How to Breathe Out of Water (2021) | Film Review
On the way back home from swimming practice, Janaina is violently stopped by the police. Later, safe back home, she faces her relationship with her father Julio, who is a policeman, with different eyes.
Police brutality is not a new topic. It is a violence that most black and queer people will have experienced at some point in their lives. However, what happens when the police who oppress you are inside your own family?
With this question posed, How to Breathe Out of Water presents a heartbreakingly beautiful father/daughter dynamic, where Janaina is forced to face the realities of what her father represents by being a policeman. Julio, conversely, is forced to wrestle with his profession’s “short comings” finally reaching his own daughter — not just “a casualty” as he himself puts it.
But you are too special to try to be someone else. — Mariana, How to Breathe Out of Water (2021)
A very interesting aspect of their relationship regards Janaina’s sexuality. We see very early on that Julio likes Mariana, Janaina`s partner. They have breakfast together, Mariana comes around to bring Janaina some cake (we love our food in Brazil). It is only when regarding to Janaina’s gender expression that Julio seems to be bothered.
For instance, throughout the film we see Janaina dabbling with the idea of wearing earrings. There is a moment where Julio sees her with a pair and compliments them, saying they make her “look pretty, like her grandmother”. This could be read as him being uncomfortable with Janaina’s more masculine look or even deeper, him being bothered by the fact that Janaina was probably stopped by the police because they might have assumed she was a man. For her own safety, therefore, he would prefer her to look more feminine.
The film uses many different techniques to get the message across, with the editing beinga particulary clever. Also, the way in which Julio is always frame slightly out of focus or far away from the frame, aids with the idea that Janaina is seeing him from under water, distorted and blurry.
I must say that the one thing that was not up to par with the rest of the film, was the acting. Some moments were brilliant, but these were inconsistent. Perhaps it a symptom of Brazil’s strong soap opera/theater culture: the very big, clear way of acting these mediums require, might not translate well to a minimalist drama like this film.
Written and directed by Julia Fávero and Victoria Negreiros, this 16-minute short is truly an astounding portrayal of police brutality and the complicated gray area a lot of Brazilian black and queer people have to navigate on a daily basis.
If How to Breathe Out of Water is the type of story you like, you should check out Rafiki (2018) at LesflickVOD!
This review was originally posted at Lesflicks.com
