The Air I Breathe is a poor addition to a cycle of movies in which a succession of people (played by well-known actors) is linked by coincidence or perverse destiny and have to go forth like Marshal Kane in High Noon reflecting that they do not know what fate awaits them, all that they know is that they must be brave. The setting is Los Angeles; the characters a mob enforcer, a sadistic gangster, a pop star, an investment clerk, a doctor and a toxicologist; and the inspiration is an Asian proverb that couldn't fight its way out of a wet fortune cookie.