De Irmão pra Irmão

Unless I missed something in the screening I saw tonight, we had a college age kid get involved with a man who had to be at least 100 years old.

The premise was a young sensitive black and gay student who's going through his own angst happens to meet up with a survivor from the Harlem Renaissance era of the 1920s. Anthony Mackie as the student and Roger Robinson as the artist/survivor both give fine performances and I was deeply moved. A lot of issues that they talked about are as relevant today as during the 1920s, although God knows a whole lot of history has occurred in the intervening years.

After the film though I started thinking. Roger Robinson looks about 75 in the film, he was born in 1940 which would make him sixty five. But 105 would be a more appropriate age if we're to believe he was hanging out with Langston Hughes, Zora Hurston, etc. back in the day. I'm sure some other people had to realize that as well.

In order to make the film more plausible, the writer and director should have placed the modern story circa 1980. That would have been more believable with the players ages.

Still and all, it's a deeply moving film and one to be seen and treasured.

PS. After writing this review I looked up Richard Bruce Nugent and found that he was born in 1906, died in 1987 and that he died in Hoboken, New Jersey.

We just had an amazing screening of BROTHER TO BROTHER in Minneapolis last night. The response to the film and filmmaker was overwhelmingly positive. Not only did the audience love the film, but the press was also wild about it. Some of the conservative African American newspapers wrote some of the most positive pieces about the film surprisingly. Having such great press created an audience that was extremely mixed in terms of race and gender. During the Q & A with the filmmaker, it became obvious that his film touched on subject matter that had deep meaning for audience members no matter their background.

I'm so happy that this film has been picked up for distribution because it is essential that it's seen by a wider audience. If you have the opportunity to see the film, don't pass it up!

I loved this movie! From the moment it began as we traveled over the East River, I was totally absorbed it this movie. However, be aware that it is quite "erotic" even though it is not explicit. I saw the film in Manhattan early in the afternoon. There were quite a few "Thug" types in the audience, I guess because it is a predominatly "black" movie. To my surprise, they sat through the entire movie, erotic scenes and all. I think this makes a statement. Perhaps the "thug" scene is just a facade and this movie gets to the heart of what many men, including Black men feel. This movie has wonderful performances from everyone. It's ashamed that it is not in wider release. Congratulations to Anthony MacKie for taking on this role.

BROTHER TO BROTHER is a first step in the right direction for Black gay film. Until now, all we've seen are campy, flamboyant caricatures, or deceitful, bisexual Black men destroying their families.

Anthony Mackie, I felt handled this role with great pride and dignity. I believe he captured the mindset of a young, angst ridden, creative, same gender loving soul. I'm actually considering renting SHE HATE ME when it comes out just to see his performance!

The one thing that bothered me (and I guess I'll have to rectify this when I write my films)) is the continued desire to show interracial coupling. Sure, it happens, but can we see some 'brother to brother' love once in awhile?

Overall, the film more than satisfied me. I have been in the habit, lately, of only going to see the mega-blockbuster films, but I'm glad I finally had a reason to get back to independent film. Finally, I'm seeing a part of me.

Brother to Brother was not the film that I thought I would see -- which I gladly welcomed. The film is promoted as being about gay artists in the Harlem

Renaissance. This is only a small portion of this story -- specifically seen

through the eyes of one character.

The film features the friendship of two artists from different eras. Both are black men, gay and self-confident. The script brilliantly weaves a narrative that

illustrates the personal and political struggles that each man addresses in the past and present. Most of the story is free of hackneyed predictable plot twists. Complex issues regarding interracial relationships and objectification are

introduced in a very delicate manner -- great food for thought. Characters such as the two leads are rarely seen in film -- commercial or indie. The

performances by the entire cast is very strong, particularly by the actor

portraying Bruce Nugent. Having been one of the few who saw Spike Lee's

"She Hate Me," I was pleasantly surprised to see Anthony Mackie in the lead

role also providing a very strong performance.

One pet-peave that was distracting: cinematography. Many scenes are shot out

of focus -- not good, particularly in a somewhat dramatic scene with Langston Hughes and the younger Bruce. Even with a shoestring budget, there is no

excuse for showing sloppy work. Aside from this minor flaw in the film, I found extremely refreshing and worth discussing.