[phileysmiley]

<img src="http://parcom.pronetworks.org/images/0430air.jpg" align="right" alt="the air i breathe"></img><font color="maroon">by Larry Richman </font>
<font color="gray" size="1">April 30, 2007 4:19 PM</font>

Here are some of my initial thoughts. <em>The Air I Breathe </em>is stunning in many ways. Visually it is breathtaking, with broad sweeping images interspersed with lots of gritty closeups of tragedy. The narrative is somewhat fuzzy at first, but I won't say more because I don't want to give anything away. As much as I'd read about it, I was still taken by surprise at every step of the way. It's hard to watch at times and quite violent. There's a lot of sadness and tension. But there is also an amazingly clever use of humor in the film, and that is perhaps what most surprised me. After all, that's what life is.

The film is basically divided into four parts: Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love. Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Kevin Bacon, the anchors of the four sections, are better than I've ever seen. The supporting actors all put their hearts into it.

As with other World Premieres I've attended, it was beyond description. I was again honored to be the only journalist chosen to photograph the red carpet arrivals, attend the screening and shoot the Q&A, and attend the after party. So I have lots of pictures to post. In addition to shots of the red carpet and Q&A, I shot most of the Q&A on video. I promise I will get some of this posted as soon as I can.

The house was oversold. People who actually had tickets were turned away because they did not get there in time. I sat with some of the cast members and crew. Everyone who was there got up onstage for the Q&A: Sarah, Brendan, Andy, Kevin, director Jieho Lee, and co-writer Bob DeRosa. Some of the other actors, including Emile Hirsch, were not able to make it but would have been very proud of their work, I think.

As far as distribution goes, I can't say anything right now but things look good. I can say that we should be able to post some information very very soon. A source told me that the Weinstein Co. and ThinkFilm have both expressed interest. They are arguably the 2 most important indie distributors in America. I can't verify that, of course, but I wouldn't doubt that it's true.

Special thanks to Jieho Lee, Bob DeRosa, and producer Christopher Pratt for being so gracious and generous all evening. Amidst the media circus and mayhem of one of the festival's premiere events, they went to great lengths to accommodate those who faced some challenges during the event, myself included. Without their selflessness you wouldn't be reading this report right now.

More to come.