The Air I Breathe
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Movie Reviews of The Air I Breathe
Movie Review: Like a Butterfly
Summary: 5 Stars
I had heard of The Air I Breathe but only vaguely as it entered into a very small release in theatres back in 2007. It quickly dropped off the charts and it hadn't been playing anywhere near me thus I was never able to catch a glimpse of the interesting sounding film. Being a fan of interconnecting storylines in the spirit of Amores Perros, Crash, and Babel, my curiosity could only be piqued especially since such films also have the tendency to include all-star casts and unusually good performances and styles. Once the DVD came out I jumped on it.
The Air I Breathe follows the story of four different characters in the city as they desperately try to come to terms with their lives -- Happiness, a middle-aged man brought down by his consistency in life who bets everything he has just to escape; Pleasure, a gopher who is able to see the future in bits and pieces but not his own; Sorrow, a popular singer whose life is nearly shattered to pieces when her contract is given to the same underlord ; and Love, a doctor who must find a way to save his best friend whom he is still in love with despite her marriage. The four, under the watchful eye of Fingers, the crime boss who controls them, will come to realize that it's not the way they die but it's the way they live is what they should worry about.
The film has some great performances particularly from Forest Whitaker, fresh from his Oscar-winning glory, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Whitaker, not unfamiliar with being involved with a film of this sort of nature, brings a fresh take to the man who has never experienced a moment of difference in his life and his breath-taking chase through town had you rooting for a character you knew could never possibly escape. Gellar's performance brought about the commonality to the media-frenzied celebrities we hear about everyday while giving her the character she deserved that our socialites lack.
I, for one, am not as familiar with Andy Garcia but he played a good villian who is much different in his interactions with several different characters instead of just the mafia. Brendan Frasier gives an okay serious performance but was much too monotone and boring for the role and completely miscast considering he is used to comedy. Other performances given by Kevin Bacon and Julie Delpy do not offer enough screen time or nearly enough depth for us to connect with the characters or even care about them. They are almost tossed into the mix simply to connect the dots without any real concern about who they are.
Due to the story being completely character-driven, the afformentioned were what ultimately held down the story. Sometimes the characters had much too development while others had too little and you are given very little time to connect at our an hour and thirty-one minutes. I think I would've appreciated it had it ran on two-hours instead of not enough time. Love's connection to Fingers, like the others, would've been a much appreciated addition but instead he is not and seems like a character who is not even much a character as much as he is simply a supporting personality thrown in to even things out.
The look and style of the film, however, is absolutely incredible. For visual beauty each of the four sections never lacks it's own bit of amazing palettes that are only exposed when they need to be. Shot amiguously on location in Mexico City, the unnamed city serves as a good location prone to give people the idea that anything like this can take place anywhere. It took director Jieho Lee six years to get the film made but now that it has been I can say it can easily be seen as a labor of love and I am glad to have been able to have seen it despite not getting the recognition it deserved. A little more time could've made the film flawless but for now we'll stick with what we have.
Movie Review: Great movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Buy this movie, it's worth it.
Don't judge the movie by analyzing the storyline.
Don't judge it by trying to compare this movie to "Crash" or "Babel" or whatever.
Don't listen to the comments by those, who want to show off their "deep" "cineaste" experience and questionable good taste in movies.
The magic of moving pictures lies NOT in specific tasks, that you can identify and cross off a checklist. It's the colors, shapes, movement, moments, timing and sound that evoke emotions while watching - and also after watching.
This movie is unsettling, it"s intriguing and it will leave you with very personal, beautiful thoughts to explore. If you need inspiration and stimulation, you should see this. If you are looking for a movie, that does all the thinking and feeling for you, you're better off watching E.T. one more time.
FIVE STARS for this one. Way to go.
Movie Review: Great 5 Stars
"The Air I Breathe" is a great movie from the start. The story is fast paced, grabs your attention right away and keeps it.This ensemble cast is amazing, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Andy Garcia, Forest Whitaker, Emile Hirsch, Julie Delpy and Kevin Bacon!
Each main characters story is shown, Whitaker is "Happiness", Gellar is "Sorrow", Fraser is "Pleasure" and Kevin Bacon is "Love" and each reveals a little more about the story as it is unfolding.
I rented this on a whim and loved it, this is the type of movie you never see coming, the type of movie you want to own after you watch it!
-Note-
After watching the movie, read the review by Brian Rooney (Littleton, CO USA), first off, his review is excellent and two he breaks down exactly what the story in the movie means and how it all comes together. Nice work Brian!
Movie Review: A film of substance
Summary: 5 Stars
If you like light weight films like "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle "or "Pineapple Express", this film is not for you." The Air I Breath" is a film that explores how our actions affect others, in ways, that we can not begin to imagine. The film follows what happens when a man take an unforseen action that ends in tragety for himself, but ultimately ends in joy for another, through a series of events in the lives of the characters in the film. It starts a little slow, but picks up speed taking you on roller coaster ride of emotion and pathos as you
are involved in the lives of people caught in the slipstream of anothers
seeming random act. The acting was first rate with Fraser, Whitaker, Gellar, and Garcia give outstanding performances. This is the kind of film Hollywood used to be famous for.
Movie Review: Why isn't everybody raving about this movie?
Summary: 5 Stars
What a fantastic film that puts together four forms of human condition: Happiness, Pleasure, Love and Sorrow in a form of four main characters that mysteriously have their lives intersect with each other in the most unsual ways.
The cast of this film is great - I cannot pick a single actor over the other because the entire cast gives their best performaces they can. Retelling the story will not give this movie justice. Also, giving this movie 5 stars does not do it justice because it requires twice as many. That is how good this movie really is. This film is a keeper for anyone's personal DVD film library.