Beautiful visuals, music, and smart edits, but the soul of the film has been tainted by the director Shuanak's ignorant vision or call it simply, some hidden agenda!? Why did he do that? Why no jury or critic noticed it? How could this go unnoticed under the radar of Oscar, Cannes or Sundance? Stick with me here and I'll prove what I just said. ''All That Breathes'' is a very thoughtful title and it has come from a very powerful line in the film said by one of the characters; '' One should not differentiate between all that breathes'' If you have not watched the film then you can just hear the same line in the trailer at 2:00. If you're reading this you can understand the gravity of this line, the sheer depth of this line, It's about seeing every living creature equally, it's not an abstract philosophical line which depends upon how we perceive it, rather, it's a clear statement which is supposedly "the core" of this film. You can relate it with 'Ahimsa Paramo Dharma', which literally means: non-violence is the highest moral virtue. It's about co-existence of human and nonhuman. When you see such virtues in these characters, Salik Rehman, Mohammad Saud, Nadeem Shehzad, who are saving the injured black kites and a few other wild animals, you see them as a marvel of humanity and that might be true, but there's a problem or hypocrisy where Shaunak's camera intentionally does not pan upon, he conveniently ignores and wraps it up in a musical montage, in fact he buries the crucial elements in a broad day light and nobody seems to give a damn about it. Here are some questions. During the dinner what is being eaten in the family? It's definitely animal flesh (meat) in the bowl. See the screen grab from the film, 33:31 Min. In Trailer- A guy in the Muslim neighbourhood, on the terrace, feeding goats and chickens (2:4 Min) These domestic animals are not there to be petted, they will be slaughtered. Goat in the Musilm house (1:43min) what would happen to these animals? Everyone who knows Muslims or India would understand that these animals will be killed and eaten. In the film around 1hr.26min we see meat shops in the same neighborhood, Zoom in and look at the chicken walking in the restaurant Why these scenes are manipulated and slapped with these noble words- We're a community of air, one should not differentiate between all that breathes. Do they have right to say it when they have meat on their plate? When they have double standards for animal cruelty? When they have an entire food culture depending upon meat ? Why filmmaker does not address these contradictions full of hypocrisy in these characters? Why nobody asked these questions? I understand the entire thing about food is a personal choice, food chain and all. But my question is, when you are consuming any sort of meat or exploiting a set of animals by any means and then make a film, which is called - "All that breaths" and the core of the film is the coexistence of human and nonhuman. Despite all these unanswered questions how Shuaunak made fools out of all cinema goers? Read a part of review written in the The New York Times- "All That Breathes" is a subtle, haunting reflection on the meaning of humanity - on the breathtaking kindness and heartbreaking cruelty that define our wounded, intrepid, predatory species." Breathtaking kindness?. The Director, Shaunak Sen should replace the dialogue and title with- "ONE SHOULD NOT DIFFERENTIATE ALL THAT BREATHES EXCEPT THE CHICKENS, GOATS AND BEEF" and then I guess, everything will make sense!
Review of All That Breathes
