This Weekend’s Film Festival Celebrates Brotherly Love

The strange bond between brothers is the theme of This Weekend's Film Festival. The five films selected range from epic war to pulp thriller to melancholy character piece to whimsical comedy to powerful drama. They're all recent films, one of which is one of the premiere films of 2008. Some of the brothers are close (in one case very close) and others have grown apart. But in all the films, despite differences, there is a connection that is undeniable.

To begin, we have an epic war tale from South Korea. TAE GUK GI: THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR follows the affects of battle on the relationship between two brothers. When the Korean War breaks out, both Jin-tae and Jin-seok are drafted. The eldest Jin-tae does everything in his power to protect his little brother, even signing up for suicide missions in an effort to win his brother a ticket home. However, the glory and the gore of battle change Jin-tae, who loses the real reason he fought in the first place. As I said in my original review, "The key metaphor of two brothers in a war where Koreans are killing Koreans is not lost but never beaten into the audience." This powerful drama can be intimate and epic at the same time. Director Je-gyu Kang combines the frantic action-style of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN with the claustrophobic feel of PLATOON. Dong-Kun Jang as Jin-tae and Bin Won as Jin-seok give gripping performances, creating a truly memorable bond between brothers who eventually need to save each other.

FOUR BROTHERS kicks off the Saturday doubleheader with a bang. This pulpy thriller brings together four adopted brothers as they investigate the murder of their adopted mother. Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin), Angel (Tyrese Gibson) and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) couldn't be more different, but their experiences growing up together under the care of the kind hearted foster mother Evelyn (Fionnula Flanagan) have created a connection that couldn't be closer even if they were blood related. Director John Singleton presents a murder mystery that has its plot twists and turns, but is grounded in its characters and how they relate. Bobby's short temper and impulsiveness fuels just as many problems as it solves. While these characters are types, "the four actors present a rough and tough brotherly relationship with great ease," to quote my original review. Moreover, Singleton makes the story around them ironically cool. This raw thriller makes the bond between brothers epic pitting the central characters against weaselly and evil villains in a showdown fueled by the love of their mother.

Closing Saturday is TWIN FALLS IDAHO, which tells the sad story of two conjoined twins. As I said in my original review, "There’s little plot to the film — it mostly centers around the developing relationship between the three main characters." Blake and Francis Falls are connected at the stomach. Blake (Mark Polish) has a strong heart and is keeping his brother Francis (Michael Polish) alive. They have checked into the seedy Idaho Hotel and hired a prostitute named Penny (Michele Hicks). It's their birthday. Directed by Michael Polish, the story delves into the quiet and hidden world of the two brothers who have developed a habit of whispering in each other's ear, considering their heads are only inches apart. Blake knows that Francis is dying and that his brother's death might kill him as well, but it's the potential loneliness if he survives that scares him most. This unique brotherly relationship is closer than most, because of their physical proximity, but also because they have shared nearly all the same experiences and understand each other. In developing the melancholy relationship between the brothers, the tale peeks into the sad life of Penny and why she came to prostitution. In the budding relationship with Penny, the brothers find a bit of normality, which is a fresh reminder that they are not the freaks that society has made them feel they are.

Starting the Sunday lineup is THE DARJEELING LIMITED. Director Wes Anderson has dealt with the bond between friends and between fathers and children in his other films. For this production, Anderson turns his eye toward the bond between brothers. Following the death of their father, Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) haven't talked. After surviving a nasty motorcycle accident, Francis enlists his brothers on a spiritual journey through India. While the trip doesn't turn out as planned, it does end with the initial intended purpose. This character study captures the flawed personalities of its characters well. As I said in my original review, "They fight like brothers, arguing over issues that they must have been arguing over since birth." Francis is controlling, Peter is running from a failed marriage, and Jack is dealing with the end of a bad relationship. All these issues are intensified by the death of their father and the absence of their mother. Set against the exotic backdrop of India, Anderson's quirky tale is filled with wit and whimsy. But in the end, it's the characters that make the trip worth taking.

SHOTGUN STORIES is the closing film and the one that inspired the lineup. One of the premiere films of 2008, this powerful drama pits three brothers against their four half-brothers in a blood feud, fueled by some harsh words said at the funeral of their father. Son (Michael Shannon), Kid (Barlow Jacobs) and Boy (Douglas Ligon) weren't even given proper names by their alcoholic father and hateful mother. Since their father left them, he sobered up and started a stable middleclass life with a new wife and his new children. Son, or Sonny, simmers with resentment. He lives by a strict code of honor, which often blinds him from doing the sensible thing. He his truly loyal to his younger brothers, who he has protected his entire life. First-time director Jeff Nichols lets the tit for tat feud between the two families drive this Greek-like tragedy that seems destined to end bloody. Sonny has an emotionless demeanor, which cannot hide the rage inside. Kid takes after his hotheaded older brother, but wears his emotions more visibly. Boy is a loaf with good intentions. Through laughter and pain, we come to know these brothers who were given nothing from their parents, forced to figure things out the best they could. As I said in my original review, "SHOTGUN STORIES can be as delicate as silk and as powerful as a load of buckshot to the back at the same time." If you watch only one film this July 4th weekend make it this one.

So there you have it — a family themed lineup for the holiday weekend. Please if have a chance to see any of these films, tell me what you think. So head out to the video store, updated the rental queue, check out Zap2It.com for TV listings or help support the site by buying the films at the below links.