The 2013 Edinburgh Film Festival kicks off tomorrow night, so expect plenty of reviews over the coming weeks. Here's the first...
With composure and compassion, I Am Breathing documents the
final months of husband and father Neil Platt, diagnosed with Motor
Neuron Disease at the age of 33. Served a bleak prognosis, Platt began
chronicling his struggles with the debilitating condition, dictating
blog posts that would eventually reach a readership of 10,000. At the
same time, he and wife Louise began shoring fragments of his life –
photographs, home videos, mementos – to ensure their one-year-old son
would grow up knowing not only how his father died, but how he lived; a
project for which I Am Breathing can occupy a keystone position.
Granted extensive access to the family’s ordeal – an ordeal tackled
with grace and humility – directors Davie and McKinnon handle the
devastating subject matter with restraint and sensitivity, baring the
disease’s full tragic trajectory without reducing Neil to his affliction
alone. As might be expected, the results are deeply moving, with
moments of absurd humour and profound beauty amidst the sadness.
20th June, 6pm, Filmhouse 1
23rd June, 4.25pm, Cineworld 12
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