MovieChat Forums > Brother to Brother (2004) Discussion > Brother To Brother

Brother To Brother

posted 20 years ago by davispirit
9 replies | jump to latest

I saw this film at the San Francisco International Film Festival and all I can say is that its brilliant. Its well written, directed and acted. Those giving negative reviews couldn't have seen the same film that I saw. Rich in heart and intelligence, Rodney Evans’s first fiction feature pays homage to art, intellectual ancestry and the strength to persevere in the face of social injustice. Both an artistic and political achievement, Brother to Brother offers a rare glimpse of what it means to be a black, gay artist today as well as during the Harlem Renaissance, and marks Evans as a brave and unique voice in American cinema. Perry Williams is a talented young artist working and studying in New York. Art world success is knocking at his door, but Perry is afraid of selling out to a white privileged world. At the same time, community and family support is elusive as he endures homophobic barbs from his black classmates, rejection by his father, and a disappointingly fetishistic relationship with his handsome white lover. Then Perry meets Bruce Nugent, a living relic, who was a poet and painter of the Harlem Renaissance, along with Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Wallace Thurman. Surreal narrative turns land him in the middle of scandalous parties and dinners in 1930s Harlem, and Perry learns that his struggle is not new and what is most important is a strong self-image and a commitment to preserve truth and nurture his artistic spirit. The film is being screen at various film festivals. So check out the gay and lesbian film festivals in your city.

[–] SurrenderToto 19 years ago

It was screened at our film center's first "Out at the Movies" film fest this week. I second davispirt's review. It is a wonderful film, complex and engaging in its historical, literary, artistic, political (racial and sexual) and cinematic goals. A tad melodramatic and fantastical, but why not to incorporate such a big agenda?

We had a great Q&A with Rodney Evans, the director, afterwards, and then a reception where we could talk and ask futher questions. He is GREAT. We wished him luck on his new projects. Hopefully in the future we will see a movie about jazz musicians which also goes back and forth in time.

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.-- Mark Twain

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] SurrenderToto 19 years ago

Preston -

From your complaints, I get the overall impression that Rodney Evans' agenda and yours are not one in the same. Instead of saying he should have done something like so-and-so, etc., I appreciate that he's developing his own style, making social points and developing interesting characters. A movie starring Mr. big-star Will Smith and big-movie values is not going to be the same as a movie by new director Rodney Evans, trying (and succeeding, I feel) at making a few of his own unique points, and starring a fairly talented, but granted less sparkling cast.

There is no one way to be black or gay, and these characterizations seemed very authentic in their own right. I was mainly impressed by the self-doubt of Perry, the main character--in his lack of confidence in his identity (black and gay), especially as contrasted by his buddy. For instance, they both seemed so uptight about their blackness so that Perry's affair with the white guy loomed in their minds as an ovewhelming race issue and not a relationship issue.

Now, can you explain to us ignoramuses what code switching is and the places where you thought it should have been employed.

[Rest]

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.-- Mark Twain

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] SurrenderToto 19 years ago

Preston - No need to be so sensitive about language. We all have agendas. Yours comes from your individual life's experiences and expectations, as does mine. Your focus on the gay relationship, more so than mine, was valuable in bringing out what might be seen as deficiencies there. Heaven knows, "unequal" relationships (e.g., between races, classes, ages groups, ethnic groups. etc.) have extra dimensions that go beyond the human-to-human aspect, so it depends on how the writer wants to portray them. In the case of Perry and Jim, I saw the focus more on age peers, intellectual peers, as well as gay peers. To be mostly concerned with the racial or gay aspects (especially if you have personal experience in this area, as I don't) would skew your perception on this issue.

Anyway, I think "self-hatred" is too strong a term, or even the wrong term here for anyone. I think its more a sense of group preservation that explains the denigration of gays or other non-majority sexual orientation. Afterall, if one has an identity in a gender group (or any other group, as for example, a biracial, multi-ethnic or multi-religious person), then there are pressures to conform that naturally engender conflict. Which is what I think this movie did a pretty good job of bringing out. Also, the young folks in this movie were at a time of life when almost everyone is searching for and defining their identities. Therefore it's fair to have different readings of what the important and linking threads were.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] SurrenderToto 19 years ago

Preston - Yes indeed, first films are usually not masterpieces. Many of us were probably awed by his bravery in tackling controversial subject matter and having the creative insight to do it so imaginatively. Unquestionably, as a movie (acting, screenplay, direction, etc.) the movie was rough in places for me, too. But I was forgiving because of the honesty and truth of what he was trying to get at. I would take this movie over a slick, guady nothing like "Sin City," no questions asked. For instance, I just saw, "Me and You and Everyone We Know," which could have been done as a puppet show or a comic for all the director's relative lack of technique (Miranda July). However, she too was very brave with her ideas and I DO recommend the film with that caveat.

Enjoy your movie watching and see you on other boards!

[–] SurrenderToto 19 years ago

Also forgot to address the meaning of "brother to brother."

I interpreted this on multiple levels, all of them man to man, as this is a movie about male relationships. Father to son (Perry). Substitute father (Bruce) to son (Perry). Artist to artist. Male lover to male lover (also intellectual peers). Black brother to black brother. And regarding where the black gay male to black gay male relationship was, well that was implied as coming next in his life in the break-up scene.

The movie was a snapshot of a young man, black and gay, in his late teens, learning to find himself, not only in relationships, but also as an artist. And that includes interracial relationships, homophobia (including at home and within the black community) and looking back for direction within the gay-artist-black community on how to go forward in today's brave new world.

[–] gqtaste 18 years ago

Black homophobes?