The story has no emotional heft or philosophical investment upon which to base its contortions. Instead, it is a gimmick looking for a purpose.

| May 1, 2020

Pretentious at best, risible for the rest of the time, this is most notable for Andy Garcia's staggeringly hammy cameo as the opera-loving moneylender Fingers.

| May 1, 2020

Music-video director-turned-film-maker Jieho Lee imbues his feature debut with plenty of visual verve, yet can't make his stories individually distinctive.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 30, 2020

Any ensemble piece divided into chapters such as Happiness, Pleasure and Sorrow is already flirting with pretentiousness but Jieho Lee's overblown feature embraces the concept wholeheartedly with clunky dialogue and po-faced solemnity.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 30, 2020

No matter how ridiculous the plot twists that bring the characters into contact with one another and their individual destinies are, the contrivances are obvious a mile off. And the ending is laughable.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 30, 2020

Even at 95 minutes it's a yawn-a-thon. Deep and meaningful? Stop and take a breath...

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 30, 2020

This pompous, concept-driven debut from American director Jieho Lee is about as hollow and doom-harbouring as an empty coffin.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 30, 2020

The Air I Breathe is a poor addition to a cycle of movies in which a succession of people (played by well-known actors) is linked by coincidence or perverse destiny.

| Apr 30, 2020

An affected, overblown ensemble drama, this is far less profound than it would have you believe.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 30, 2020

"The Air I Breathe" ultimately registers as a gangster movie with delusions of grandeur.

| Apr 30, 2020

No subversive genius here, just a sad stab at Art.

| Apr 30, 2020

The correlations between each thread is well conceived if not totally contrived to benefit the story.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 30, 2020

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.

| Apr 30, 2020

Full Review | Original Score: C | Oct 3, 2012

Filmmaker-y posturing on the part of first-time writer-director Jieho Lee interferes with the clarity of his interwoven stories in The Air I Breathe.

| Original Score: D- | Sep 7, 2011

As the plot strands begin to coalesce everything becomes far too overwrought.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 12, 2008

The movie takes itself way too seriously, and it doesn't add up to much, but, nevertheless, it's borderline entertaining.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 28, 2008

Your appreciation of this circular plotting will have a great deal to do with how tongue-in-cheek you believe the film is

| Feb 11, 2008

Mr. Lee is a former director of Asian music videos, which explains why his debut feature, from the high-octane opening credits to the Marnie-esque ending, is all style and no substance.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Feb 3, 2008

A perfectly awful example of a certain breed of American indie film that brings together a lot of familiar faces for an ensemble drama about...nothing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 25, 2008