Review of Brothers (2004) by Fong K — 06 Feb 2016

BROTHERS - the Danish original by Ace-directoress Susanne Bier ( forget the US-remake),.

Brødre .... en film af Susanne Bier.

+++ As always with me: no content information - no SPOILERs:

The first movie I saw from probably the world's best female director Susanne Bier, was at that time a certain "After the Wedding" (ATW) from the year of 2006.

Actually, the Anti-Cover with a blurred Mads M. in the local library was far from the blockbuster. Everything smelled like extreme Dogma-film, which are often very hard to watch.

But this film was just brilliant. I would call him a dogma-light - and this kind of film, typically from Denmark, is exactly my cup of tea. And "Brothers" has similarities to ATW in style.

The heart-rending and really sad story is told without any kitsch and totally moved me. All characters act completely credible and transparently and one suspects, that factors like fate and chance, might turn the constellations of relationships into a human tragedy.

Just fantastic how the honest script and also the direction merge the gear wheels of the plot together!!!

The camera is also extremely close and personal with the feelings of the characters - very often hands, lips and eyes in close-up. Simply breathtaking, I must confess ....

But clearly:

Screenplay - Anders Thomas Jensen and Director - Susanne Bier are a stellar constellation, enabling little Denmark to compete with the best of the best from the mighty United States. 5 years ago now, I became a huge fan of them both.

The actors play all just wonderful and believable, so I imagined myself almost in a documentary - a greater compliment, I just cannot make.

Again, Denmark delivers worldclass.

Above all, this "Brødre - Brothers" so is far superior to the American remake of Jim Sheridan (who also is a good director).

For a wider audience, this remake is just prone to too many compromises and softens the harsh reality of the sady-sad Story too much.

Conclusion:

To me - besides ATW - the strongest Susanne Bier film, even better than the also strong "Hævnen - in a Better World '(2010) and her first US film" Things We Lost in the Fire "(2007) starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro.

Rating = 95% (MASTERPIECE).

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