All That Breathes

 I promised you last week that I'd review All That Breathes, currently the last of this year's Oscar-nominated documentaries available for streaming. Here it is now.

Shaunak Sen chronicles brothers Saud and Nadeem, and their friend Salik, who run a vet for birds of prey in New Delhi. They frequently fall from the sky sickened by the polluted air. Their most frequent patients are the black kites, of which they've tended to 20,000. It's a daily struggle to keep their business afloat. They have to deal with power outages, lack of financial aid, and, with all three of them being Muslim, Islamophobia. But they still believe in their mission.

We learn a lot about them in 91 minutes. They discuss the geopolitical climate, wrestling, and even Salik losing his glasses to a kite early on. They brave a river to fetch an injured kite floating on some trash. We see them struggle to procure bird feed. Nadeem, the narrator, explains how they cared for their first patient. It's interesting to hear how they used their knowledge of bodybuilding to care for the bird. We also see Nadeem apply for college in the U.S., something Saud isn't happy about, though he comes to terms with it in the end. Their brotherly bond is nice to see, and Nadeem relating his late mother's advice leads to a moving title drop.

The cinematographers, including Ben Bernhard, film plenty of strong sights. One shot of birds flocking over a man adds majesty to Nadeem's narration of how feeding kites gives one good karma. Anytime we see these birds flying is a captivating sight. We also see the extent of New Delhi's pollution from the opening shot of vermin scavenging the streets to the polluted skies. In the midst of it all, we see the three of them live in cramped housing living the best lives they can. The close-up on Nadeem as he talks about feeling trapped in his current life makes one feel trapped with him. That they persist in helping these birds makes one admire them more. 

This is a strong documentary about the daily lives of three animal rescuers. This is a film that values even their smallest victories as triumphs. Anyone in their line of work can especially relate to their story. All That Breathes will make for a memorable educational experience on HBOMax. It's a winner even if the Academy goes for something else (I'm especially anxious about All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, whose availability date is up in the air). See what you think if you stream it now.