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The Deepest Breath

The Deepest Breath

2023

Laura McGann

Documentary, Self: Alessia Zecchini

7.3

1,556

Documentary Descending to remarkable depths below the sea on one single breath, Alessia Zecchini enters what she describes as the last quiet place on Earth. The Italian champion is determined to set a new world record in freediving, a dangerous extreme sport in which competitors attempt to reach the greatest depth without the use of scuba gear. Freedivers are often subject to blackouts upon ascent, necessitating the help of safety divers like ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Daniel Fienberg The Hollywood Reporter	"The craftsmanship that drives 'The Deepest Breath' is so effective that I was ultimately left with a well-rendered catharsis instead of ickiness (...) [A] largely potent and beautiful film"
		Chris Vognar Rolling Stone	"It keeps you wondering what fate will befall these intertwined figures who live seemingly to cheat death, and it manages to celebrate the depths to which they pursued their shared obsession"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"A fascinating but frustratingly superficial portrait of 'the deepest woman in the world'"
		Nick Schager The Daily Beast	A story of courage, trust, and tragedy, the last of which materializes in ways that are at once shattering and uplifting
		Kevin Maher The Times	"It's the stuff of epic melodrama, and one of the obvious gifts of the director Laura McGann is her capacity for shaping eccentric non-fiction material into pleasingly familiar Hollywood rhythms (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Simon Abrams The Wrap	"McGann's keen eye for experiential detail really puts 'The Deepest Breath' over the top and effectively justifies the director's reframing of Zecchini and Keenan's shared story as a tragic adventure"
		Guy Lodge Variety	"[A] handsomely produced crowdpleaser, which employs startling underwater photography and some canny reconstruction. The human narrative it finds amid this spectacle, however, is a little less persuasive"
		Sheila O'Malley rogerebert.com	"A visual stunner, with intimidatingly beautiful underwater photography showing tiny humans surrounded by the vast underwater world (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"
		Donald Clarke Irish Times	"Lucid explanation of the sport's mechanics and satisfactory celebration of two impressively unstoppable personalities (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Laura Rutkowski Radio Times	"Utilizing stunning cinematography, the film highlights the psychological demands of the sport [free diving], while also acting as a harrowing reminder of the pull -and the power- of the ocean (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Jake Kring-Schreifels The Film Stage	"In the midst of the free-diver's record-setting journey and [Zecchini and Keenan's] fate together, the narrative manipulation is the only thing clouding an otherwise crystal-clear dip into sublime terror"
		Maxwell Rabb Chicago Reader	"McGann’s documentary expertly blends together the adrenaline rush from archival footage and a compassionate memorial for Keenan"
		Ben Pearson SlashFilm	"'The Deepest Breath' is a mesmerizing, powerful glimpse at the irresistible siren call of the deep and a somber record of the human cost of pushing boundaries"
		Natalia Keogan Paste Magazine	"[It] delves into the dazzling, dangerous world of competitive freediving"
		G. Allen Johnson San Francisco Chronicle	"McGann spins a compelling yarn about two fascinating people, although she doesn't go much below the surface (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Charlotte O'Sullivan London Evening Standard	"What comes across, over and over again, is the hard-won solidarity of this global community (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Therese Lacson Collider	"It joins the likes of 'Playing with Sharks' and 'Fire of Love' for the way it not only documents some of the most dangerous things a human can do, but also the deep connections that we can form in the most unlikely of places"
		Andrew Parker The Gate	"A documentary that will work best among those who haven't seen a lot of nonfiction filmmaking before. Not that this is a bad thing"
		Fionnuala Halligan Screendaily	"Heart-stopping documentary about the exhilarating and dangerous sport of freediving (...) The excitement of pushing your body to these lengths against nature is palpable"
		Lauren Mechling The Guardian	"Stunning Netflix documentary on freediving (...) a visually immersive new film (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		John Serba Decider	"[It] isn’t a (sorry) deep dive into the details of a niche sport, but its awe-inspiring cinematography leaves an indelible impression"
		Paul Whitington Irish Independent	"An absorbing insight into this most extreme of sports and the motivations of those brave enough to attempt it (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

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