Brothers

The Danish film "Brothers" 2004 aka Brodre, w-d by Susanne Bier, is NFE (may not be for everyone). It's about love, a showdown of emotions (the opening music and repeated strains remind me of Sergio Leone's spaghetti western sounding tone). The fact that Michael ('Tour De Force' performance from Ulrich Thomsen of "The Celebration" 1998 aka Festen) keeping his traumatic experience within himself, unable to share with anyone, even his dear wife, is a sobering thought from the post-war effects. He's full of paranoia and is suspicious of everyone around him. It's so hard on him, on family members/children who do not understand what he had gone through that affected his 'warped' emotions and predicament. We cannot weather trauma alone.

As audience, we were privy to what happened to Michael as a prisoner of war - we saw what he had to experience - the circumstance and 'no-choice' decision at the time. His determined will focused on 'must stay alive to see his family and loving wife again' kept him hanging on amidst fear and uncertainty under the atrocities/ravage of war. Learning to forgive oneself - to not blame yourself - is not easy to do. What happen happened under circumstances out of your control and yes, it's easier said than done to say that you mustn't bear the burden or guilt feeling within you. We need the love and support of family/people around us - to be able to trust them that they would listen and understand.

Connie Nielsen as Michael's wife Sarah and Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Michael's younger brother, Jannik, provided an insightful portrait of the triangle of relationships that thrived and yet to survive. In the opening of the film, Bier has on screen along with intriguing graphic imagery and an eye close-up: "I will always love you. That is the only truth that remains. Life is neither right nor wrong, good or bad. But I love you. That's all I know." Towards the end, the graphic imagery and the eye repeated: "Life is neither right nor wrong, good or bad. But I love you. That's all I know."

I caught on Sundance Channel, Dutch documentary filmmaker Heddy Honigmann's "Crazy" 2000, provides 'unpresuming' accounts of how some of the once Dutch soldiers or former workers of UN missions, are dealing with post-war effects by listening or tuning to music as relief. She also did "Good Husband, Dear Son" 2001, a documentary about the surviving women reminiscing their loss of husbands and sons during the 1992 Yugoslav civil war. It's heart-breaking films worth watching.

From the PBS special of Dr. Wayne Dyer's Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling, I heard about Immaculée Ilibagiza's book (collaborated with writer-journalist Steve Erwin) "Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust" - sounds like the act of forgiveness can be easier to practice by learning from her autobiographical account. Couldn't wait to absorb from her shared spirituality.

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.

It's not hard to classify this one--it's an intense psychological drama. Whatever mood you were in before you started, you are most likely to be in a somber mood at the end. Perhaps the less you know about the story the more it will involve you. This is one of those movies that makes you ask the questions, "What would I have done in that situation," and "How would I have lived with my decision."

The main thrust of the story is an intimate examination of how a tragedy affects family dynamics. Nature abhors a vacuum. Guilt, jealousy, and doubt drive this to an intense climax.

Parformances are first rate, particularly Connie Nielsen.

Best picture we've seen in 2005. Why can't Hollywood make movies like this any more? Great cast, great direction, dialogue perfectly written comes through with power even in Danish with English subtitles! Connie Nielsen is in a league with Myrl Streep as an actress. The portrayal of the rough and tumble relationship of the brothers is so real it seems alive. Make sure you see this movie either in the theatres or on DVD. Nielsen is gorgeous but realistically portrays a housewife. The parents are classic Scandinavians, stolid and down to earth. Two little girls are played with zest and great energy. And the brothers, are quite believable as brothers. If you are interested in serious cinema and grown up movies "Brothers" should be on your list.

We all know that American cinema can't help itself to do remake of foreign films... That's why i saw Brothers before this original danish movie. When in this one all appears to be shot in steady cam, the American way tries to put some melodramatic trigger.

This version is about feelings, about situation and personal change: life make us evolve like every decision we take and nothing is good or bad, there is a lot of in between. The chose to accumulate the short shootings, practically no music or just a few notes on one instrument,are trying to bring us along this day to day story really well interpreted. The characters in their flaws or every day basis are believable, there is not so much emphasis like in the good but too much American film. It's in their nature to modify, adjust the deepness of the movie and after seeing this 2004 version, we actually miss something: this authenticity.

In both versions, dialogs, ellipses are exactly the same, but characters turned out to be different. We actually have to exact opposite films and this is a real challenge to see both.