otherwise strive for.

What can be judged without any doubt, however, is the very strong acting of the two main actresses. Chara Mata Giannatou is convincing as a young Greek woman who tries everything to be able to build a better life for herself - and maybe her own little family - in Frankfurt, with a refreshing naturalness and an engaging charisma. Jördis Triebel is in no way inferior with her performance, which reveals more and more facets as the film progresses. It is then also these two women who, with their stirring performances, make up for some script weaknesses and clichés.

One Breath is altogether an intense drama that lives from its unexciting, yet exciting staging and the strong leading actresses. Even if some moments may indeed be a bit too contrived, the film can definitely be recommended to lovers of German arthouse drama - and therefore I give it a clear: worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp