Review of The Brother from Another Planet (1984) by Michael A — 20 May 2017

An unexpected delight. I discovered this film from an online list of "50 Sci-Fi Films That Will Change Your Lilfe," or something along those lines. It does remind me of Jim Jarmusch in its slow pacing and emphasis on dialogue and quirky characters.

Joe Morton does an amazing job of holding the film together without saying a word. There are so many great one-liners and asides, it's worth rewatching. I guess "Men in Black" got its original idea here - but in this case the "men" in black are actually alien bounty hunters (or maybe androids?) intent on dragging an alien who looks African-American back to slavery on a far-off planet.

It's a keen look at New York and America's prejudices in the early 1980's. It starts out very light and gets darker toward the end. Dry and witty at times, it's also poignant. So many great character actors in there.

Very timely today - think about where we are with our attitudes toward immigration. This is a 1980's "District 9" - but the USA is the setting.