Brothers

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2004 Dutch film about two brothers. One brother is the black sheep of the family. In and out of trouble. The other is a good citizen, does the right thing. Good brother has a nice family, lovely wife played by Connie Nielson, two lovely daughters. Bad brother is intimate with bars, and sometimes jail. Their father sees them in the same roles, although predicably, their mother is less judgmental.
Good brother goes off to Afghanistan to assist in restructuring the country. While there, his plane is shot down, and he is declared dead. Strange thing happens. The bad brother becomes responsible. He tends to his nieces, and helps to build the kitchen in the house that good brother started when he left.
Strange thing happens. Predictably, good brother was not killed, but survived the crash, and taken prisoner. How he survived is not explained. This is not really a spoiler, because it happens in the beginning of the film, and is predictable. He returns home, a changed man. Changed not so much by war, because we never see him in combat, but by a decision he made when confronted with a difficult choice.
The film becomes interesting at this point. Rather than psychoanalyze the damage the good brother has endured because of war, and make the film about him, and his personal demons, the film is about, one, the role change which takes place, whereby the bad brother becomes the good brother. And second, the effect his behavior has on those around him. They become the subjects of the film. We have no doubt seen these events played out in other films, but not almost exclusively from the point of view of the family. For example, there are no scenes of the good brother brooding somewhere by himself, crying, lamening his condition, etc. That there are other innocent victims to consider, I think, is a point the film is making.
It is with this perspective that the film attains a freshness that similar films lack, and makes it a worthwhile watch. As is typical with foreign films, there is no a deluge of characters, allowing the film to develop each of the characters. The ending, I think, is true to the characters, and true to what I would imagine a family in their circumstances would do. In other words, no grand finale, no exciting culmination. Vey recommended.

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Topic - Brothers - jamesgarvin 07:28:46 09/05/06 (1)

Thanks, I'll look out for it. nt - tinear 15:40:08 09/05/06 (0)

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