Exhale
2024 · 14m · Sweden
Directed by Rouzbeh Noori
Genres: drama
Tones: contemplative, surreal, tender
A woman coping with a recent breakup throws herself into a whirlwind of self-improvement projects, but when a missing kitchen appliance disrupts her carefully constructed progress, the fragility of her facade is revealed.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Sweden offers another breakup-self-improvement vignette shot soft on an 85mm Nikon to underline the protagonist's vulnerability — and I felt vaguely lectured by the lens choice. Inoffensive.
The post-breakup self-improvement spiral has been thoroughly worked over by Fleabag and its descendants, though the vintage 85mm lens choice suggests genuine craft attention. A modest piece on familiar terrain.
Shot almost entirely on a vintage Nikon 85mm still lens for that soft hazy intimacy is the kind of specific lens choice that does emotional work - it's the breakup feeling rendered optically. Klipist confirms 12 min, director's note backs the self-improvement framing.
Festivals
- BWiFF 2024