BREATHE (RESPIRE) World Cinema

At 17, Charlie is a polite and well-behaved high school student. When she befriends the outspoken and rebellious new girl, Sarah, the two become inseparable. But Sarah’s interest eventually wanes, and Charlie is devastated. She attempts to win Sarah back, but her persistence comes at a high cost. Mélanie Laurent’s sophomore feature captures the complexity of intense female relationships and the mercurial nature of high school friendships. Young actresses Joséphine Japy and Lou de Laâge embody Charlie and Sarah, creating lived-in characters who acutely feel the euphoric highs and brutal lows of platonic love. Based on the French bestseller “Respire” (written by author Anne-Sophie Brasme when she herself was 17), BREATHE recalls the sting of young rejection, and how it feels to be slighted by a friend you would do anything to get back.