The Brother from Another Planet

19841984
14A14A
1h 48min

A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.

6.8/10

5.9K

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination

The Brother is an alien who has crash-landed on Earth, in New York City. While mute, strongly empathic, and able to fix things, he resembles a Black man with strange feet. His attempt to make a place for himself in Harlem is an allegory for the immigrant experience in the United States. Meanwhile, two bounty hunters from the Brother's home planet arrive and try to capture him. —Reid Gagle

astronomical object in title humanoid alien alien new york city slave 43 more

Taglines
- Welcome to a world of crude beauty... of danger and excitement... of wonders, legend, and imagination... Welcome to Harlem, Brother.
Genres
- Comedy
- Sci-Fi
Certificate
- 14A
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
The entrance and exit scenes of the Men in Black's first appearance in the bar were filmed entirely in reverse with the camera upside down, according to director John Sayles' commentary on the restored print. The two men started on the bar stools, then backed out of the room for the entrance; while the exit was filmed with the two outside the bar and backing into it, including David Strathairn replacing the cookies in the cookie bowl.

Goofs
After Little Earl takes off his band-aid, and The Brother heals his knee, the band-aid reappears where his cut was.

Quotes
Bernice: What you want for dinner?
Odell: You mean, what do I *want*, or what do I want that you can *cook*?
Bernice: Well, in that case, where are you taking me?
Odell: Yeah, what do you want to have?
Bernice: You mean, what do I *want*, or what do I want that you can *afford*?

Connections
Featured in The Schlocky Horror Picture Show: Brother from Another Planet (1984) (2011)

Soundtracks
Homeboy
Sung by Joe Morton
By Mason Daring and John Sayles
Sweet Melodies Publishing/ASCAP

Top review

8/10

A beautiful movie

When Rod Serling created the classic "Twilight Zone" TV show, he presented it as a harmless fantasy/SF show when it was actually a series of morality plays.

In this film you have John Sayles' take on the same concept. He talks a standard SF cliche -- the stranded ET -- and uses it as the jumping-off place for a story about something altogether different. He doesn't appear at the end, like Serling, and tell you what the moral or message was.

Rather than talk about all that (art appreciation and interpretation is pretty much a subjective affair), I would like to say a word or two about the performance of Mr. Joe Morton as the eponymous character:

Zowie!

The Brother is totally mute. And yet Morton's performance knocks the poop out of any piece of acting you could name. Human and humane, empathetic and sympathetic. This guy will have you laughing and crying right along with him.

An incredible performance. Well worth the price of the rental, and the popcorn, and the gas that you burned up picking it up and...

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