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

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.

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.

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!

While I agree that aspects of this film seem lacking in overall development, this is a major piece of film making. Yes, the younger brother might not be a sympathetic character but the events that took over his life reveal much about human nature. We rarely get a chance to see films like this which are both documentary in nature, but theatrical in the sense of plot or character development. This film puts us right in the middle of a tragic horrible mistake and it is stunning to be this close to the horror of this conflict. The cinematic portraits of many of the participants are sensational. Not to be overlooked is the personal risk that was taken by the film-maker and his team. When was the last time you put your life on the line for something? I loved the opening menu sequence, with it's man on the street p.o.v. and a very contemporary sound track (I played it over at least 5 times before I started the movie) See this film you won't forget it.

This movie was made during a time when an American could still make a movie there. I doubt any movie like it will be made again.

I totally commend the director for taking the risk and making a movie that creates a bridge between Iraqis and we Americans.

I just saw this at our Dubai film festival and the audience had a number of Arabs, including some Iraqis. They gave the director a hard time for what they felt was a one-sided, mostly negative, portrayal of Iraqis. They also criticized him for giving a generally favorable portrayal of the American soldiers. (They did praise him for his accurate portrayal of the religious rituals which they said was rare in cinema.) He countered that he shot what he experienced and tried to remain faithful to that. By the end, the ones that hung around seemed somewhat convinced by this.

But, as an American, I appreciated that he focused on one-story rather than try to give some large-scale sweeping analysis of Iraq, even if that might have been more "balanced."

On the way out of the theater I mentioned the hard time people gave him and he said something interesting... he appreciated the passionate feedback by Arabs, even if negative, much more than the indifference he gets from Americans.

That's so sad! This is a movie that lots of Americans should see -- especially those who supported this war.

PS: I'm giving this movie six stars because, well, it's no Gone with the Wind or Citizen Cane. However, I can honestly say it is the best movie I've seen about a real family in Iraq. Of course it's the only movie I've seen about that. And, for that, this director deserves very high praise, indeed.