This Danish film about a POW is good for the icing, but not the cake.
The story of Brothers is unoriginal nearly to the point of cliché, but the masterful performances and beautiful cinematography make the movie interesting. Indeed, the familiarity of the story squarely plants the focus of the film on the art of those making it and on the underlying theme of betrayal and forgiveness.
Michael (Ulrich Thomsen) is a major in the Danish army who is being deployed to Afghanistan; his brother Jannik (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) was just released from prison where he served time for robbing a bank. When Michael is taken prisoner by Afghani fighters and is presumed dead, Jannik must summon the maturity to hold his family together while caring for Michael’s wife Sarah (Connie Nielsen) and her two daughters. As Jannik and Sarah grow closer, Michael endures unspeakable horror to survive.
The tension between Jannik and Sarah is palpable as they each long for the other to dull their grief. As the two fall into an uneasy friendship, the audience is left wondering what really happened between them, an issue further complicated by exposition by unreliable characters later in the film. It’s unfortunate that the character of Jannik makes little sense as he seems to pluck responsibility out of the blue when his brother goes missing, then loses it just as quickly when Michael returns. In fact, once Michael is rescued Jannik takes a back seat, nearly disappearing from the film altogether, making it clear that Brothers is really about Michael and Sarah.
When Michael returns home, he finds it impossible to accept what he did to survive and chooses instead to hide it. Odd behavior and unprovoked outbursts spiral into a drunken rage in which he tears his house apart, meanwhile Sarah must hide the growing fear of her husband from her daughters. I would have liked to see more of Michael before he is deployed to Afghanistan so that the effects of his imprisonment stand in greater relief.
Director Susanne Bier’s minimalist style is unobtrusive and serves to showcase the talent of the actors. The use of no additional lighting draws us in as we get a sense of the locations without the need for long scenery shots, and the use of handheld digital cameras lends the film urgent intensity. Color subtly evokes the mood of the characters, with pale blues after Michael’s supposed death warming as Jannik and Sarah draw closer, as well as providing a visual clash between Denmark and Afghanistan. On the other hand, the unnecessary images of waving grass that signify the next scene will be in Afghanistan seemed amateurish. All in all, the film takes the best elements of Dogme 95 while retaining familiar elements that make an audience comfortable, like a soundtrack.
Despite the banality of the story, Brothers is a beautiful, intense movie well worth watching. Find a showing near you at the official film site.
Directed By: Susanne Bier
Cast: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Connie Nielsen, Ulrich Thomsen
Produced By: Sisse Graum Jorgensen, Peter Aalbaek Jensen
Subtitled in English
Rated R
IFC Films, 2004