Breathing Happy: A Heartbreakingly Hopeful Christmas Carol

Horror Obsession
by Sean Parker

Every time I watch Shane Brady’s Breathing Happy, I find myself hypnotized by a different scene. During my first viewing, it was a magic trick during the film’s finale made engrossing by a magnificent elongated single-take and the fear of ambiguity for a well-written character. While still a stunning scene, this most recent watch brought a heavier fascination to Dylan’s (Shane Brady) fatalist monologue, telling the audience the secret behind a magic trick, and breaking the magician’s code in the process, to explain that life, like magic is rigged. I first saw the film as a part of Chattanooga Film Festival, where the film won the Audience Award for Best Feature, but I don’t think it affected me in the same way it seemed to during this watch.

Read full review.