Opinions from 'non-danes'

i am not from denmark and many danish films make it into my list of favourites. i couldn't say for all my fellow countrymen (slovenia), but i have many friends who think the same. i think dogma95 was one of the best things that happened to european film industry. well, von trier is totally his own class anyway, definitely one of my top three directors ever, and apart from his films i saw many dainsh ones that i liked. festen is a masterpiece, same goes for brothers. i was also impressed by mifune, skagerrak, it's all about love ... and i guess there's more but i can't remember them right now. in general, i prefer european films to hollywood. i don't care if i don't understand the languages, at least i hear what they sound like every once in a while.
in short, yes, danish films are great.

This one perhaps didn't get very wide release. Maybe they thought the material was too difficult or controversial, or maybe simply those who would enjoy such movies are less inclined generally to use imdb.com?? For myself the picture is simple in structure and contains all the necessary danish recognizable backdrops of home, nature, kids, ikea furniture, dark blue skies, trees in winter etc. that distract me with nostalgia and longing from the more important content, and dark emotional issues... hollywood drama is obviously the worst thing on earth. danish drama can be good. i'm used to the language enough to judge how it would appear differently if it were my first language (but the language in current danish films seems more and more colloquial and quick, compared to let's say films of dreyer. i can tell a modern danish film by the use of more narrative restraint and more technical / visual competence in the filmmaking, a dark sense of humor, and of course somewhere a scene with candles/fireplace (hygge)- is this a 'national' cinema? some of those elements also appear in swedish movies too. but the lightness of the structure, the sense of intimacy of the film, the apparent lack of pretention and cliche, the emphasis on humanity, are all comparatively favorable elements in danish films such as this over against "hollywood" ones.

We saw BROTHERS yesterday & we both agree it's one of the very best, most powerful & most timely films we've seen in the past year (= 12 months). We rate it "Highly Recommended" on our website (FILMS FOR TWO), & my husband gives it his "Top Pick" designation for May. We plan to tell everyone we know to try & see it!

'nuff said?

Jan & Rich

nilobo -

As far as the U.S. goes, first of all the theatre distribution for foreign films here is limited to larger metropolitan, higher-income and higher-educated areas of the country. Foreign films here are sub-titled, and that limits your audience as well, as most people will not watch a film they have to read. This film is now making the rounds of the theatres (video and DVD will evenutally widen this audience), so you're now getting a very select group of people seeing this movie. Additionally, most people who visit and comment on IMDb are in the younger age range and tend not to be interested in introspective, dark dramas. They tend to go for flash, bang, happiness, jokes, romance and recognizable movie stars (like they do everywhere).

As for this movie, it had a lot of merit in terms of subject matter; i.e., in dealing with the realities of a military life and the inherent danger to body and soul in risky missions and perhaps doubtful wars. However, what this film illuminated more for me was a "disfunctional" family (as we are wont to say here these days). And what made it so ultimately disturbing was that the family couldn't seem to recognize or do anything about its problems. What I'm talking about are 1- inconsequential and inept parenting (two generations); 2- spoiled, rude children; and 3- selfish adults. The only responsible adult in the movie is Michael, the Major (Ulrich Thomsen) and he comes apart, yes because he has committed an atrocity to save his life, but more so because his sacrifice is so at odds with the privledged, padded life of his family back home. Who are the adults here? Who will grow up and understand complexity? Does the director understand he has made me frustrated with his focus on crying, outbursts and lack of thought?

7/10

I saw Brothers a couple of days ago at the Jacksonville (Florida) Film Festival. The film was the audience award winner. A great film is a great film no matter what country it is from and if this is an example of what Danish film makers are doing I want to see a lot more.

I'm an American who lives in a semi-rural area with little opportunity to see many foreign movies, but Video/DVD has allowed me to see MANY more than I would have otherwise.

I'm a movie NUT, don't mind sub-titles as long as they're GOOD. I've seen a lot that don't seem to have much to do with the way people are asting. Best example was a Chinese movie where the character went on for some time and the sub was a simple "No sir".

I'm getting ready to see this one, looking forward to it.

Mind you, I'm 50 and enjoy Black & White movies, so I am NOT the typical American consumer (although I enjoy a good shoot-em-up popcorn movie too). Most of the foreigns I see are Asian. Heck, it's sometimes hard to get British movies, let alone Danish. I have always wondered why the Pay movie channels like HBO or Showtime don't have a channel dedicated to non-American movies. I'd sign up in a heartbeat!

I'm a recently retired 61 year old Californian and I've seen more movies in the last year or two than in my entire previous life. I just got back from seeing Brothers and I thought it was a very, very good movie.

I don't mind subtitles and I've found that most of the movies that I like are non-Hollywood. During My Year+ of Living Dangerously (in the theater) I've seen ~120 movies. Examples of my favorite foreign films are: City of God (Brazilian), Maria Full of Grace (Bolivian), Walk on Water (Israeli), Bride and Prejudice (Bollywood), Downfall (German), Chorus (French), Dot the I (British), Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (British), Layer Cake (British), and now Brothers. Hollywood movies that I rate this highly are Friday Night Lights, Sideways, Phanthom of the Opera, Merchant of Venus, Million Dollar Baby, and Dust to Glory.

Hollywood seems to put everything into categories like mindless action films, inaccurate histories, Cops-are-the-crooks-the-crooks-are-victims crime movies, and just plain silly comedies.

Brothers took on the subject of inner guilt and played it straight without trying to make cheap points for or against the war in Afganistan. The acting was superb and I felt that the characters were very real. I was choked up at the end and I expect that I'll be thinking about this movie for a long time. I can't remember seeing any other Danish films but I'll be on the lookout for more.

There was a good sized crowd in the theatre here in North Carolina, USA when we went to see Brothers a few days ago. This was one of the best movies we have seen in months. I highly recommend it to people who are interested in "grown up" cinema.
Cheers
Gracie