All That Breathes

Set amidst a backdrop of civic and religious unrest in New Delhi, this rather dry documentary follows three men who spend much of their waking hours trying to rescue the population of Black Kites that - like the human population - are being seriously affected by the toxicity of the air and the water in their home city. Our opening scene see Salik arrive at their home with loads of fruit boxes that appear to have minds of their own! Enclosed are these beautiful but rather scrawny and malnourished birds that need a good cleaning and some tender loving care. Mohammad Said and Nadeem Shehzad are definitely men on a mission - and we gradually realise the scale of their endeavour - and, ultimately. the impossibility of them saving all - or even m...

By: Louisa Moore / www.ScreenZealots.com

A traditional documentary of the cinéma vérité variety, All That Breathes is a beautiful story of human kindness towards winged creatures. The film tells the story of two brothers who run a bird hospital in India thats dedicated to rescuing injured black kites, a prolific raptor that soars high above the rooftops of New Delhi. Its one of the worlds most populated cities, and the extreme heat, rampant pollution, and choking smog wreaks havoc on the avian species, causing them to fly into high rise buildings, become entangled in wires, and literally drop from the sky. Thousands of birds have been saved thanks to the pure hearts of two men, and director Shaunak Sens film is a touching tearjerker ...