New This Week
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

17 88 Minutes
55 Baby Mama
78 Before I Forget
80 Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
75 Boy A
32 Chapter 27
54 CSNY: Déjà Vu
31 Deception
64 Fall, The
51 Finding Amanda
57 Forbidden Kingdom, The
67 Forgetting Sarah Marshall
34 Happening, The
27 How to Rob a Bank
79 Iron Man
46 Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
62 Kabluey
56 Leatherheads
72 Lou Reed's Berlin
24 Love Guru, The
37 Made of Honor
65 Married Life
52 Mother of Tears, The
70 Outsourced
83 Paranoid Park
55 Pathology
22 Postal
51 Promotion, The
77 Rape of Europa, The
69 Redbelt
48 Run, Fat Boy, Run
30 Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour
53 Sex and the City: The Movie
67 Snow Angels
66 Son of Rambow
37 Speed Racer
82 Taxi to the Dark Side
56 Then She Found Me
79 Visitor, The
65 Water Lilies
36 What Happens in Vegas...
45 Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
54 You Don't Mess with the Zohan
75 Young@Heart

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Air I Breathe, The
THINKFilm


5.9

based on 9 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 16 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for violence, language and some sexual content/nudity

Starring Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brendan Fraser, Julie Delpy, and Emile Hirsch

Inspired by a Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four key emotions – Happiness, Sorrow, Pleasure, and Love – The Air I Breathe is told in four short fables, each built around a character who embodies one of these key emotions. In Happiness, a timid banker who impulsively bets every cent he has, and then some, on a supposedly “sure thing.” In “Sorrow,” a rising pop star whose contract falls under the control of a ruthless crime boss, and his corrupt nephew. In “Pleasure,” a man who can see into the future of everyone he meets, but is totally blind when it comes to his own; and in “Love,” a doctor who pines for a woman he can never possess, only to find that he suddenly holds her life in his hands. Though each of the characters believes that his or her life is governed by hazard and chance, their unbridled emotions, impulsive choices, and reckless moves all prove one universal truth: character is destiny, and each of us makes our own fate. (THINKfilm)

GENRE(S):	Crime \| Drama \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	Jieho Lee Bob DeRosa
DIRECTED BY:	Jieho Lee
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 27, 2008 Theatrical: January 25, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Mexico / USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TV Guide Ken Fox

Lee deserves a lot of credit for attempt the same kind of complex story structure Quentin Tarantino made look so easy in "Pulp Fiction": Like Tarantino's interlocking stories, Lee's four segments occur achronologically and come full circle in a neat twist at the very end.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

An ingenious contraption that holds your attention for as long as it whirs and clicks like a mechanized Rubik’s Cube. After it’s over, however, you may find yourself scratching your head and wondering if there was any purpose to this sleek little gizmo.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The source for Jieho Lee's The Air I Breathe is an ancient Chinese proverb about the four cornerstones of emotion - love, pleasure, happiness and sorrow. But Lee and co-writer Bob DeRosa went 0-4 with their convoluted screenplay, making me thankful they didn't try to adapt the Seven Deadly Sins.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Each story has its moments, but "Air" lacks an overarching vision.

New York Post Kyle Smith

Situations get increasingly ridiculous, and none of the characters ever seems like anything but a screenwriter's sketch.

Variety Ronnie Scheib

Stellar thesps gamely strive to elevate the one-note material, but gravity ultimately defeats them in this relentless downer.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

The destiny-versus- responsibility hand-wringing is Philosophy 101, the camera angles straight out of film school, and the pacing strictly music-video. Plus, the ta-da! twist ending is foreshadowed roughly 20 minutes into the action, for those still interested.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

A top-notch varied group of actors, no doubt attracted by the colorfulness of their roles, has been assembled, but their hardworking efforts are ultimately done in by the supremely pretentious nature of the material.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

A stew of cheap irony, ponderous but meaningless allegory, violence and pretension, the movie is all borrowed style and calculated pandering. It does, however, get more ludicrous by the minute. So in that sense, it's good for an occasional laugh.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.9 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chad S. gave it a5:
A screenwriter's convolution, or is it possible that Love(Kevin Bacon) is so in love with Gina(Julie Delpy), the doctor just can't help approach the security guards with too much piss, too much vigor? He needs Sorrow's blood. Love learns that the pop star(played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) has the same rare blood type as Gina during Sorrow's interview with a rock journalist. No. We're not in Japan. But anyway, rather than approach Sorrow in a calm, orderly fashion(just like any medical professional would), the doctor bum-rushes the pop star like a fanatic. Needless to say, the doctor's attempt to acquire the blood, fails. And you know what? Love actually gets a second chance. That's when "The Air I Breathe" reaches for its revolver and shoots the region inside our brains that controls our suspension of disbelief.

[Anonymous] gave it a7:
Entertaining, involving, with good performances, why did this movie inspire such revulsion? Better than about 2/3 of the product on the market. Biggest weakness: inconsistent use of paranormal gimmick.

Guy M. gave it a7:
Did not quite get what was so "happy" about the happiness portion of the four part section but overall I enjoyed the movie

M Blues gave it a2:
Ludicrous, ridiculous, beyond silly. What in the world are these great actors thinking?? The writer/director must come from serious $$$.

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page

Air I Breathe, The THINKFilm

Air I Breathe, The
THINKFilm