Kiss of Life (2003 film)

Kiss of Life (working title Helen of Peckham) is a 2003 drama film. It is the debut feature film by director Emily Young.

Kiss of Life
Film poster
Directed by	Emily Young
Written by	Emily Young
Produced by	Gayle Griffiths
Starring	Ingeborga Dapkunaite
Cinematography	Wojciech Szepel
Edited by	David Charap
Production companies	Film Council[1] BBC Films[1] France 3 Cinema[1] Gimages Films[1] Sofica Gimages 6[1] Baker Street Media Finance[1] Take Five[1] Wild Horses Films[1] Haut et Court[1] Autonomous[1]
Distributed by	Haut et Court (France) Artificial Eye (United Kingdom)[2]
Release date	21 May 2003 (2003-05-21)
Running time	100 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom[1] France[1]
Language	English

Plot

Helen lives in London with her father and her children, but is suddenly killed in a car accident. Aid worker John is trying desperately to get back to his family from Bosnian war, unaware that his wife is dead. Helen, also unaware that she is dead, hovers in limbo, until finally she is released.^[3]

Cast

• Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė – Helen
• Peter Mullan – John
• David Warner – Pap
• Millie Findlay – Kate
• James E. Martin – Telly
• Ivan Bijuk – Old Man
• Sonnell Dadral – Rajiv
• Natalie Dew – Nicky
• Gemma Jones – Sonia
• Elizabeth Powell – Little Kate
• Marinko Prga – Mercedes Driver
• Barbara Rocco – Woman in Bar
• Dragica Sreckovic – Old Woman
• Davor Svedruzic – Angry Soldier
• Heather Tobias – Teacher
• Rosie Wiggins – Nadine
• Ivan Zadro – Depot Worker (as Ivica Zadro)
• Ranko Zidaric – Depot Boss

Production

The film, an English attempt at socialist realist drama in the style of Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski, is Young's debut feature film as director.^[4] Set in the Peckham district of London, it was originally titled Helen of Peckham.^[5]

Lithuanian actor Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė stepped in to play Helen at short notice, after the actor originally booked to play the role, Katrin Cartlidge, died suddenly in 2002,^[4] two weeks before production was scheduled to begin.^[5]

Release

Kiss of Life was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.^[3]

Reception

Film critic and historian Robert Murphy praised the cast for "an impressively convincing performance", and wrote that Young "deserves credit for telling her story through images rather than dialogue, and dealing intelligently with death, memory, and love".^[4]

The film was nominated for several awards, winning the Carl Foreman Award for Most Promising Newcomer at the 2004 BAFTAs.^[6]