The Air I Breathe

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Cast & Crew

Forest Whitaker
Happiness

Brendan Fraser
Pleasure

Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sorrow

Kevin Bacon
Love

Andy Garcia
Fingers

Julie Delpy
Gina

Emile Hirsch
Tony

Kelly Hu
Jiyoung

Jieho Lee
Director

Jieho Lee
Screenwriter

Bob DeRosa
Screenwriter

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Critic Reviews for The Air I Breathe

Audience Reviews for The Air I Breathe

• Jun 18, 2012

  Four stories revolving around a gangster come together. I have to quote Kyle Smith of the <i>New York Post</i>: "Brendan Fraser is Pleasure, Sarah Michelle Gellar is Sorrow, Kevin Bacon is Love, Forest Whitaker is Happiness, and the director is Pretension." What a hilariously true line. The film seems to want to say something profound, but I have no idea what it is. While most of the performances are fine, Brendan Fraser is grotesquely miscast. Playful and exuberant most times, Fraser is forced to adopt a stern, sullen, unaffected demeanor, and it doesn't suit him; in fact, I often hoped that he would break into a wide grin and exclaim "Just kidding" before doing cartwheels down a dark alley. Andy Garcia is bipolar, irrationally erupting into screams after delivering most of his lines in a menacing whisper, and whoever thought it original to name a gangster "Fingers" should lose a finger. I did like how the film came together. It's not near the Altman Standard, but it's more clever than I was expecting. And I also liked the idea behind the Fraser character: just because one can see the future doesn't mean that one can change it. Overall, the <i>Post</i> sums this film up best: it's remarkably pretentious.
  Jim H Super Reviewer
• Jul 31, 2011

  Yet another done-to-death, serendipitous, connecting-the-dots kind of movie. Only reason I walked into this one is because of the names Kevin Bacon and Julie Delpy in the cast sheet, and their bit parts were over within the blink of an eye. Apparently the movie is based on some kind of theory that life revolves around four emotional cornerstones - Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow & Love. But the only thing the movie can take credit for is in taking the audience to the realms of a fifth one - BORED TO DEATH.
  Sajin P Super Reviewer
• Jul 30, 2011

  The Air I Breathe is the 2008 directorial film debut of Korean-American filmmaker Jieho Lee, who co-wrote the script with Bob DeRosa. It stars Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Emile Hirsch, and Forest Whitaker.The concept of the film is based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones - Happiness (Whitaker), Pleasure (Fraser), Sorrow (Gellar), and Love (Bacon). The proverb speaks of these emotions, not as isolated fragments of feelings, but as elements that make up the whole of the human existence. Each of the four protagonists is based on one of the four emotions; and like the proverb their paths are inextricably linked to each other, akin to the Fingers (Garcia) of a hand. None of the four main characters' actual names are mentioned in the whole film, although Gellar's character's stage name, "Trista", is mentioned several times.Outstanding performance by forest Whitaker in a very dense movie.Very good.
  Andre T Super Reviewer
• Jan 11, 2011

  a strong cast and the lead characters all portray an emotion...... The four chapters are titled Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love, each has a main character known only by the chapters title.... happiness (Forest Whitaker) a down on his luck man who attempts to find happiness in a shady gambling hall, where things go terribly wrong. Pleasure (Brendan Fraser) a man who can see a few minutes into the future, but is frustrated at his inability to change the outcomes he sees. Sorrow (Sarah Michelle Gellar) a singer whose contract was handed over to the mob as part of a payoff. Sorrow is unhappy being owned by the mob, but leaving won't be so easy. Love (Kevin Bacon) a doctor, madly in love with his friends dying wife, she needs a transfusion, but her rare blood type is difficult to find. Love resorts to less than ideal means to obtain the blood she needs... So there you have it. Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love. The point is that these are the four parts of every persons life and you cant experience one without also experiencing the others.,so, the four emotions are forever intertwined within us all,ok,so similarly, the four chapters of this movie intertwine, sometimes in very unexpected ways.
  &#9829;Robyn Super Reviewer

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