More about this DVD  •  DVD Info  •  Movie Main Page  •  Message Board

I’m always more than a little suspicious of films boasting a star-studded cast that apparently had a “limited theatrical release” or bowed on the film festival circuit before seemingly being dropped into the video market with nary a word of warning. I’ve encountered these would-be “hidden gems” time and again while perusing the shelves of the local video store or doing some casual search online. My anticipation of possibly uncovering an unknown masterpiece that I can then recommend to all my fellow movie buffs soon dissipates when I realize there most be some reason why a movie starring six or seven marquee names didn’t even make a blip on the radar back when it was released in January.

Sadly, The Air I Breathe is yet another of these curious little oddities that did little to assuage my fears. Although the cast is very impressive, headlined by two of my personal favorites: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Andy Garcia, and rounded out with the likes of Brendan Fraser, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy and Emile Hirsch, two red flags immediately had me thinking the worst. First, the movie marks the feature film debut of director/co-writer Jieho Lee, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I can remember seeing the directorial debut of some guy named Quentin Tarantino that threw me for a loop. But then I read something about how the premise for The Air I Breathe was based on a Chinese proverb and how four of the main characters represented the four human emotions of happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. Uh-huh. And I just thought it was based an old ‘70s song by The Hollies.

Still keeping an open mind, I settled in and did my best to absorb the film without the benefit of brushing up on my Chinese philosophy. Told out of sequence in a style reminiscent of Tarantino, the first character introduced is the not- so-subtly named Happiness (Forest Whitaker), a drone trapped in an office working as a sad and disillusioned stockbroker who desperately seeks change in his life. One of his faithful customers, a man named Pleasure (Brendan Fraser), comes in with his usual spot-on stock picks and suggests maybe Happiness needs to take some chances in life. In short order, Happiness finds himself placing an exorbitant bet on a “sure thing” horse after overhearing his co-workers talk about how the race is fixed. But the horse wipes out before crossing the finish line and now Happiness is in debt to a thug named Fingers (Andy Garcia), so named because he literally takes his debtor’s digits for every day they’re late paying.

When Happiness panics and tries to run, he meets up with his old stock friend Pleasure, who happens to work for Fingers as an enforcer. But he takes pity on him and gives him a gun, telling him it’s all he can do. Happiness is a warm gun, indeed. Desperate, Happiness uses the weapon to commit armed robbery and finds himself cornered by police. Of course, it ends badly for Happiness… but before the moral of the story sinks in, the film switches gears to show us a beaten and bloodied Pleasure being rushed into an emergency room by a doctor named Love (Kevin Bacon). More on him later. We soon learn the reason why Pleasure was able to accurately predict the stock market – he can see the future! Well, at least parts of it anyway. Like from which direction someone throws a punch, for instance, making him incapable of losing a fight. So how did he get beat up? Apparently Pleasure’s clairvoyance is starting to fade and he’s only able to predict one last potential disaster involving Fingers’ young and cocky nephew Tony (Emile Hirsch) who Pleasure gets stuck babysitting. But that premonition turns out to be flawed and he suffers the first real beating of his life that puts him in the hospital.

Still with me? Meanwhile, Fingers gets his hands on a management contract for a pop princess named Trista (Sarah Michelle Gellar) from one of the people who owes him money. Fingers hopes to co-manage the starlet with Pleasure in an effort to make some real money and expand their business. But Pleasure starts to fall in love with Trista and when she attempts to get away from Fingers, Pleasure stashes her away in the one place Fingers would never think to look: his apartment. When Fingers calls one day looking for Pleasure and Trista answers the phone, the gig is up and like Happiness in the first segment, things end badly for Pleasure. Fingers forces Trista, whose real name is actually revealed to be Sorrow, to start a rigorous tour schedule and he keeps her under close wraps to make sure she doesn’t get away again.

Oh, and remember that doctor named Love? Yes, calling Dr. Love! Well, seems he’s long carried a torch for his friend Gina (Julie Delpy), but she’s married to his other friend, Henry (Clark Gregg). When Gina gets bitten by a poisonous snake in her lab, Dr. Love needs to find a donor with her ultra-rare blood type to give her a life-saving transfusion. Guess who has that same rare blood type? Buffy. Uh, I mean Trista. No, wait it’s now Sorrow. So as fate – or the machinations of this particular script – would have it, Sorrow ends up becoming the much-needed donor after a failed suicide attempt (!) and Dr. Love helps her escape from Fingers for good. While driving away, Sorrow hits a man running by her car. Coming full circle, that man just happens to be Happiness immediately after having just robbed the bank at the beginning of the film. He’s running with a satchel full of cash and makes his way to the top of a building where he will ultimately face off with police. But not before throwing that bulging bag off the roof… where it conveniently lands on Sorrow’s car.

While I have to give credit to the film-makers for attempting something decidedly different, the movie never really clicks into place and everything from the performances to the stilted dialogue to the clumsy jumps in plot and logic make this a real amateur hour, despite the presence of this stellar cast. But even they seemed oblivious to what’s going on. Only Forest Whitaker redeems himself with a credible portrait of a desperate man trapped with his lot in life. Andy Garcia turns in a laughable parody of Al Pacino; Brendan Fraser seems about as bewildered as Encino Man; Sarah Michelle Gellar brings no emotional weight to her paper-thin character; and Kevin Bacon apparently plays himself. By the time I learned one of the “big reveals” before Trista attempts to commit suicide, I was rolling my eyes in disbelief at this made-for-TV soap opera dreck that several name stars apparently found compelling enough to sign up for the project. Or maybe it was something more philosophical… like that big satchel of money falling from the sky and into their respective bank accounts.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s 2.40:1 aspect ratio is presented in a great-looking anamorphic transfer. Fleshtones all look natural and there was no evidence of compression artifacts or  macroblocking. Color balance remained solid and black levels were deep and consistent throughout with no sign of crush or mosquito noise. While the substance of the film may not have impressed, the visual style is certainly worth noting. Cinematographer Walt Lloyd (Short Cuts) does an admirable job of maintaining a balance between the gritty reality of the film and the more surreal and poetic moments like the two scenes atop buildings with Happiness and Sorrow that have a soft, dreamlike aura. Where appropriate to the particular character or segment, colors run the gamut from a bit more desaturated and dark palette (Happiness) to warmer and brighter hues (Trista/Sorrow). Overall, a very impressive and consistent video presentation.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Boasting a discrete Dolby Digital 5.1 track, the audio on this DVD is almost as impressive as the video. If there are any limitations, it is mainly due to the source material. With a soundtrack that leans heavily on the center and front channels for delivery, there isn’t an abundance of rear or LFE channel content. Some of the original music by Marcelo Zarvos does breathe a little life into the bottom end during the opening credit sequence, and when Trista’s bubblegum pop music starts blaring from Fingers’ stereo, we get a full matrix of sound – even though the material doesn’t rise to the level of the sound presentation. Dialogue comes through clear and concise through the center channel and there’s a nice hint of ambient sound through the rear channels. Overall a very good audio presentation.

The optional subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

While not brimming with extras, there are a few noteworthy bits of bonus material included with this package. First up is a feature-length commentary track with co-writer/director Jieho Lee, co-writer Bob DeRosa, director of photography Walt Lloyd, and editor Robert Hoffman. The group has an easy and congenial rapport and everyone provides some interesting tidbits with no one participant commanding attention. Lee starts things off on a “serious note” offering a quick explanation of where he got the inspiration for the film and how each of the four main characters/segments also mimics The Wizard of Oz in having four characters searching for what’s missing in their lives. While not wholly technical, the group does provide some unique insight into the film-making process and how they managed to get everything accomplished on a tight budget while shooting in Mexico City.

Next are four deleted scenes including The Dreams (1:20), Living in the Present (1:13), Tony (0:38) and The Check-Up (1:46). While they all expand a little on each of the four segments in the final film, they also don’t add anything of great import. The Dreams further plays up on the caterpillar/butterfly motif of change, as does Living in the Present. Tony is a scene where Fingers’ nephew pesters a couple of flight attendants at the airport and The Check-Up is a scene where Dr. Love uncomfortably examines Gina.

There’s also a collection of outtakes (2:06) that are mostly amusing screw-ups and mistakes, the best of which are a couple of funny bits where Andy Garcia keeps cracking up Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The DVD also includes the original theatrical trailer for The Air I Breathe, along with trailers for Numb, The Color of Freedom, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Che.

The 95-minute film is organized into eighteen chapters.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What Happens When You Pop The Disc Into Your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM Features on this disc.

Final Thoughts