Brother's Keeper

Once in a while I find a documentary film that I can really sink my teeth into. Brother's Keeper is one of those films. Produced and directed by Joe Burlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, this film documents the murder accusation and trial of Delbert Ward. Ward had been accused of the mercy killing of his older brother and roommate who lived in a shack with him and his other two brothers.

The film sheds light onto a small segment of society in central New York state. The brothers worked a farm and lived in the poorest of conditions. None of them were educated and were mainly illiterate. The defense of Delbert would focus on the possible coercion of a confession and Delbert's illiteracy would be at issue. Other factors would include a number of forensic details that were disagreed upon amongst professionals.

Part of the amazing nature of the film is the sudden upwelling of support for Delbert and his brothers from the small farming community he lived in. Despite being seen as outsiders the Ward brothers gained the financial and moral support of a community who didn't believe that one of these men could kill their brother.

The success of this documentary comes from several things. The editing is the first major piece since it makes this documentary flow well. Secondly, the interviews with the people on both sides adds to the credibility. The District Attorney and the defense attorney are both interviewed as well as people from all over the town. The trial footage also gives a great look at the testimony of medical experts.

Finally, the three brothers were all interviewed. Their interviews add weight to the innocence claims of Delbert. It's also amazing to see the interaction they have in their dilapidated farmhouse where they're cut off from the world.

I would suggest this film for anyone. The film is a unique look at the justice system, small community life, and illiteracy. I would give this 3.2 out of 5 stars.

I didn't think I was going to like this and I was very afraid that the Ward brothers and their rural lifestyle would be made fun of or otherwise trashed, but this was so thoughtful and careful in its examination. The political motivations of some of the real-life people: the cops, the medical examiner, the prosecutor, were a great foil for the (some would think surprisingly) open- minded townspeople and the hardworking defense attorney. Loved the story and really felt for the brothers and the townspeople. Though I work in Boston now, I've lived and worked in rural areas just like this, and maybe that's part of the deal for me.

This film was not made to be entertaining, as far as I can tell. That is not an indictment of the film; it is an indictment of the biggest reason people go to see films.

As I watched this film, I was transported into another place. I presume that place is where the filmmakers wanted me to go. It was not a "fun" or "exciting" place. It was simply a place where I could be and feel otherwise than I am and do right now.

I live within bicycle riding distance of the location of the events in this film, yet I got closer than I ever will to them through the craftsmanship of the filmmakers.

The music, the imagery, and the way the story was presented combined to provide me with a notable experience. This story is now part of me.

Thanks to the filmmakers.

It's very sad to look at the Ward Boys, a trio of brothers whose simple world is brought out into the national spotlight in 1991 when one of their brothers is found dead in the morning, and one of the brothers, Delbert (who shared the bed with Bill, the dead brother), is accused of murdering/ euthanizing him. To watch them is to see a segment of the country that gets little attention, but is made king of quaintly riveting in this context. We basically see all the different characters of the town go about their daily lives (including the brothers) while the backdrop of the murder trial casts a pall over their lives. It's funny to see people who would have never normally talked to these outcast bumpkins now embrace them as if they were relatives. And the old Ward Boys, all in their 50s and 60s, don't seem too affected by it all until the trial.

This is a really enthralling watch and it gives an insider's view into a community and a world that many of us never get to see. Some of the townspeople are really fun to just listen to, and the police make themselves look pompous and suspect, which is one of the great achievements of this film... it makes us relate to people who are unlike most of us and rally around them against those most like ourselves.

This incursion into the private lives of rural people that turn public by exposition in the media had an eerie effect on me. It was a subjective reaction to a real story that has nothing sinister about it, but I was deeply distressed and somehow frightened by the realization of how some people still live isolated from the world, and in unhealthy conditions, while at the same time being in touch with a community that finds them eccentric but is ignorant of their dysfunctionality. The disturbing story of the four Ward brothers, farmers who lived like hermits in a shack until old age, is material for a Gothic novel or a psychological thriller. When one brother dies in 1990, and his younger brother Delbert is arrested for murder, the "Munnsville horror" begins, manipulated by the media while the community defends the accused. For their opera prima, directors Berlinger and Sinofsky spent more than a year with the case. The result was highly rewarding.