Breathing Under Water
6.7
What stops two people from being together? A third one. What stops one person from fighting for another? Nothing. Pedro lives in the suburbs, where he works with his father in a garage. Everyday he takes the bus downtown where he goes to school and meets his friends. It's summertime and they all go down to the river where they spend their free time or even their school time. Among joints, motorbike riding and swimming, everything seems to go well with this group of friends, until the moment when Pedro and his best friend find out that both of them like the same girl. Pedro finds himself inside a downward spiral, where everything around him seems to fall apart. Like a magnet attracts the iron, Pedro seems to attract problems, from the school until his relationship with his parents. This is the story of Pedro, who by having his head being pushed down so much learned how to breathe under water.
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Your review
Cast
26 people
António Ferreira Director · Pedro Renato Composer Marcus Lenz Cinematographer
Worldwide gross $17K · Budget $100K · First release February 19, 2000
Box office
Budget
$100,000
Worldwide gross
$17,200
Gross vs. budget
0.2×
Production
RTP
Production
Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen 'Konrad Wolf'
Production
Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
Production
Persona Non Grata Pictures
Production
Zed Filmes
Production
Germany · Portugal
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Respirar Debaixo d'Água
Original language
Portuguese
Spoken on screen
Portuguese
Release dates
Portugal · February 19, 2000
Limited theatrical · Festival Curtas Metragens II – Fórum Lisboa
No release date listed for United States.
Czechia
July 1, 2000 · Limited theatrical · Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
France
May 15, 2000 · Premiere · Cannes Film Festival
Germany
July 26, 2001 · Theatrical
Portugal
December 15, 2000 · Theatrical
February 15, 2023 · Limited theatrical · Porto, Batalha Centro de Cinema
February 8, 2026 · Limited theatrical · 4K restored version - Cinema Trindade, Porto
May 7, 2026 · Theatrical · 4K restored version
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Some details come from TheTVDB.