Il respire encore
Anca Hirte
France | 2016 | 89 min
World premiere
Language : French
Subtitle : English
This is Rocky Balboa. In real life. Karim Chakim is 38 years old. He is madly in love with his wife and children. Boxing is a tricky mistress but he steps in the ring again. Maybe for the last time. For his family, because he knows that down here somebody loves him, as no one ever will. Faithful to his working class upbringing, Karim struggles each day to get in shape while standing always on his family’s side. He fights for them and they know it. Each day he goes through a punishing routine. Never looking back. Fighting for each punch. His family looks up to him. Karim knows very well that he cannot let them down. He is their only shot at a better tomorrow. When finally the moment arrives to step into the ring, Karim knows that it is the fight of a lifetime. Will he stand up to the occasion? Will he put on the best fight possible? Are happy endings only the stuff that Hollywood dreams are made of? If Jacques Demy had directed Rocky, it would most probably have looked like Still Breathing. A unique hip-hop musical observational documentary about an unforgettable working class hero.
Giona A. Nazzaro
