Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume feels like a Hollywood film with a slight French feel. An earthquake triggers an underground smoke cloud. The cloud is more of a concern for their daughter Sarah (Belgian actor Fantine Harduin), who survives in a bubble.
The case study concept covers a wide variety of technically Canadian films. Early on in the film, Mathieu (French actor Romain Duris) says he has been to Canada secretly to find a solution for their immuno-compromised daughter. Anna (French actor Olga Kurylenko) expresses her disdain of the prospect of living in Canada, even if that means a life for her daughter. To be fair, they do live in Paris.
That was the visible Canadian content for the whole film. No Canadians in a significant acting role.
Everything is laid out perfectly for Mathieu and Anna. They reach the top floor, conveniently just above the cloud. He remembers that the neighbour has an oxygen tank and happens to be one floor below. Mathieu happens to be an excellent climber.
Mathieu and Anna are separated though he lives close to his wife and daughter. There is no visible tension between them before or after the earthquake. There isn't even much to their personalities.
Sarah communicates with her friends in a Zoom type setting, even in 2018. She wonders whether she is in love with Noe, a boy who is also immuno-compromised. Her character is way more interesting than her parents.
I've seen more Romain Duris French films than I can count. Seeing him as an action hero is farcical at best.
Duris was featured in another Canadian film in 2018 (The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur) where both films were nominated for Best Motion Picture at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards.
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Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume is a very easy film to consume if you ignore a number of basic realities. An intriguing premise not backed up well by the script from Guillaume Lemans and the direction from Daniel Roby. Soft on conflict and tension, the film is interesting but could have been intriguing.
There is plenty of action as in an action film, but lovers of the genre won't find as much action versus an actual action film.
Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume is comme ci comme ca, which means so-so, neither good nor bad.
The film received 8 Canadian Screen Awards nominations in 2019. The film won for makeup and visual effects. The other nominations were for Best Motion Picture, Best Director (Daniel Roby), Best Supporting Actor (Michel Robin), Best Original Screenplay, and for overall sound and sound editing.
video credit: YouTube/Unifrance
photo credit: Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume
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