The Danish film, "Brothers," offers a powerful reminder that the dehumanizing effects of war often extend far beyond the confines of the battlefield.
In this tale of two siblings who couldn't be more different, Michael is the "good" son, a solid family man with a wife and two daughters and a very strong sense of moral rectitude. Jannik is the "bad" son, a ne'er-do-well drifter who is routinely in trouble with the law and who, as the movie opens, has just been released from prison for seriously injuring a woman in a botched robbery attempt. When Michael is shipped to Afghanistan as part of a U.N. fighting force, he is quickly shot down and taken prisoner by the Taliban militia. Believing him to be dead, the military mistakenly informs Michael's family that he has been killed in action. Jannik is so devastated by the loss of his brother that he vows to help Sarah raise her two daughters. Against their better judgment, Jannik and Sarah begin to develop romantic feelings for one another, a situation that leads to great complications after Michael is eventually freed from his captivity and he attempts to pick up where he left off back home. Unfortunately, Michael's return to normalcy is further complicated by the memory of a heinous act he was "forced" to commit against one of his fellow soldiers while in the camp. Before long, Michael is taking out his anger, guilt and frustration on his own terrified family, and in a sudden role reversal, it is Jannik who must now come to the aid of the brother who had always been there for him when he needed him most. In many ways, this is a story about two brothers who both find redemption for sins of the past.
Although the love triangle aspect could easily have relegated "Brothers" to the realm of soap opera, the movie manages to avoid that fate, thanks partly to the restrained way in which the script deals with the subject matter and partly to the sense of reality that permeates the film. These are all fully fleshed-out human beings trying to cope with events far beyond their control - be they the brutalizing psychological effects of a war in a foreign land or the more familiar entanglements and complexities in all things related to the human heart. No one is made out to be the "hero" or the "villain," which belies the wisdom of labeling people in such simplistic terms to begin with (as the boys' father clearly does, having long ago declared Michael to be his one "true" son and all but disowning the troublesome Jannik). The film is filled with haunting, memorable moments that touch us at a deep level, as we see a decent man being driven to madness by a single gruesome action in his life, as well as the devastating ripple effect it has on those he loves.
The actors - Ulrich Thomsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and the exquisite Connie Nielsen - truly make us care about the characters they are playing, and the final scene of confession and redemption is haunting in its subtlety and simplicity.
As one of the first films willing to acknowledge, let alone explore, the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the small-scaled but memorable "Brothers," written by Anders Thomas Jensen and co-written and directed by Susanne Bier, earns a place in movie history.
In this tale of two siblings who couldn't be more different, Michael is the "good" son, a solid family man with a wife and two daughters and a very strong sense of moral rectitude. Jannik is the "bad" son, a ne'er-do-well drifter who is routinely in trouble with the law and who, as the movie opens, has just been released from prison for seriously injuring a woman in a botched robbery attempt. When Michael is shipped to Afghanistan as part of a U.N. fighting force, he is quickly shot down and taken prisoner by the Taliban militia. Believing him to be dead, the military mistakenly informs Michael's family that he has been killed in action. Jannik is so devastated by the loss of his brother that he vows to help Sarah raise her two daughters. Against their better judgment, Jannik and Sarah begin to develop romantic feelings for one another, a situation that leads to great complications after Michael is eventually freed from his captivity and he attempts to pick up where he left off back home. Unfortunately, Michael's return to normalcy is further complicated by the memory of a heinous act he was "forced" to commit against one of his fellow soldiers while in the camp. Before long, Michael is taking out his anger, guilt and frustration on his own terrified family, and in a sudden role reversal, it is Jannik who must now come to the aid of the brother who had always been there for him when he needed him most. In many ways, this is a story about two brothers who both find redemption for sins of the past.
Although the love triangle aspect could easily have relegated "Brothers" to the realm of soap opera, the movie manages to avoid that fate, thanks partly to the restrained way in which the script deals with the subject matter and partly to the sense of reality that permeates the film. These are all fully fleshed-out human beings trying to cope with events far beyond their control - be they the brutalizing psychological effects of a war in a foreign land or the more familiar entanglements and complexities in all things related to the human heart. No one is made out to be the "hero" or the "villain," which belies the wisdom of labeling people in such simplistic terms to begin with (as the boys' father clearly does, having long ago declared Michael to be his one "true" son and all but disowning the troublesome Jannik). The film is filled with haunting, memorable moments that touch us at a deep level, as we see a decent man being driven to madness by a single gruesome action in his life, as well as the devastating ripple effect it has on those he loves.
The actors - Ulrich Thomsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and the exquisite Connie Nielsen - truly make us care about the characters they are playing, and the final scene of confession and redemption is haunting in its subtlety and simplicity.
As one of the first films willing to acknowledge, let alone explore, the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the small-scaled but memorable "Brothers," written by Anders Thomas Jensen and co-written and directed by Susanne Bier, earns a place in movie history.