FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
SON FRÈRE (HIS BROTHER)
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
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