All That Breathes movie review (2022)

Sen focuses on a pair of siblings, Nadeem Shehzad and his younger brother Mohammad Saud. These gentle, modest residents of New Delhi have devoted nearly the last 20 years of their lives to caring for injured birds known as black kites, reportedly treating over 20,000 of them. New Delhi is one of the most polluted cities on the planet and the intrusion of the industry has forever impacted the wildlife, especially the birds that so gracefully glide over the city’s horizon. Sen regularly frames the kites against a cloud of smoke or a smog-shrouded cityscape, almost making their plight as visible as watching a drowning animal.

However, Sen also finds SO much beauty in everyday nature. There are shots in “All That Breathes” that are among the best of the year, from a group of bugs drinking from a pool of water in which the reflection of humans can be seen walking by or an unforgettable one that tracks down a crowded apartment building to a river below where wild pigs are crossing as horses stand on the banks. Human and animal life is not divided in a city like New Delhi—it is all part of the same tableau, and Sen’s film captures it with a blend of striking beauty and empathetic fragility.

“All That Breathes” is not a traditional wildlife or climate change documentary. It doesn't have talking heads or on-screen facts. The information that’s garnered about the plight of the Delhi kites comes from Nadeem and Saud, who face their own challenges trying to stay afloat in an increasingly fraught region of the world when it comes to social issues, politics, and class. Sen tracks difficulties between Saud and Nadeem as economic pressure and new legislation against Muslim citizens intrude on their good work. It’s a film that keenly understands that caring for all that breathes isn’t as easy as a good intention, and that it often requires intense sacrifice and commitment.