If a film is tagged “one of the greatest of all time,” chances are it’s done either of these very well: defined a particular genre or defied genre* altogether. A genre-defining film is so excellent that it sets the standard for others in that category. An example here is Casablanca, the classic romantic drama released in 1942. A genre-defining film is also one that is a perfect example of how to execute a story within that genre. Again, as far as romantic dramas go, it’s hard to top Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood For Love. 

Films that transcend genre are either hybrids, blending multiple influences simultaneously, or experimental. Therefore, they defy (easy) categorization, e.g. Everything Everywhere All At Once, Pan’s Labyrinth, Barton Fink, Holy Motors, The Handmaiden, The Tree of Life, etc. 

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‘Breath of Life’ Claims Top Prime Video Spot in 11 Countries, Number 1 in Nigeria and Ghana

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Combining multiple genres requires a deft hand and meticulous attention to detail (bless Edgar Wright for The Cornetto Trilogy), and there are many examples of filmmakers shooting for this and missing the mark by a mile or a million. A recent example is Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid, a brilliant project that falls apart in the second half because, at some point, the conceit (of employing a surrealist style) stops aiding in the audience’s experience of the film and becomes a stumbling block. The film’s attempt to genre-blend creates abrupt shifts in tone to its detriment. Breath of Life, the latest film from writer-director BB Sasore, is plagued by similar issues. 

Spoiler Alert

Timi (Ademola Adedoyin) is an exceptional young man, fluent in 16 languages (four of which are extinct), and one of the youngest to be ordained as a clergyman in the Church of England. Top of his class at Cambridge and the highest honored cadet in his entry class of Her Majesty’s Navy, it is revealed that he can hold his breath underwater for as long as he wants to. After marrying Bridget (Eku Edewor) and welcoming a daughter, Timi returns to Nigeria. The year is 1960.  He fixes up the local church, and everyone in town loves his family. Soon, tragedy strikes. After witnessing members of the Baby Fire gang murder a man in cold blood, Timi agrees to testify against them. In retaliation, the gang burns his family alive; Timi is forced to watch as his world shatters into a million pieces. 

In revenge, he tracks Baby Fire (Chiedozie Nzeribe Sambasa) down and shoots him dead. Then, he attempts to take his life and join his family, to no avail. Nothing works; not bleach, and definitely not bullets. The upshot of this calamity is that his faith in God takes a beating, and he becomes something of a hermit, interacting with the outside world as little as possible. Thirty-five years later, after burying his longtime butler, he is in need of a houseboy. None of the young men who apply are cut out for the job until Elijah, our narrator, rides his bicycle into town. Elijah’s ultimate goal is to start a church; his position as Mr. Timi’s house manager is supposed to be temporary. The premise of an employer and his employee being at odds over something as sensitive as religion is a solid foundation for some terrific drama and exploration of themes. Unfortunately, Breath of Life tries to do a lot at once without much know-how, leaving the final product heavily uneven. 

After re-opening the town’s abandoned church for services, Elijah has a meet-cute with Anna (Genoveva Umeh), a young woman who volunteers at the town clinic. While walking her home, Mr. Timi comes up in their conversation:

Anna: My dad said he went crazy when he lost his family… 

Elijah: He’s not crazy…He just misses his family and sometimes cries whenever he thinks about them.

Anna: Aww. I think that’s beautiful. 

Is it beautiful that he lost his family? Or does the beauty reside in the fact that he cries every night thinking about them? This weird line of dialogue seems like a minor issue, but it indicates a more significant problem within the story. The broad strokes (i.e., the major moments/the turning points) are great, but the finer details leave much to be desired. Like Beau is Afraid, Breath of Life has difficulty blending drama with comedy, romance, and magical realism.  

The comedy gets the worst deal here. Too many moments are played with an air of humor (or is it just exaggerated drama?). But they come off as forced and at odds with the heavy tone of the film (which is very evident in the opening montage where a woman and her child are burnt alive in slow motion). There is a scene where Elijah makes eggs for Mr. Timi, who is so unsatisfied with fifteen versions of this breakfast that he throws every single one at the wall. This action does wonders (irony) for his characterization because, instead of seeing him as someone stricken by grief, Timi comes off to the audience as unreasonable and downright callous. There’s nothing wrong with this; the issue here is not the character’s morality but the fact that the film never really does the heavy lifting needed to endear us to him or show how he acquires his change of heart. I mean, it tries, but the sincere moments (and there are a good number of them) are clouded by the disingenuous ones. 

One morning, Timi offers to teach Elijah how to drive, but he doesn’t do any teaching and instead resorts to shouting, name-calling, and hitting (yes, hitting his houseboy, whom he knows has severe asthma). I kept asking myself, is this scene supposed to be funny? The aim here is to present another opportunity for both characters to connect (and the film thinks it’s accomplished this when, eventually, Elijah drives the car and Mr. Timi is on the hood, arms stretched out, all smiles), but I found no emotional resonance in it. At least Timi is able to put his knowledge of many languages to good use (more irony) by calling Elijah ‘stupid’ in as many of them as he can muster.  

Another moment that sticks out like a sore thumb is when Anna is so bent on meeting Mr. Timi that she shows up at the house unannounced and even bangs on the door when initially rejected. Why is it so important that she has an audience with him? No idea. Elijah informs us of her desire in his voiceover, but it’s obvious the narration is merely hand-waving a vital plot point/character decision. At this point, I had begun to understand the missteps of Breath of Life. The film has a good destination in mind but is not very interested in how it gets there. Or it probably thinks the rough journey would be worth it when we reach the roaring climax. Mileage will vary on this.

Despite the issues weighing it down, Breath of Life manages to swim. A handful of sincere moments reflect the intent of the director. In this interview, Sasore talks about trying to tell a story about a “male-to-male relationship,” especially one with themes of class separation, stressing their rareness in Nollywood. I agree with his stance and applaud his vision. There is a sequence in the film where Elijah has to read newspapers out loud to Timi because the latter’s glasses are broken, and I thought it was an honest and commendable character moment. The romance between Elijah and Anna also never feels forced. The actors’ performances sometimes waver, but the screenplay (mostly) looks for organic ways to depict their love for each other and even their conflict. Props should also be given to the crew, especially the costume and production design departments. They’re able to communicate a lot with the mise-en-scene and the characters’ attires. The cinematography uses more natural light (anything that reminds me of Lubezki is a win) and captures the film in all the indie wonder it deserves.

Regarding themes, the director says the film is primarily about living for a purpose. And judging by the ending, this rings true. The result of Timi’s life being ‘spared’ is that he can give his lungs to Elijah when the young man is dying. The problem here again is the lack of resonance of this theme in the rest of the film.  For instance, what is Elijah’s purpose (what is Anna’s, for that matter)? Yes, he wants to start a church, but why? His love for God is not automatic. Why does he want to dedicate the rest of his life to Him? Elijah takes God so seriously that he is willing to drop his only source of income to lead a church full-time– a noble goal– but why? 

Not once does he share the story of how he was saved. There isn’t even a throwaway line to hint at why he follows God so steadfastly. During their argument, he tells Anna, “This is not some business venture for me. This is what I’m supposed to do with my life!” But the audience isn’t privy to his thought process on this issue, which is ironic given the voiceover narration that stretches throughout the runtime. All Elijah has to do to re-open the church (which has been closed for more than three decades presumably) is to re-open the church. He is shown doing good deeds and inviting people to Bible study, but without an idea of his personal conviction, those scenes ultimately fail to elevate the story.

If a film blends multiple genres and succeeds, it is said to transcend or defy genre. If it misses the mark, it is described as “a tonal mess,” “uneven,” or a mess of tonal shifts.” Breath of Life belongs in the latter category. Commendable for taking big swings and painting with broad strokes, but chaotic in its inability to smoothly blend its influences. It’s the difference between attempting to clear a large field of grass with a blunt, unwieldy cutlass instead of a sharp one. Still, I’ll take a film that fumbles the execution of its bold message over one made with little respect for the audience any day. 

Breath of Life premiered on Prime Video on December 15.

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Side Musings

• *Genre is a tedious quality to define, especially in cinema. For one, it’s essentially a marketing tactic. Also, as theorists argue, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change.

• “Only one of us is allowed to die in this house, and that’s me.” You have to admire good foreshadowing. 

• Anna telling Timi that Elijah’s salary in a year could not even buy him a bicycle stopped me in my tracks. How much was he being paid? Why was it so little?

• The scene where Elijah closes his eyes and is ready to die before he lets them demolish the church is a good visual. But it doesn’t work because we haven’t been shown why he cares about the church (or his faith) so much, just that he does. Once that registers, the scene becomes too melodramatic (nothing wrong with melodrama) for its own good.