BROTHERS SHOWS THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF THE AFGHAN WAR ON A FAMILY
Several recent films have tried to tell filmviewers of the horrors of war, either on the battlefield itself, or after soldiers return home. One such film, a 2005 Danish independent film Brǿdre has been reborn as Brothers, directed by Political Film Society awardwinner Jim Sheridan. Brothers, which connects the dots between both elements, was released only a few days before President Barack Obama committed more troops to Afghanistan. Just before Captain Sam Cahill (played by Tobey Maguire) is to be sent back to Afghanistan, he picks up his misbehaving brother Tommy (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), who is released from a prison term for assaulting someone. Although Tommy tries to reintegrate with his family at a farewell dinner for Sam, his father Hank (played by Sam Shepard) berates him and others needle him to the point where Tommy hits the table. Soon, Sam says goodbye to his family, including his spouse Grace (played by Natalie Portman) and his two preteen daughters Elsie (played by Mare Winningham) and Isabelle (played by Bailee Madison). After arriving in Afghanistan (filming is in New Mexico), his helicopter is shot down and crashes in a lake. The Marines are unable to find survivors, so two Marines knock on Grace’s door with the bad news, similar to the task handled in The Messenger (2009). Tommy then consoles Grace, ultimately leading to a kiss, and makes a big hit with Sam’s daughters. Meanwhile, Sam is not dead. He is captured and placed in underground detention by the Taliban along with Private Joe Willis (played by Patrick Pflueger) until they are sold to a propaganda unit that has one aim—making a video in which an American says what he is told to say (Americans should get out of Afghanistan). Torture is applied to get the result from Willis, and Sam is ordered to kill Willis, also on camera. Soon thereafter, Sam is rescued in an offensive that also destroys the camera. Sam returns home a shattered man, especially after Tommy brings to the dinner table his new girlfriend, Willis’s widow Cassie (Carey Milligan). Hank admits that his harshness toward his two sons can be traced to his own combat experience in Vietnam. How that plays out is similar to Stop Loss (2008) but with a very different ending. The Political Film Society has nominated Brothers as best film on the vices of war and virtues of peaceful conflict resolution. MH