Breathing

MUST SEE: Karl Markovics' Breathing (Austria, 2011) - 2011CANdf Label Europa Cinema Award. Austrian thesp Karl Markovics makes a very confident directorial debut with his small but perfectly formed slice of stylized social realism, "Breathing." Pic keeps an ultra-tight focus on a juvenile prisoner as he toils at day-release work that could help win him parole. That this employment happens to be in Vienna's municipal morgue gives pic its highly individual flavor, while the morbid setting neatly coaxes catharsis from the impassive protag. Winner of the Directors' Fortnight prize for European film, this specialty item should come up for air in further fest outings, with a few deeper breaths at adventurous arthouses worldwide. 2011CANdf, 2012NDNF, 2012OE, 2012PALM, 2012SEA. RATING: 8.