Stream It Or Skip It: ‘And Breathe Normally’ On Netflix, An Icelandic Film Where Two Women’s Lives Intersect In Strange Ways

If you’ve never been there before, you’ll be surprised to see how weird and otherworldly Iceland can look. From its flat plains to its hot springs and dark-hued mountains, it really does feel like you’re on the moon at times. The new film And Breathe Normally uses its native country to contrast the stories of two desperate women whose lives intersect in an unusual way. Read on to find out more…

AND BREATHE NORMALLY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Lára (Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir) is a single mother living on the outskirts of Reykjavik, and she’s struggling to make ends meet. Her credit cards are maxed out; she’s behind on her rent; she balks at paying to adopt a cat for her son Eldar (Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson) from a rescue shelter. But things are looking somewhat better when she’s accepted into the training program for passport security at Keflavik International Airport.

During a training session, Lára catches a fake French passport that her training officer lets get by. The woman is detained and eventually arrested. But Lára notices that the woman is travelling with people to Canada, both of whom get past passport security.

We then see both women’s lives get worse; Lára loses her apartment and she and Eldar have to live in her car. Meanwhile, the woman, who we find is named Adja (Babetida Sadjo) and is from Guinea-Bissau, goes to jail and then is sent to a group home to await the fate of her case. We learn eventually that there’s a reason why she and her family were seeking asylum in Canada, and she’ll certainly come to harm if she’s deported.

One windy morning, Eldar goes missing as he tries to find his runaway cat. A panicked Lára eventually finds her son and cat with Adja, who encountered them walking near her group home. They at first are wary around each other, given Lára’s guilt at separating Adja from her daughter, and Adja’s anger at Lára for causing the separation. But when Adja notices Lára sleeping in her car, her stance softens, and the two become unexpected friends, which comes into play when Adja’s case is denied and she’s scheduled to be deported.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Weirdly, it makes us think of a very-low-key version of Thelma & Louise.

Performance Worth Watching: Sadjo is fascinating to watch as Adja. She’s escaping a country that will beat people to death for being gay, is caught in limbo in a country where virtually nobody looks like her, she’s separated from her daughter and is constantly scared she’s going to be deported. You can see the constant fear, despair and desperation in her face. But Adja is also kindhearted enough to let in the woman who put her in this situation to begin with, and Sadjo makes all of this believable.

Memorable Dialogue: Adja takes the heat when Eldar’s schoolteacher finds Lára’s drugs on him (he took the canister by mistake). After ensuring that Adja won’t get in trouble, she says “I’m sorry you’re here. I mean, and thankful that you’re here.”

Single Best Shot: When Adja sees Lára sleeping in her car, she almost walks away, but with rain pelting her in the face, she gives a big sigh and turns back.

Sex and Skin: Nothing.

Our Take: And Breathe Normally (original title: Andið Eðlilega) is a very quiet film. Director and writer Isold Uggadottir sets out to tell the stories of Adja and Lára in the subtle moments, like Adja rolling her eyes to Lára when she asks why Adja suggested she get therapy. The starkness of urban Reykjavik is also used to great effect, especially in scenes where Adja is walking around the flat, windswept airport grounds surrounded by weird buildings with colorful roofs; it’s so foreign to her it might as well been the moon.

Could we have learned Adja’s story a little earlier? Absolutely. Instinctively, we know she wasn’t in Iceland as your average undocumented immigrant, that she was running from something serious. Knowing what exactly that was would have framed her story a bit better. We also don’t know a ton about Lára’s personal life aside from a secret affair with the mom of one Eldar’s friends and a previous life filled with drugs and drinking that she no longer wants to be a part of. Finally, the ending is a bit rushed; we could have seen more of the risks Lára takes to help Adja.

But, for some reason, we were OK with the coincidental way the lives of these two women intersected again after their initial airport encounter, and it felt that this unlikely friendship grows organically. And the movie’s deliberate pace didn’t turn us off, either, because it just amps up the despair both women suffer until they learn to trust each other.

Our Call: STREAM IT. It’s definitely a quiet, deliberate film. But And Breathe Normally has two fine lead performances and the central friendship that develops feels earned.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Watch And Breathe Normally on Netflix