Sundance Film Festival 2022 Premiere – At the beginning of the short film BREATHE we meet Jaehee. A Korean immigrant to New Zealand, she lives with her father who struggles to keep afloat financially. Jaehee is like any other young girl her age. She has a trampoline, a best friend who comes to visit once and a while, and she helps support she and her father by performing exorcisms. Real ones, it seems.

At the beginning of the film, Jaehee is stirring about her house in a white gown, rehearsing the incantations and scriptures she will need for her next house call. She and her father arrive at the home of an older woman whose grown daughter writhes on the living room floor, screaming in pain. This case is different and requires Jaehee to take drastic measures to chase out what is possessing her patient. Following the procedure, Jaehee makes it clear that this is not something that she wants to keep doing but her father reminds her that they need the income. Then the patient suffers a relapse and a decision must be made.

Beautifully crafted, BREATHE is a meditation on the gifts bestowed upon us whether or not we like it. It’s also an interesting look at the demands placed on the children of immigrants who face demands and circumstances they may have never chosen. Writer, director Stephen Kang creates a pace, a mood, and overall tone instantly with his opening shots and action. A mournful sense of duty consumes Jaehee not just to her patients but to her father as well.

Kang has a piece of work here that he should be proud of. The blend of supernatural realism with the clean production values and fine performances mix a harrowing brew that doesn’t lose focus.

7 Out of 10