From the first frame of a film you know that the maker has a grasp over the medium and has made a relationship with it. This is the same with this film. The shots and scenes are never loose or slow and yet the film takes its own time and pulls you into living it at its own pace. The story of a woman from a first world country who is dealing with her own problems and is some kind of an immigrant in her own country, who helps out an immigrant from another country. But what's beautiful about this, as with all great tales is that it destroys all kinds of borders and leaves you with a beautiful human story about how the human spirit triumphs over everything in its way and can be so all encompassing, compassionate, inclusive and brave.
26 Reviews
The beauty of pure solidarity
montsegimenez7 February 2019
The film correctly shows us the issue of immigration, including the despicable people who take advantage of the circumstances. It focuses on the vicissitudes of an African woman who will soon be deported from Iceland to her native Guinea-Bissau, where she fled for feeling her life threatened. In spite of all this, she sympathizes with an Icelandic mother and her son, to whom life is not going very well either, and shares what little she has with them. Emotive and beautiful film, which keeps the spirit warm. Highly recommended!!
Very moving. Underrated
Vindelander15 July 2021
On a suspension rope
NutterJr20 March 2019
As if on a tight suspension rope, this understated film reminds us that the smallest of margin of errors can often result to your destiny changing cataclysmically. The carefully interwoven story of two quietly powerful women, both having faced demons in their past and trying to start over but are facing significant challenges on their own journeys both metaphorically and literally, will get you thinking about moments when they have gone your way on the basis of trivial circumstances or gone against you in the blink of an eye on the slightest random detail.
Lukewarm solidarity story
manugw7 January 2019
Two lives full of misfortunes, one a young single Icelandic woman with a child, who is also a border police employee, with many difficulties to make ends meet and the other an African woman fleeing from Guinea and who is caught in Iceland in transit to Canada holding a false passport, At the beginning they show mutual distrust, but in time sudden events make them close together..
It is neither an exciting nor a boring movie. If you fancy Iceland, an exotic corner of the world, just watch it
I loved it.
oohlala-2162711 January 2019
This film kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Great performances by the two leading actresses. Politics aside, the story is original and somewhat heart breaking. Unusual, circumstantial bond of two mothers from the different parts of the world. If you have strong opinions about illegal immigration and love to debate about it, skip this movie, for all you 'll see is what you would want to see, completely missing the tragic, but beautiful story.
The human factor
brockfal4 May 2022
Well played and directed, this low key drama from Iceland follows the lives of two women, one a local with a child who struggle with poverty, the other an illegal immigrant. Contemporary problems and the surprising ways lives can intersect seems to be the theme; it's a well
observed and compassionate film which in its way just as effective as Nomadland.
Watched it during Covid 19 and George Floy riots..
violetamunoz024 June 2020
I enjoyed this film a lot. It touches very sensitive subjects nowadays from immigration to racism. It's sad to see how the fate of innocent people trying to flee they're country of origin is at the hands of bureaucracy and sometimes mere luck.
A thoroughly engaging film
jake-976273 July 2019
A beautifully touching film, authentically acted and wonderfully shot. I was so thoroughly engaged from the start and felt such a connection to the characters. A hidden gem, a masterpiece on humanity...even the cat was fantastic.
Bang on!
Bang on!
I lost 2 hrs of my life!
Lalpera10 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I went to see this movie with high hopes but feeling totally betrayed. This movie is full of absolutely unbelievable incidents. And ridiculously PC crap! A woman, Adja gets caught at an Icelandic port trying to enter Canada on a forged passport. She was then sent to a refugee camp. And the drama unfolds when she meets Lara, the immigration Officer who caught her was looking for her lost son. Lara couldn't pay the rent (totally unbelievable with her job) and gets booted out and starts sleeping in her car with the little son. Adja finds the son and then they become friends and thereafter Lara was invited to sleep in her refugee camp room (again unbelievable, how outsiders can have access to refugee camps!). Adja looks after the kid when Lara works and she even takes the biggest risk in her life by claiming she is a drug user to safeguard Lara who actually used the stuff. Here is a woman who is eagerly waiting to get cleared from illegal immigration looking forward to be with her daughter and she claims she is a drug user!! Only a ghost of Jesus Christ could do it!! I won't waste anymore of your time on this, the whole movie is crap, made to appease the PC mad world and nothing else.
Painful and Emotional
daisyisabaker27 May 2021
Storytelling full of empathy.
Deciding whether to follow rules, or to follow the goodness of humanity.
Laws are not always correct.
Love is love.
Beautiful expressions of solidarity with a backdrop of outstanding Icelandic scenery. Told through trilingual speech.
Full of heart.
Deciding whether to follow rules, or to follow the goodness of humanity.
Laws are not always correct.
Love is love.
Beautiful expressions of solidarity with a backdrop of outstanding Icelandic scenery. Told through trilingual speech.
Full of heart.
Ignore The Hate
jeff-205128 January 2019
Two womens spirit, perseverance, and triumph intersect in deeply moving film
safsurfer22 July 2019
This slow, but correctly paced, film is one that every person should see. It's not the type of film for everyone though. This is one of those films that is straight forward basically one main plot and comes directly at you pushing its message as the main theme and leaves it for you to decide in the end. The message is clear.....life is hard and when you least expect it, there's good out there. This film shows the struggle of two different women and how they are working to make a better life for their families. One a native Icelandic, one an asylum seeking refugee, two totally different women, on seperate yet basically the same path that intersects and shows us that kindness and perseverance can prevail. The mood is somber, the scenery cold bleak, the pace slow. This film works though do to the controversial subject being explored and the way the actors, direction, production and script put it together. Won't be for everyone but worth the watch.
nice to see Iceland, that is it
pbtax30 May 2020
Completely improbable plot as a vehicle for over the top political correctness. The writers obviously are against immigration laws, and are only too happy to make a hero out of people who break the law to get around immigration laws.
Graceful Storytelling
irarthur10 April 2020
one of the most human, sad and painful, yet brilliant films, ever.
joannehafner28 January 2019
I was gripped and drawn to tears many times. this is an amazing film. i have learned to ignore the reviews until after i see a film. i have found that most reviews are based on political, ethnic or religious views, and not on content. humans seem to react to their beliefs or prejudices, rather than absorb the whole. that's what's wrong now. reactionary ratings.
Brilliant
thebeachlife8 February 2020
Worst movie I have ever seen...
moreit28 July 2019
Well done, great film for the open-hearted
TR60424 November 2021
Writing mostly to say how disappointed I am in folks who review this film negatively.
It's difficult to understand how some can fail to applaud the care and attention of the film's accurate and sometimes intense portrayal of tender relationships as it crosses conventional boundaries in gender, race, and economic status... and shows us what it's really like to be at risk in so many of Life's most challenging situations.
Boo to the naysayers. This is a great film. Well worth your time if you are open-hearted and open-minded.
It's difficult to understand how some can fail to applaud the care and attention of the film's accurate and sometimes intense portrayal of tender relationships as it crosses conventional boundaries in gender, race, and economic status... and shows us what it's really like to be at risk in so many of Life's most challenging situations.
Boo to the naysayers. This is a great film. Well worth your time if you are open-hearted and open-minded.
What a truthfull and beautiful story.
andonisatha18 November 2021
This is cinema at it's politically best. A very strong and meaningful script greatly executed from the cinematography to the actresses. Reminds of Ken Loach's films. Thanks to everyone involved for such a strong and moving film!
Slow paced and heartfelt
mitsubishizero5 March 2022
As dramas go, this's well done. Yes, it has what you'd expect in these kinds of films: Long, quiet scenes often with characters staring at vast areas where they are, dialogue that probably didn't need to be said but was just to make it interesting, and the characters doing questionable things to further the plot.
The movie has those moments, but regardless, I enjoyed it.
I thought the relationship between the two main women was believable. They don't talk much to each other but you can tell they have a nice rapport, and in such a short amount of time. It's sad what they have to go through. Ones a struggling mom while the other's a refugee trying to get to Canada.
Their lives become intertwined and become enriched as a result.
I've always been fascinated with Iceland and the language itself, and seeing the landscape only interests me even more. Sure is cold, though.
I don't have much else to say other than it was well-paced. The story flow felt natural, the acting was pretty good from the cast, and the shots were nice to look at.
If you like foreign media, check this movie out then.
The movie has those moments, but regardless, I enjoyed it.
I thought the relationship between the two main women was believable. They don't talk much to each other but you can tell they have a nice rapport, and in such a short amount of time. It's sad what they have to go through. Ones a struggling mom while the other's a refugee trying to get to Canada.
Their lives become intertwined and become enriched as a result.
I've always been fascinated with Iceland and the language itself, and seeing the landscape only interests me even more. Sure is cold, though.
I don't have much else to say other than it was well-paced. The story flow felt natural, the acting was pretty good from the cast, and the shots were nice to look at.
If you like foreign media, check this movie out then.
Promising beginning only
juantheroux16 April 2022
It starts as a realistic portrayal of a single mom trying to survive but
gradually collapses after the arrival of a refugee. The two don't really interact. Most of the time we don't know where we are or why, and the
poker faced actors add nothing. Gradually the film disintegrates into
disjointed episodes obviously staged.
An oasis of empathy.
philip-0019717 August 2021
Without getting soppy Ísold Uggadóttir holds up the magic mirror that reflects what we would like to be. Likewise, without being pretentious, she hints at what we ought to be.
One may argue that."And Breathe Normally" (international title) is primarily concerned with specific topics such as; gender or the plight of refugees - It is not. Uggadóttir is weaving the, much lost, fabric of humanity - and she is doing so with threads of empathy.
With much of the world on an, "un-compassionate", hyperventilating rampage driven by fear - we are told. Told that we are panicking and acting, not only inhumanly but also; irrationally and in cotradiction with what we perceive ourselves to be... and told to start breathing normally.
Packaging is exquisite and delivery is subtle. Uggadóttir manages to avoid the trap she is trying to describe - the one of overreacting. Added to that "And Breath Normally" has flawless casting - it's just one breath away from being a masterpiece.
One may argue that."And Breathe Normally" (international title) is primarily concerned with specific topics such as; gender or the plight of refugees - It is not. Uggadóttir is weaving the, much lost, fabric of humanity - and she is doing so with threads of empathy.
With much of the world on an, "un-compassionate", hyperventilating rampage driven by fear - we are told. Told that we are panicking and acting, not only inhumanly but also; irrationally and in cotradiction with what we perceive ourselves to be... and told to start breathing normally.
Packaging is exquisite and delivery is subtle. Uggadóttir manages to avoid the trap she is trying to describe - the one of overreacting. Added to that "And Breath Normally" has flawless casting - it's just one breath away from being a masterpiece.
Nearly Perfect
torijoyous-699648 August 2022
The first time I watched this movie was on a plane to Iceland. I loved it so much that I decided I wanted to own it. After we landed, we saw many of the sites shown in the movie, which was cool. I have watched the film one more time since being back home, and I was just thinking about it again today. That is how good this movie is. I'm looking forward to my next viewing.
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