Brother to Brother (2004)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Rodney Evans

Writer:

Rodney Evans (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A drama that looks back on the Harlem Renaissance from the perspective of an elderly, black writer who meets a gay teenager in a New York homeless shelter. |

Plot Keywords:

Gay Teenager | Harlem Renaissance | Harlem | Older Man Younger Man | Gay Interest

Awards:

7 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Anthony Mackie	...	Perry
Larry Gilliard Jr.	...	Marcus
Duane Boutte	...	Young Bruce
Daniel Sunjata	...	Langston
Alex Burns	...	Jim
Ray Ford	...	Wally
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Zora
Roger Robinson	...	Bruce Nugent
Brad Bailey	...	Subway Grifter (as Brad Baily)
Brian Everett Chandler	...	Mr. Williams
Kevin Jackson	...	Isaiah
Shantell Herndon	...	Classroom Girl #1
Billoah Greene	...	Rashan
Ryan Michelle Bathe	...	Classroom Girl #2
Curtis McClarin	...	Black Man on Subway (as Curtis L. McClarin)

Runtime:

USA:94 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:MA | New Zealand:R13 | Portugal:M/16 | USA:Not Rated

Company:

Miasma Films

Trivia:

Earle Hyman was originally cast in the role of "Bruce," played by 'Roger Robinson' in the film.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 20th IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2005) (TV)

Best of the Fest! An amazing, powerful, and engaging film

"Brother to Brother" just won the two most coveted awards at the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival - otherwise known as Outfest. The Audience Award for Best Feature and the Jury Prize for Best Feature! And I was one of over a thousand queerfolk who voted them into the first award. This film is amazing!

The Harlem Renaissance was a seminal period in African American history; one that can be seen to have repercussions through to Stonewall and beyond. Sadly, it was one of the only times in our history where African American queers and other "outcasts" created and published their own voices for the world to see, read, and hear. And hear it they did.

Some of the most powerful and important queer poetry and prose were written during this time by the likes of the incredible Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman, and of course, Bruce Nugent; one of the main characters in this story.

Over the course of befriending Perry, a present-day artist/student trying to find his own voice in the world, Bruce recounts some of his own history with his radical, groundbreaking friends.

The film is exquisitely composed. The music created for "Brother to Brother" is eloquent and evocative and perfectly reflects and tints the images and perspectives within the story. Organic timing creates an engaging flow of story and character which passes back and forth from past to present and back; revealing at once how much and how little has changed over the last 80 years of Black (and queer) history.

All in all, this film ends as handsome Perry begins to find a clearer path for himself in the world. It ultimately gives us much of value that is even more than the sum of its respective parts. Most importantly, it shows us ourselves - beautiful, flawed, real human beings who seek nothing more than to have a voice, to give and receive love, and to make life as good as it can be.

This is one film which fully deserves its place in movie theaters and in DVD collections.