Stream it now The Air I Breathe 2007

 

An amazing cast that doesn't disappoint. The plot itself is somewhat fragmented but still moderately interesting.

The actors keep you watching, the plot is a little jaged. The movie didn't exactly reveal anything new in the human spirit, if it had an element of that, it would have been much better.

Truly the most underrated film of 2007.

Jieho Lee has crafted one of the most emotional movies I've ever seen. Too bad this was a box-office bomb. Most of the critical lambasting this film has recieved is unneeded. I've read several reviews from the film which have contained numerous inconsistencies. I wonder if they actually saw the film.

A film that intersects the lives of four people, Happiness (Forest Whitaker), an unhappy banker needing a way out of his life, Pleasure (Brendan Fraser), a clairvoyant gangster working for Fingers (Andy Garcia) and not having a care in the world, Sorrow (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a pop singer suddenly thrust into Fingers grasp and Love (Kevin Bacon), placed in a heated position when the love of his life (Who is married to another man, sadly) is bitten by a poisonous snake and needs a blood-transfusion.

The stories cross beautifully, leaving a gritty trail of paranoia, grief and self-disappointment, as the four seek understanding and happiness in the horrible world they live in. Jieho Lee has written a great screenplay and has directed it even better. The Happiness section was one of the best directed sequences I've seen yet. The flourishing romance between Pleasure and Sorrow was very tender and believable. I think the best performance of the movie definetely came out of Andy Garcia as hot-headed gangster Fingers. He expresses so much anger at having to deal with "low-lifes who won't pay", but is so proud at Pleasure for sticking around with him. Which is why he buy's Sorrows management contract, he's looking for a way out too. All of them are, but feelings and gunshots cross, leaving bodies in the projected path of happiness.

See it with an open mind and you will come out enlightened.

It's hard to believe that a movie filled with so many strong performances could be so bad, but it is. I kept waiting for anything other than gloom and doom ... fat chance. The Air I Breathe is essentially four short films that overlap each other. They each center around four basic emotions. And to give you an idea about how depressing this film actually is: Happiness is getting shot to death and Pleasure is getting your face kicked in.

A diamond in the rough set against a 24 karat cast. Unfortunately, I lost my train of thought... no idea what I was going to say about the movie. Wait, o, no it's gone again. Maybe I should take a deep whiff of my oxygen bottle or maybe cut one of my fingers off and begin again. This is how the movie made me feel, they had a point, lost it, found it and lost it again. The flash back, flash forward, flashing red lights in my head when the movie ended. BUT hold on, I loved each individual actor. They did an amazing job of holding my interest. Andy Garcia aka Mr. Fingers always asks the rhetorical question, "Am I the bad man? I can't even enjoy the f%@#ing Opera! I gotta come here and be the bad guy!". There are moments you will enjoy!

Simply one of the worst movies I've watched.

One of my favorite movies. It stays with you for days. The cast delivers their performances flawlessly. The level of human emotion and turmoil contrast themselves beautifully.

A perfect movie for me! All the actors are good and the story is just enough "philosophical".

The Air I Breathe (2008)
Dir. Jieho Lee



The Air I Breathe is one of the most underrated and underseen films of the year just recently gone by. It is similar in style to many other recent dramas in which the story of the various characters interwines and connects throughout the film. In this movie, it's done in an interesting style with lots of surprises and memorable moments along the way. Novice director Jieho Lee has done a very good job in presenting a visually appealing and consistently interesting multi-layered interpretation of an ancient Chinese proverb dividing life into four emotions: Pleasure, Sorrow, Love and Happiness.

Forest Whitaker's story - Happiness - opens the film, and is one of the film's weaker links. Whitaker himself, after showing true dramatic depth with The Last King of Scotland, disappointingly doesn't really sell this role. His crying scene is distinctly fake and nearly laughable, when it should've been dramatically effective. When he robs a bank in what is practically the next scene (feeling somewhat rushed...suddenly this timid man is going to do something so bold?), he runs through the streets with a gun flailing his hand for all to see. The chase scene with him and the police is thrilling, and the sequence on the rooftop concluding the film's first act is particularly compelling and elevates this story more.

The film's middle act is it's strongest and features all the best parts of the film. Brendan Fraser gives an understated performance as a clairvoyant gangster in a moral rut. It's his best performance to date. The film splits the actors' screentime pretty evenly but Fraser solidly carries this section of the film as a lead. Andy Garcia is also appropriately menacing as Fingers, Fraser's malicious and powerful boss, and even brings a sympathetic nature to such a vicious role. In one hard-hitting moment in the film where he proclaims "I'm not a bad guy", aa lesser actor than Garcia couldn't have sold it but it feels absolutely genuine. Garcia is a subtle actor but it works with this kind of role. There is also a very amusing supporting performance from Emile Hirsch as Fingers' horny nephew.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is a powerhouse as Sorrow, a character who seriously gets put through the ringer and Gellar makes every nuance felt with her incredible dramatic skills. She is worthy of awards for her investment in this role and critics agree, one even stating she achieved the same level as Halle Berry's similarly tragic and Academy Award-winning Monster's Ball performance. It's a shame Gellar doesn't pick projects that showcase such amazing talents more often. Her section of the film is also the most interesting.

Kevin Bacon and Julie Delpy's story feels more like an afterthought than anything else and was my least favourite section of the film. I'll admit that while I think this movie is very well-written for the most part, sometimes the story twists are just too convenient and far-fetched to be believable - and this is most true for Love's (Bacon) storyline. A person who studies snakes is stupid enough to let one bite her is far enough, but also the whole blood-type thing was verging on silly. Thankfully Gellar's character invests this segment of the film with a little more dramatic intensity. Her scene on the rooftop with Bacon is very emotional and gorgeous cinematography - the scene appears almost like a classic, beautiful painting. The film across the board is visually effective, also loved Fraser's sometimes misleading (for the character) flashes of the future.

Overall, this is a very strong first effort from a talented director who hopefully can produce more great dramas, even though this movie wasn't as much of a success as it should've been. It's not perfect and you have to forgive some story conveniences along the way and really just go with the movie. But it's fast-paced, never boring and features some seriously outstanding work from Gellar and many breathtaking and heartwrenching story twists that make the mediocre moments all worth it. I've watched this film a bunch of times and it's become a personal favourite of mine, I really want more people to see it and enjoy it.

9/10

Apparently I am more easily entertained than the serious critics. I did not feel this movie had a lot to offer, but with such an all-star cast, I was nonetheless entertained. (I would rate a 6.2) Although, the director certainly did stretch to loosely connect everything together. This type of movie has been done, and done better.