Deux frères

DISCLAIMER: This is my first movie review, so please excuse me, if it is not written well, including the fact that my English is not good.

I just finished viewing "Two Brothers". Honestly, I've never expected anymore to see a movie of that class.

What do I mean?

These days there are so much new movies, which is so wonderful, because so many people now have the chance to express themselves and do a movie, but not many of them know how to do it. There are people, who do know and there are people, which do have talent.

I still remember, when I saw "The Bear". Not much, but I do remember it really got me with it. Years ago, there were really movies, that had what to offer to the spectator. I still prefer more, the commercial movies, but do miss the real good cinema.

And so, few days back I was just watching around the rent-a-video club, when I saw the title. At first, though it is yet another action movie, until I saw the front cover. These days, adventure movies are rare. The director's name immediately grabbed my attention and really threw me thinking. Jean-Jacques Annaud did another adventure? I did not read the text on the cover, just was thinking to myself... These tigers really reminded me of "The Bear"... Was it a little nostalgia?

Whatever it was, it is wonderful. I do not remember myself enjoying so much, for a long time. The movie is appropriate for most ages, with good plot. Very slight mixture of this specific old-school fragrance and modern computer graphic effects. It is so precisely mixed, that at the beginning You will never realize is it real, You are watching or computer-made.

In fact, the movie, I think I may say so, is sort of a masterpiece, but since I am not very competent of the technical details, will not discuss them, except mentioning just in brief.

Wonderful graphics, exotic views, well mixed sound, good music, great story, interesting point of views... remarkable.

A thing to notice here, is that it did not made me remember just of "The Bear". Actually in the beginning I was thinking of "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes". Annaud spend big amount of time, exploring the relationships of the tigers, the tigers and the people, the people, the people and tigers. There are some very precisely dosed moments, showing the two tigers in perspectives, You would really love to explore. I just love the way he did it!

You will never realize how these 109 minutes will pass around You, so better stop reading this and go see it!

Have a good time!

Am rarely moved to comment on what others say here, but Sarah from Canada's mindless and cynical response to TWO BROTHERS can't go unchallenged. Though far from perfect, I found this movie to be exceptionally entertaining on all accounts. Sarah claims there's no story, no characters, no moral ... on and on. Well, what she says is a complete crock: there is a story: it's about the two tiger brothers who are taken from their jungle home. The two main characters are not human, and I guess the fact that they don't have dialogue presented quite an obstacle for Sarah because she doesn't seem to have followed their story and its moral/ethical significance. Since the movie plays out like a fairy tale, realism here is not the point, hence the broad human characterizations. Rather, the most successful parts of the film allows us to view the world from the animals' eyes, and in doing so we experience their feelings, memories, and needs. I found this to be entertaining and at times quite moving. The film makers ennoble these tiger characters with such power and respect, I find it utterly mystifying that anyone could miss this as being the major point of the film. Please do not let negative comments like the ones from Sarah keep you from watching this terrific movie.

Jean-Jacques Annaud's films always showcases animals doing extremely amazing things, which is why they are so enjoyable. While this is a film better seen by children of certain age group, it's not a Disney product, and parents should be aware of that fact. Some comments in this IMDb forum criticize the film makers for what they perceive was a marketing ploy that targeted the movie to small children. Perhaps the people that promoted the film are to be blamed for that, or maybe Mr. Annaud was targeting the film for a more mature audience.

"Two Brothers" is a story about two tigers that are separated at a young stage of their lives, while their parents are killed by people that loved to engage in this type of hunting. The two little cubs are about the best in the film as one see them getting in all kinds of adventures in the first part of the film.

The story behind the animals serves the film as it provides an accessible background as it illustrates the inter action between humans and animals. Guy Pearce and Freddie Highmore are seen in the film as Aidan and Raoul. Freddie Highmore is a child actor with an expressive face that shows a child of great intelligence without any trace of ego.

As Mr. Annaud proved with "The Bear", he has a good eye for involving the animals in his stories about them with surprising results.

Two brothers is a uniquely great movie. Although some may criticize it for the depiction of cruelty to animals, the movie is not advocating cruelty or teaching kids wrong lessons. You begin to love the tigers from the very first second you see them on screen, and your heart breaks every time something happens to them. The movie isn't an insult to our species, it tells us and shows us how we have wronged nature in the past, and promotes us to fix our past transgressions. By seeing the cute (EXTREMELY cute) tigers harassed on screen, kids will definitely develop a passion for the conservation of wildlife and will develop a general humaneness towards other creatures. Although some scenes are disturbing and could scare children, the movie does a good job of keeping them interested, worried, and warmed in the end. Even though Guy Pearce delivers another sub-par performance, adults are not the stars of the film. This movie will definitely play with your emotions, and some may not be able to handle it, but be assured, the movie may leave you spent, but it'll leave you blissful. I enjoyed every second, from the warmth of the playing tigers cubs to the stabbing pain when any of them got hurt. I spent the credits with tears running down my face. If you are in touch with yourself, this movie will not disappoint.

I actually don't know if I would take kids to see this film. Both I and my bf found it very difficult to watch all the hunting and killing scenes. While the film does not show any direct shots of lives being taken, it's very implicit and the movie does show carcasses and furs afterwards. I loved the story of the tiger "family" (even though I'm not so sure how realistic this is), but I honestly considered walking out of the theater due to the violence portrayed. That said, I think this film is VERY difficult for animal lovers (particularly those against hunting) to watch. Also, I think I would have appreciated a simple one line introduction regarding time and setting (unless I missed this or it was cut out of the EU version). I only knew it was set in Cambodia after reading the plot summary and I assume it was circa 1920-30's based on the costumes. Some background would have given the film a little more context in my opinion (Why were the French in Cambodia, and what was the this road they were trying to build?)