The Blood of My Brother: A Story of Death in Iraq

This film represents the nightmarish myriad of chaos in Baghdad as it likely seems for so many people living in the occupied cities; a must see! The directors seeming inability to generate a plot-line awkwardly mirrors the dilemma the US now faces there; many people are arguing, most want peace, & some are shooting. For many in the occupied region, this will be the subtitled film which most truly tells their story of fear, of hope and of life. Gritty no-holds-barred footage, the cinematic meat of this film, is necessary to balance rap-infused war films produced in the "MTV" style by various Americans, like Gunner's Palace, also shot in Khadamiya. For a similarly recent, yet more uplifting (slightly) film, watch: My Country,My Country!

Blood of My Brother is about the anguish and need for revenge felt by a young Iraqi man whose brother (Ra'ad) was killed by an American patrol while guarding a Mosque. You are taken into the streets of Iraq and meet the relatives and friends of Ra'ad. They talk about the hard times under Saddam and the hard times with American occupation. You also see another side where the deeply religious people want no more bloodshed for any reason but mostly the suppressed need for revenge. Lots of footage of the grieving and suffering interleaved with calls for peace and calls for revenge from religious leaders. This is not an entertainment film. It is simply a film about the pain, suffering, anger, and loss of a group of Iraqis.

Although Andrew Berends was unable to piece together a compelling storyline from the footage he shot in Iraq, the footage often speaks for itself.

With incredible access into the lives of Iraqi Shiites during six crucial months in 2004, Berends shows scenes of turmoil from a variety of different perspectives -- the grieving family of a young man who was accidentally shot by US troops, an anti-American rally led by Moqtada al-Sadr, American soldiers on patrol, and Mehdi Army insurgents firing on the Americans. Many of the scenes are harrowing. Put together, these scenes don't add up to a comprehensive picture of Iraq that makes any sense, but this problem has plagued nearly all coverage of the Iraq War. The war itself makes very little sense.

Unfortunately, the film focuses too closely on Ibrahim, the younger brother of a slain Iraqi civilian. He's a petulant and unsympathetic figure, and it was probably a mistake to build a full-length feature film around his story. "Blood of My Brother" works best when Berends wades into the chaos of Baghdad's streets and lets the events speak for themselves.

Undoubtedly the most realistic, immersed, counter U.S. point-of-view field recordings from Iraq to date yields a potent but unfulfilled potential for rattling the American cages of apathy that have become our hearts in this unrivaled personal war documentary. While standing simply on it's own documenting attributes, director/cinematographer Andrew Berends does in fact go above and beyond all previous barriers any western films covering the Iraq war posed to involve us in the past five years, and for that alone this is historic film-making. What Berends has done here essentially is put you in the very body of an Iraqi citizen/soldier, as we ride along in a most intimate manner, with the family and friends of one Ra'ad al-Azawi, killed by American bullets in a seemingly unjust manner. With unparalleled access, this filmmaker somehow manages to become one of the family, and sets out to document the rise of a fervent martyrdom-syndrome this all too familiar catalyst sets in motion. Unfortunately, some of the background and casual conversations revolving around it's central character, Ra'ad's younger brother Ibrahim, as translated, vastly undermines the stunning vibrancy of the harrowing action sequences. While admirably attempting to gain rare insight from covering Ibrahim's moral plight, the film clearly hits it's stride after the misleading first third sets up the situation and characters that play in this unshakably real event. Unsurpassed in it's access, Blood of My Brother works even better as a wake up call to our disengaged public then the nightmarish documentation of martyrdom it uncannily provides.

I was a bit worried to partake in this journey... assuming I would be bombarded with an agenda and shock value for the sake of disturbance. But, during and upon reflection, I was extremely impressed with the objective and beautiful (emotionally and visually) portrayal of real lives being affected in Iraq through this engaging and bold documentary. I was not only touched during, but for months after and beyond. It really makes you understand and think intensely about the human element... the people involved, without a screaming agenda. You can't help but relate in a very real way to the characters in this film... through such foreign situations that we'll never be exposed to as comfortable Americans. A clearly quietly courageous, selfless, curious and committed film-maker.