'All That Breathes' is a film about universal brotherhood, told through the figures of two actual brothers, Nadeem and Saud, who run a bird hospital in Delhi. Former bodybuilders, the burly brothers (and their elfin assistant Salik) are gentle protagonists, compassionate, and even spiritual in their quest to save the majestic and vulnerable “non-veg” kites that hover over Delhi. The film resonates with the spiritual message of democracy, that everyone is the same, that all of us - humans and fauna - are made of the same stuff. Shaunak Sen’s film lyrically lays forth its political point that democratic India is a home to all citizens, including the ones declared as non-citizens by the ruling establishment. The film sends out its political message without didacticism, and equally importantly, with keen attention to form, while eschewing most of the tools that mark the standard documentary template. The film begins with a long, unending shot of a battalion of rats, giving the impression that rats have overtaken the city. One can interpret this in several ways. Has India been overcome by rodents? Or, do the images of rats and maggots in the film seek to remind us of fascist slurs against minorities, like the ones propagated by German Nazis and Rwandan Hutus?