SON FRÈRE (HIS BROTHER)
Directed by: Patrice Chéreau.
Produced by: Pierre Chevalier.
Written by: Anne-Louise Trividic & Patrice Chéreau, based on the novel by Philippe Besson.
Director of Photography: Eric Gautier.
Edited by: François Gédigier.
Released by: Strand Releasing.
Language: French with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: France. 95 min. Not Rated.
With: Bruno Todeschini, Eric Caravaca & Fred Ulysse.
DVD Features: None.

Son Frère is a naturalistic and surprisingly restrained story of two brothers coming together when one of them is dying. Luc (Eric Caravaca) is gay, and because of this, the two siblings have broken off contact with each other years earlier. Only when Thomas (Bruno Todeschini) learns of his illness does he renew their relationship. Both of them have lived wounded lives due to their estrangement, and they can only grapple blindly for some form of resolution as Thomas becomes increasing ill.

In a story that so easily could have been fodder for melodrama, the two leads give nuanced and believable performances. There are no screams of haunted pain or long scenes of back and forth shouting easily resolved by a mutual kiss and cry. Instead, both actors convey their wounded psyches with their defeated, yet expressive faces. The entire film, in fact, was shot in a way that feels very much like a documentary, with a heavy reliance on natural lighting and constant use of handheld cameras. The film's major flaw, however, is that it provides little detail about their lives growing up, or about their falling out. While the plot’s plodding nature was most probably chosen for its realism, the film suffers from the characters' lack of any specific kind of development. Nonetheless, many of the scenes between the two are mesmerizing. Even if their characters' journeys seem somewhat haphazard at times, the performances make this film worth viewing. Michael Fisher
August 13, 2004