Review of “And Breathe Normally” by Kathia Woods

"And Breathe Normally" is an Icelandic drama film directed by Isold Uggadottir.

It's the story of two women who intersect at a checkpoint. Their checkpoint meeting forever changes their lives.

There are lots to unpack in this movie. It's stunningly shot, and the acting is compelling.

It also tackles a global conversation on immigration as well as the persecution of members of the LGBTQ community.

The heart of the story centers on two women: one who is trying to regain her life and the other who is fighting for survival.

Kristin Pora Haraldsdottir portrays Lara, a young woman who is struggling to regain her life. She gets an opportunity to move forward when she joins the police academy. The downside is that she is evicted from her apartment with her young son.

This job opportunity intersects her with Adija, played by Babetida Sadjo.

The women give strong, compelling performances; however Kristin is the only one allowed to go through a full range of emotion. We get an opportunity to understand her journey, even when she continues to make the wrong choices, while Babetida doesn't[AB1] get to demonstrate any rage of emotion.

We must understand intent here to see why such an imbalance exists and to know why Adija doesn't get to have a full sense of presence.

This movie was written and directed by a white woman, who most likely entered this work with good intentions. However, what is missing is Adija as a whole person.

There is a false narrative going on the world when it comes to black people's pain and how we process trauma.

There is this perception that we are so used to experiencing trauma at the hands of whites that we automatically go into forgiveness mode. We travel from pain to forgiveness in a matter of minutes. This narrative is false and unrealistic.

Compartmentalizing isn't the same as forgiveness, which was what Adija was doing. Also, not once during this movie does Lara ask Adija about her journey, nor does she ask for forgiveness. Why are black women always portrayed to be allies of white women? Yes, we are strong and loving, but we are humans. As humans we experience pain. Pain that includes anger, or dare I say rage. None of this was present in this movie. Instead of being a fully-fledged person, Adija is emotionally neutered.

Lara’s son was acted well by Patrik Nokki Petursson, and he was more aware of Adija’s pain than Lara. The idea that a child is more knowledgeable than an adult is interesting. Here is an opportunity for Lara to show that actions have consequences.

The other challenge in this movie is the fact that the film made you assume a lot and the pace at times was too slow.

In the end, it’s a beautifully shot movie that failed to understand one of its main characters. We needed more context.

Babetida doesn’t what? Make the wrong choices or go through a range of emotions?

Diversity- I give this movie a six for diversity. Kudos to casting a woman of color but the downside is that she was not allowed to be a complete person.

Scale- I give this movie a six and a half. It's beautifully shot, but the filmmaker left many gaps, and the pace was to slow at times.