Yeon (Ji-a Park) is lost and disconnected from life in her unhappy marriage with her unfaithful husband (Jung-woo Ha). She begins to visit a death row inmate, Jang Jin (Chen Chang), decorating the visitor room each time.

Ah, Ki-duk Kim, how I love you so. Yet another film he has killed me with. As I will state with almost every Ki-duk Kim movie, his movies are more of a work of art than a movie itself. Don't expect anything to be explained, he leaves it open for you to interpret. Don't think logically, think past that. Ki-duk Kim's movies have many unrealistic events that happen, but the overall effect is more real than any other movie. He shows sides of humanity that people hide, ignore, and don't understand.

How to describe an almost indescribable movie? I could go into detail on my deep thoughts about the symbolisms of Breath, but I pride myself on having as much as a spoiler free site as possible. There's not much I can say without it taking away from the movie. Not that this is a spoiler heavy film, it's just something you have to experience. Which causes a problem in actually reviewing the movie. But, I shall do my best and express the crazy emotions this movie pulled out of me.

The characters in Breath feel so real, and so does their despair. I was completely overtaken by Yeon. She rarely talks and keeps distant from everyone. She seems numb by her melancholy life. The only thing she finds interesting is the current news story about Jang Jin, a death row prisoner who has tried to commit suicide multiple times. In a moment of sorrow she decides to visit this prisoner. Not being able to open up to her daughter, or her bastard of a husband, she somehow opens up to this random prisoner. She begins planning her visits out, and decorating the visitor's room. She tells him her life's stories and even sings to him. It is heartbreaking watching this woman's desperate need to express herself. The first time she opened her mouth she had my heart and the first time she sang I was a weeping mess, cursing Ki-duk Kim for doing this to me. My lord, this woman is so real.

Many different movies touch on the depression and loneliness theme, but I have yet to see one as authentic as Breath. Despite the gloomy feel, it is the lack of emotion in much of the movie that makes it feel so real. There is a numbness to Breath, like the numbness you get when you've reached that point of depression where you shut off your emotions. Yeon is so distant until she visits Jang Jin, where there is a desperate need to open up, to let things out. You want to hold on to it, you don't want it to end, you want her to pour it all out and let herself go. But eventually the visitation is over... and she shrinks back into herself, her emotions disappearing in the process.

Honestly there is not one bad thing I can say about Breath. There are things I can see people not liking about it, especially the vagueness of many things, including the ending. But as a Ki-duk Kim film, it comes with the territory. Everything makes perfect sense to me, and for a Ki-duk Kim film it ended perfectly.

Breath is a Ki-duk Kim movie at it's finest. It doesn't surpass 3-Iron as my favorite, but it's pretty high up on the list (considering it's impossible to beat 3-Iron). It is just a movie you have to experience to truly understand.

What I liked: Ki-duk Kim; Ji-a Park (Yeon); every visitation scene; the emotions (and lack of emotions) in the film.

What I didn't like: I lied earlier, there is one thing I dislike in Breath and that is Yeon's husband's damn mustache. I hate it so much that it actually distracts me a bit from the movie. It's so hard for me to take him seriously with that mustache.

What I've learned: I hate Jung-woo Ha in a mustache.

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