Respiro

A grim yet hopeful, fable-like slice-of-life drama from Italy, Respiro stars Valeria Golino as a passionate, misunderstood, unstable young mother whose adoring husband and teenage son try to protect her from the scorn of their Mediterranean island fishing village. But after the gossipy populace finds itself increasingly concerned with the bipolar behavior of the beautiful, stormy woman, she runs away, leading to a fateful chain of events that breaks the spirit and the heart of her guilt-riddled husband. A spicy, sweaty, sun-baked piece of heartfelt magical realism, the film has one serious shortcoming: director Emanuele Crialese fails to show any reaction to Golino's disappearance in her children; in fact, they seem to have no reaction at all. Respiro resonates with enough soul and feeling to have a memorable impact in spite of this, but the bizarre behavior of the kids is impossible to ignore. Optional. (R. Blackwelder)