I Am Breathing

I Am Breathing, directed by Morag McKinnon and Emma Davie, is a heart-wrenching 2013 documentary featuring the life of Neil Platt, a 34-year old British architect and father, bravely striving to keep his dignity and essence intact while coping with a fatally debilitating motor neuron disease, colloquially known in America as ALS.

The documentary paints an intimate portrayal of Platt, his family, and friends, trying to make sense of the tragedy befalling them, grappling with the certainty of his impending passing. The film is Gut-wrenchingly personal and unflinching, offering an insider's perspective into the experiences of someone facing their own mortality.

The narrative weaves together fragments of Platt's life, with the picture of everyday mundane becoming poignant contrasts to the terminal prognosis enveloping his existence. Neil, having been an architect, uses a similar approach to structure the remaining days of his life; methodically documenting his thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a blog aptly titled "Plattitude." This blog, written with the hope of being a legacy for his infant son, provides a poignant backbone for much of the film's narrative.

Interspersed with raw, close-up shots of Neil's struggle with the disease are his interactions with his wife Louise and their baby boy Oscar. The intimate moments captured between the family are tender, warm, and strikingly heartbreaking – a testament to how normal life continues to unfold despite the looming threat of death.

The directors carefully balance the raw depiction of the loss of physical function and the painful separation from loved ones, with uplifting moments and the humorous glint in Platt's eye, carving out a humanistic portrayal of a man treasuring his fleeting time on earth. What remains apparent throughout the film is Neil's fierce individuality and his unwavering grasp on his humanity even as the physical abilities slip away from him.

Powerfully, the film explores themes around what it means to be alive and human. For Neil, even as the world reduces to a room and he is isolated from the outside, he communicates to us the feeling of breathing, the taste of good food, the joy of his son's laughter, and the love for his wife - sensations he cherishes as they gradually fade away. The film leaves viewers with an urgent realization of the significance of human connection, sensations, and life's fleeting moments.

I Am Breathing is not an easy watch, as it brings into focus the inevitable that we all face but tend to suppress – death. Yet, in the face of the bleak representation of a disease, Neil's life-affirming verve shines through. His sense of humor, strong will, and his refusal to be eclipsed by his condition are primarily what the documentary lays bare in front of the viewers. It stands not as a eulogy to death, but a testament to life, a celebration of everything human and a reminder of the beauty a life carries, however shortened.

Deploying a camera as an unobtrusive observer, the filmmakers capture a candid, sincere, and poignant slice of Neil Platt's life. The film's delicate handling of its subject matter and its profound exploration of life, death, and everything in between make it an emotionally charged, deeply moving piece of cinema. It's a film that doesn't evade the hard questions or shy away from the harsh realities of life.

I Am Breathing is a remarkable piece of documentary filmmaking that is imbued with truth and tenderness. It is much more than a tragic story about the struggles of living with a terminal illness. It's a reflection on life, love, and the human spirit. Neil Platt's journey, visualized through this film, indeed asks of us all to understand life's volatility, urging us to value every fleeting moment and live to the fullest.