Two brothers must negotiate changing roles and shifting family dynamics when one is sent to war in Afghanistan.Two brothers must negotiate changing roles and shifting family dynamics when one is sent to war in Afghanistan.Two brothers must negotiate changing roles and shifting family dynamics when one is sent to war in Afghanistan.
- Awards
- 13 wins & 21 nominations
Rebecca Løgstrup
- Camilla
- (as Rebecca Løgstrup Soltau)
Waleed Elgadi
- Samial-Tariq, Afghanistan
- (as William El-Gardi)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlong with King's Game (2004), this was the most successful and best reviewed Danish film of the year in its native country. However, neither of these two films was submitted by Denmark to the Oscars in the Foreign Language Film category. The Danish jury decided to send a documentary film, The Five Obstructions (2003), which had only been attended by 12,532 people in Danish theaters. This story made headlines, and Danish film producers officially stated that they would force the jury to pick Brothers (2004) or "Kongekabale" instead. The jury, however, did not change their minds, and "De fem benspænd" was sent to the Oscars. It was not among the eventual nominees. "Brødre" later won several awards across the world, including at the Sundance Film Festival, and opened to stellar reviews in the US. The jury later admitted that they possibly chose the wrong film to send to the Oscars that year.
- GoofsDuring the argument in the girls' room before the funeral, the time on the alarm clock in the background jumps ahead by several minutes between shots.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Dansk films bedste: Skurke, Dialekter og Forbudt kærlighed (2022)
Featured review
The realism lies not in the war scenes, which work, but in the family ones, which are harrowing.
Brothers (2004)
A remarkable movie in several ways. The first is just that it's well made, with two main layers of story line that are compelling, and some surprising and mostly believable turns. The second is that we (in the U.S.) have a look at the war in Afghanistan from non-American eyes. The echoes are inevitable, and so are the differences, in attitude by the soldiers and in public reaction.
The lead actor Ulrich Thomsen is compelling and versatile, and in some ways makes the movie. His range (which you have to see for yourself or you'll be tipped off) is terrific. His wife, played by better known Connie Nielsen (in her first Danish movie, even though she is Danish herself, and knows seven languages) is perfect, too, though she plays someone who is admittedly "boring" and so has less range. Finally, the lead man's brother, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, is charming and a wild card, making the trio appropriately imbalanced.
I say all this because it's an acting movie, and a movie about relationships and therefore about plot. It's not a war movie, but more about the effects of war. It's recommended for people who have absorbed American movies like The Hurt Locker. But more than that, it's just a well made, emotional, human interest film. There are a couple flaws (including the key part about the helicopter crash, which just doesn't hold up to common sense), but they are small in the larger, gritty realism of the whole.
A remarkable movie in several ways. The first is just that it's well made, with two main layers of story line that are compelling, and some surprising and mostly believable turns. The second is that we (in the U.S.) have a look at the war in Afghanistan from non-American eyes. The echoes are inevitable, and so are the differences, in attitude by the soldiers and in public reaction.
The lead actor Ulrich Thomsen is compelling and versatile, and in some ways makes the movie. His range (which you have to see for yourself or you'll be tipped off) is terrific. His wife, played by better known Connie Nielsen (in her first Danish movie, even though she is Danish herself, and knows seven languages) is perfect, too, though she plays someone who is admittedly "boring" and so has less range. Finally, the lead man's brother, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, is charming and a wild card, making the trio appropriately imbalanced.
I say all this because it's an acting movie, and a movie about relationships and therefore about plot. It's not a war movie, but more about the effects of war. It's recommended for people who have absorbed American movies like The Hurt Locker. But more than that, it's just a well made, emotional, human interest film. There are a couple flaws (including the key part about the helicopter crash, which just doesn't hold up to common sense), but they are small in the larger, gritty realism of the whole.
helpful•111
- secondtake
- Mar 20, 2010
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Брати
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $389,220
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,161
- May 8, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $489,706
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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