Baron Ronan Doyle With its American remake a thing of recent memory, Brødre began steadily to tempt me more and more. A great admirer of co-screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen and general fan of Danish cinema, I recently acquiesced to these mental demands.Having just collected his irksome and opprobrious brother Jannik from prison, Michael sits down to a last family dinner before shipping off to Afghanistan. As he prepares to leave behind wife Sarah and their two daughters, his younger and less adulated counterpart argues with their father. When Michael is reported MIA presumed dead, Jannik is forced to pull himself together to take care of the family his brother has unwillingly left behind.A film based almost entirely on the complexity of familial dynamics, Brødre quickly establishes each of these to us even before Michael departs early into the film. We see instantly the strained relationship between Jannik and his father, the unmistakable fraternal bond, the love of a father for his daughters, and the quiet trepidation of a family sending one of their own to unknown territory. Brødre's strength lies, as well as in the clarity and accuracy of its characters' relationships, in co-writer/director Susanne Bier's ability to forge a subtle yet almost tangible tension and animosity in scenes. Her film combines the merest of glances with the shortest of sighs to show us all those things exposition cannot, the weariness of a son living in his brother's shadow one of many such things conveyed almost subliminally. Regular parallels are drawn between the film's two settings, the shots regularly mirroring each other and flickering from the eyes of one character to another. Nikolaj Lie Kaas delivers a consistently brilliant performance, the film's best in my eyes, expertly combining the general dislikeability of his character with the softer kinder touches which cause the audience to warm to him. Both Nielsen and Thomsen offer fine performances, but the true praise belongs to their characters' children, the young actresses churning out astonishing displays of genuine emotion to shame their elders. Issues of family, jealousy, love, and lust are covered in equal measure, though the standout theme is that of war and the horrors engendered by its experience. Thomsen's granite face of stoicism tells a story no words ever can, affording us much emotion and further drawing us into this compelling and engaging story. To highlight a flaw, the cinematography was not always the most appealing, the film's low budget shining through in this respect, though never detracting from the effect of the film itself.Upholding the hugely high standard I've come to expect from the Danes, Brødre serves up an intriguing and entirely real family drama, bringing with it a rumination upon war and the effect it has upon those who are involved in it both directly and indirectly. Not afraid to put its characters, and thereby its audience, in a difficult place, it makes for a unique and memorable viewing that offers plenty to chew on.

Roger Burke I saw this gripping and haunting movie in 2005, and spent a long time thinking about it. I began a review, but never finished it because I could not find words adequate to convey the depth of my feelings; even now, I'm not sure that I can do justice to the story (which has been very ably described by many reviewers here already).Thematically, however, it's about a moral dilemma and a man's attempt to justify his decision - initially to himself, and then to others. Hence, in that, the story shares a similar theme as in Sophie's Choice (1982); those who have seen Meryl Streep as the agonist in that film know what she had to do.The twist here, however, is that the soldier faces inevitable death for himself, regardless of the choice he makes. The only question he must resolve is: if I do the right thing, I die immediately - if I do the wrong thing, I die at some other time. But, die I will...and so will another, regardless of what I do. Hence, in biblical terms, the viewer is implicitly asked: to what extent are we all our brother's keepers?Faced with that sort of choice, the soldier has only hope to hold on to - hope that he will not die too soon. And, fortunately for him, the plot allows the 'cavalry' to arrive before that happens.And that event sets up the story of that soldier's rebirth and redemption - all against a backdrop of a wife who thought he was dead, and an ex-con brother who puts his life on the line to help his brother come to terms with the enormity of his...choice, which may or may not have been a crime. I'd not seen any of these Danish actors before. Quite simply, they cannot be faulted in their performances. Technically, the film was well produced and presented. The script was brutally realistic, with the crucial torture scenes in Afghanistan almost unbearable.This is not a film for children. Nor is it a film for adults who cannot accept the truth about what soldiers can face in war.

ThurstonHunger This film features brutal moments, thus not escapist fare nor fodder for my wife as an example. I think she also would have had trouble with the shaky handicam footage. Still despite the fact that this had my stomach twisted up in knots, this film was a compelling watch, and deeply cathartic in some ways.One could see it as emotional response to the war(s) of the day, taking the global and shooting it like an RPG into the local. The film reaches a point-of-no-return, and then soldiers on past that. The audience, like the lead portrayed by Ulrich Thomsen, however may have some trouble after that point. Some shrapnel sticks in the soul...If one reduces war "to kill or be killed", well perhaps that is too cut and dried. Certainly too cut. And in such a reduction, much is lost. The thought of a soldier being ordered to kill, it can never be an easy one. And in this film, that order is charged with deeply unsettling overtones.Kudos to Susanna Bier, interesting to see a woman director who captures the male psyche so well in my estimation. The two male leads are well fleshed out, levels of sibling love and yet sibling dislike are strikingly meshed together. In briefly reading up on some of her films, it seems the notion of a taboo romance is something she is drawn to like a moth unto flame.As others point out, the brothers in this film mirror each other in ways, reflections of atonement. Never an easy action to capture on film, sure there can be physical gestures...but the power of atonement takes place on a very different sphere, if at all.This film is almost like the 7 Up series of documentaries for me, in that when the curtain falls, I was curious, *painfully* curious, where things will be after a period of time.I'm less curious about the lighting of the film, seemed like a glowing oval was superimposed on much of the footage. Didn't pay enough attention to see if it only came at certain moments. It felt intentional, but consciously it did not cohere for me.One last comment, I thought the music was sublime ( a little reminiscent of the soundtrack to "Deadwood" but with some sort of nyckleharp and Afghani aromas as well...) As the film itself screams its emotions so strongly at times, the understated sonic themes were a welcome counterbalance.7.5/10 Thurston Hunger

analty-1 I did never saw a Danish Movie before "Brothers" in my life! I saw German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, many kinds of movies, from differents countries around the world, but never a Danish Movie. So, there's a surprise to me, listen this language, and watch danish actors acting in the movie. They're very good, sensible, and extremely talent. The movie has a amazing story. And I have no words to talk about the director. She's amazing, fantastic so far.... She's the one in cinema industry. So I hope the danish cinema, continues in this way, so I can watch more good danish movies! Congratulations to all cast, and team from this movie!