Muddied Waters: Risk and Reflection in Simon Baker's 'Breath'

Taking on coming of age through the lens of surfing, Tim Winton's novel Breath offers commentary on thrill-seeking, physical limitation and Australian masculinity. The attractive, artfully made film adaptation retains the thrust of these ideas, but – as it wades from page to screen – has lost some of the source text's poetry and thematic polish, writes Dave Crewe.

Additional keywords:
David, beach, ocean, mateship, adolescence, bildungsroman.