The Air I Breathe Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Air I Breathe Blu-ray Movie Review

Is this intriguing character study worth its asking price?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 9, 2008

Sometimes the things you can't change, they end up changing you.

The Air I Breathe is another one of those movies that feature several seemingly independent characters and stories that manage to intertwine by the end. The concept is a good one, and it tends to work, especially for smaller, independent, less-than-glamorous pictures like this one. Still, I cannot help but feel that the concept is becoming somewhat stale and trite. Nevertheless, The Air I Breathe mostly works, although after a very strong opening, the movie faltered, slowed down, and lost a bit of the magical touch that accompanied the Forest Whitaker segment. Whether I simply found that segment the most entertaining and profound I do not know, but while the film managed to maintain a solid pace and provide some decent and, at times, thought-provoking entertainment, I couldn't help but to be a bit let down by the time the credits rolled.

This was the first and last time Brendan Fraser reviewed a movie on the Internet.

Based on a Chinese proverb concerning the four life elements, namely happiness, pleasure, sorrow, and love, The Air I Breathe is the tale of four individuals whose lives are dictated by one of these elements. Forest Whittaker (Vantage Point) is "Happiness," a down-on-his-luck businessman living out the daily grind, waiting for something to ignite what is a routine and depressing life. When he overhears his co-workers discussing a sure-bet horse race with 8:1 odds, he wagers $50,000.00, but the race does not turn out as he hoped. He is given two weeks to pay off the debt by "Fingers" (Andy Garcia, The Untouchables) and must resort to any means necessary to collect the cash, no matter the cost. "Pleasure" is portrayed by Brendan Fraser (The Mummy), a clairvoyant man and a goon working for "Fingers" whose unusual ability is about to let him down for the first (and second) time, one resulting in pleasure, the other in pain, but for him, simply becoming "normal" is pleasure enough. "Sorrow" (Sarah Michelle Gellar, I Know What You Did Last Summer) is a rising pop star who, as a young girl, witnessed the death of her father, and now finds herself under the management of "Fingers" and perhaps in love with "Pleasure." Finally, Kevin Bacon (Flatliners) portrays "Love," a doctor and a man whose stated purpose in life is to love someone completely and fully. He must find someone with a rare blood type to save his college sweetheart who married his roommate. In the film's short 90 minute runtime, each character will firmly display the characteristics of their respective elements as well as experience the other three life elements, all coming together almost as if through destiny.

It's difficult to provide meaningful insight to a film like this because of a plot that is so concise, precisely played out, and quick to develop that there is no real spot to begin or end a conversation about the movie without giving it away. Needless to say, the more I thought (and wrote) about the film the more I realized the finer nuances that were the glue that brought the plot together. Take, for example, the way in which Sorrow's father is killed, and parallel that to the final shot of the film. It's not just the superficialities of the story that keep it going; after all, it's easy to spot why each character is so named, and how they fit into the grand scheme of the idea. Instead, it is the finer points of the movie, some of which may not be picked up on during the first viewing, that make The Air I Breathe both an intriguing character study and a film, much like Signs, that takes a look at the cause and effect of the smallest of life's subtleties, the largest and most important of life's dramas, and the total effect they have on the world around us, both in our lives and in the lives of others.

It comes as no surprise that the butterfly was chosen as the symbol for the theme of this film. Like the age-old question that asks if the flapping of a butterfly's wings on one side of the world can bring about massive change on the other side, The Air I Breathe shows, on a much smaller scale than natural disaster, but rather on the scale of human disaster, how all four of the elements -- happiness, pleasure, sorrow, and love -- can bring about one or the other, maintaining a natural balance throughout life. It's not only the mostly strong plot that kept the film interesting, but the solid performances by its leads. Forest Whitaker steals the show; his natural ability as an actor and the charisma he brings to every role he plays, be it in a standard Hollywood fare flick like Species or in an Oscar- winning performance as seen in The Last King of Scottland, makes him one of my favorite actors. Sarah Michelle Gellar displays a range in this film that finally sets her apart from the spunky Buffy Sommers character, a style of character she also played in Suburban Girl. Brendan Faser, Andy Garcia, and Kevin Bacon all turn in solid performances as well.

The Air I Breathe Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Image Entertainment presents The Air I Breathe on Blu-ray with an adequate 1080p, 2.40:1 high definition transfer. Much of the transfer, especially in the first segment of the film, has a very nice, realistic, sharp, clean look. I wouldn't call it "cinematic," but there is a sense of realism in the look of the film, despite some darker sequences, that made this a fascinating watch. Along with this realism comes fairly high detail; objects appear pleasing to the eye and realistic, be it a silver lamp on a desk or Andy Garcia's tan colored coat covered in fuzzies. Film grain is to be found here, especially when we're looking at the film's darkest scenes. Black levels are generally solid, but the darkest scenes that exhibit the most grain tend to look slightly gray. Despite the sometimes dreary look of the picture, colors can be vibrant and healthy; the palette never becomes overblown or dulled, and everything from blues to whites to darker colors appear fairly natural. Nevertheless, the film's darkest of scenes do tend to obscure the image and fine details can become lost in the background, but I would attribute this to the film's lighting scheme rather than a poor transfer. Perhaps the only major complaint I have with the transfer is that it never "pops" off of the screen. The director-intended image itself doesn't necessarily lend itself to a Saawaryia-style of three-dimensionality, but even the brighter, more vibrant scenes are never truly eye-catching brilliant. Flesh tones appeared to be solid, but several select scenes appeared somewhat soft around the edges. On the whole, this is a passable Blu-ray transfer that isn't all that memorable (then again, neither is the visual look of the movie), but this is likely to be the best you'll see The Air I Breathe look for quite some time.

The Air I Breathe Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Air I Breathe debuts on Blu-ray with a surprisingly effective DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The edgy, trendy music heard over the opening credits has a wonderful room-filling effect. It bleeds into the rears but is decidedly focused in the front and especially in the center channel. Dialogue seemed to be presented a bit low in volume at times, and I struggled to hear it on occasion. There is a solid surround presence throughout that is palpable but not obtrusive, proving to be the perfect mix for this style of movie. The heavy beats of the music following the horse race in the "Happiness" segment are nearly foundation-rattling in power. There are many instances where the music becomes a heavy, pulsating, "Techno," percussion-based beat, and all instances of this style of music sound fantastic throughout this sound mix. A rain shower scene in "Pleasure" creates a nice, enveloping sound, and a subsequent scene involving an overwhelming crowd of photographers around "Pleasure" provides a unique listen that just might give the less-than-famous of us a chance to feel what it must be like to be hounded by the paparazzi. This is by no means a top-notch lossless soundtrack, but it's surprisingly effective and efficient and one that plays very well with the movie's story and visuals.

The Air I Breathe Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Air I Breathe comes to life on Blu-ray with a few worthwhile extras sure to please fans of the film. A feature-length commentary track with writer/director Jieho Lee, co-writer Bob Derosa, director of photography Walt Lloyd, and editor Robert Hoffman, is the highlight of the extras. Director Lee discusses how his Asian heritage and experience living in America influenced the film, its roots in both the Chinese proverb as well as a nod to the relationship between this film and the classic The Wizard of Oz begins the discussion before the crew gets into the nitty-gritty details of the filmmaking process. There is some insight into the film's lighting scheme, set locations, some real-life situations and ideas that influenced certain segments of the film, and many other interesting tidbits. I have no doubt that viewers who enjoyed this film will find this track a worthwhile listen that adds to the overall experience of the film. Four deleted scenes entitled The Dreams (480p, 1:20), Living in the Present (480p, 1:18), Tony (480p, 0:41), and The Check-Up (1:47) are included. Concluding the special features is a series of outtakes (480p, 2:07) and the film's theatrical trailer (480p, 2:29).

The Air I Breathe Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Much like Pulp Fiction before it, The Air I Breathe intertwines several seemingly unrelated stories and brings them all full circle in a satisfying conclusion. Though not nearly as strong an effort as Pulp Fiction, The Air I Breathe is nevertheless thought-provoking and a solid entry into this genre. The excitement of the first act did take a toll on the remainder of the film in that the final thee acts failed to measure up to the near brilliance of the first, but that's alright. The end result is still a fine movie, one worth watching, and definitely one that'll keep you thinking about it and itching to see it again once the credits roll. Image Entertainment is the little Blu-ray studio that could. They've released another solid Blu-ray package that shouldn't disappoint too many collectors. With a mostly strong audio and video presentation, not to mention a few worthwhile supplements, this disc is no slouch, standing toe-to-toe with the efforts we see in many releases from the major studios. Recommended.