Brother

I was deeply moved by this movie, certainly the most powerful in the Trilogy. I especially like the way Elliot treats the subject of disease as though it were a character trait. The timing between the narration and claymation is very effective. Watching this tragicomedy a second time, I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. Most claymation movies are light-hearted and silly. I never thought claymation could be used to spark such intense emotion but I guess it's the artist behind the medium who should truly be commended.

This a simple story told in narration by a brother, who describes growing up and his odd family. It is both humorous and tragic. Most of all, it was captivating and very touching. It's very quiet, and you have to give it your full attention.

The narrator describes everyone in his family, all of whom are shown in claymation form. Most of the shots are fairly quick and they are stills. There is very little movement in this, just one "snapshot" after another. Everyone is odd mainly because of some physical affliction, so the humor is dark. The claymation figures are "cute" and add much-needed lightness to a story that, basically, is fairly dark, especially at the end. Actually, the claymation figures are more than cute: they're fantastic. You'll laugh and marvel at each figure, from the poor brother and his weird eyeglasses, to the boys' pet lizard.

Overall, this is different; it's excellent and it will keep you riveted to the screen, wondering what odd tidbit you'll hear next about this family.

This is one of a trilogy done by the writer-director Adam Elliot. I haven't seen the other two but if they are anywhere near as good as this, I look forward to seeing them.

Adam Elliot's childhood was certainly shrouded in darkness, his entire family seems to have been prone to some misfortune, and yet, in all of this darkness, Elliot is able to find plenty of absurdity, humour, and heart. 'Brother' is the third installment in his autobiographical trilogy. A deadpan narrator tells us of his brother and recounts scattered events and memories and details over the course of seven strange, engaging, and emotional minutes. Bordering on tears, I finished this short film. The ending is greatly disquieting, while the majority of the film, while extremely dark and even morbid in parts, is rather humourous (it's definitely the most consistently funny of the trilogy, though the other two parts are filled with plenty of humour as well). Such an ending gives this film even further strength than it already had, and what is left unsaid is really where its power lies.

This is a very strange short film that is also very captivating. Oddly, however, when this film was shown on cable TV, it was called "Uncle" but this is NOT the correct title, but "Brother". Uncle was another video by the same director--part of a trilogy made up of UNCLE, COUSIN and BROTHER.

The film is a strange journey through claymation into the world of the narrator as he talks about his childhood. All the family is introduced, but the bulk of this film focuses on the narrator's odd brother. This brother had a lazy eye, was an asthmatic and was a very strange kid--most of which made me laugh--especially when the claymation animation was so cute and enlivened the narration. However, at the end, a poignant moment occurs--making this a very sad tale indeed.

While there have been many claymation films before AND many which had better animation, rarely was I as touched or laughed as much as I did here. I particularly liked the rather dead-pan narration and the incredible weirdness of the animation. A sweet little film--it got me looking for COUSIN and UNCLE so I could complete the trilogy.