Claysaba
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
Paynbob
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Bene Cumb
Western welfare, alienation from success-based society, yearning for order and clarity - those are the benchmarks of the events taking place in Broderskab, where fanning Nazis and feeling same-sex attraction - supposedly excluding - melt into a tense and varied narration full of strong feelings, both good and bad. Well, the script seems realistic, but not so catchy and novel (the beginning and ending are, though), but the whole mood and strong performances (particularly Thure Lindhardt as Lars, David Dencik as Jimmy, Nicolas Bro as Michael/"Tykke") provide the film with suitable depth and versatility. In spite of the fact that the looks of Dencik is not so gay at all.On the other hand, as Danish drama films are so high-class, then, according to me, Broderskab is not among the finest ones. Definitely good and recommended to watch, but not in my respective personal Top10. Thus, "only" 7 points from me. But strong points still...
jm10701
As soon as a movie starts, I start thinking about how I'm going to review it. For the first 40 minutes, I thought I was going to throw this movie in the gutter where it belonged when I reviewed it, because for all that time there's practically nothing but revolting Nazi crap. It's very, very hard to sit through. The first scene is the violent beating of a cruising gay man by a skinhead who had come on to him and told him how beautiful he was before calling out his gang to beat and kick the guy to a pulp (an incident that re-enters the story significantly near the end).After that are long scenes of the ugly Nazis (the men are physically as well as morally ugly) spewing their toxic garbage into my ears where it was not welcome. But then... ah, then... at about the 41-minute mark, Lars and Jimmy start looking at each other in a new way, and EVERYTHING changes. The first 40 minutes of hateful garbage are well worth suffering through to get to that exquisite tenderness and passion.Thure Lindhardt as Lars is a gentle, enormously attractive beauty from his first scene to his last, but the character is pretty flat: steady and strong but not very interesting. David Dencik got the meaty role in Jimmy, and he pulls it off brilliantly. He is completely believable both as the bitter, arrogant, brutal Nazi homophobe and as the sweet, gentle, deeply vulnerable and passionate man who eventually emerges from that hateful shell. If the first third of the movie had not been so revolting, Jimmy's emergence from that horrible world would not have been so marvelous. And it IS marvelous, some of the loveliest acting I have ever seen.Raw, naked, totally defenseless vulnerability is something rarely seen in movies, particularly from male actors. In fact the ONLY previous example that comes to mind is Jane Fonda fairly early in her career - in Klute and even more powerfully earlier in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Fonda, in both those roles, had been beaten down by a cruel system she was helpless against; but Dencik is breaking out - against his own will - from within an even more brutal system in which he has been on top and on which he has been completely dependent for his identity.He discovers that he's just like the guys he's been attacking, and that discovery shatters him. It shatters him, but it finally begins to set him free to be himself for the first time. It's a very great performance that makes an otherwise mediocre movie (deeply offensive when it's not simply unbelievable) well worth watching. The transformation just in his eyes is astonishing. All eight stars are for him.
adamsoch-1
... or was it the other way around? Not in this well written and acted film BROTHERHOOD, where two natural events are not tolerated just because THEY told them so, globalization and honest feelings. The beautiful saying "live and let live" has no meaning for so many in this ever growing and shifting global society or the sadistic skinheads and members of this Danish brotherhood. Gone are the days when countries were separated by well-guarded borders or when you were supposed to be whatever your religion, family or community wanted you to be. It is a lost cause, but THEY still fight it with venom like hate and gruesome violence. At first you are led to believe that the title of the film is referring to the group where a premium membership is difficult to get, but latter you discover the true meaning of brotherhood or betrayed brotherhood. There were moments during the film when I forgot to respire, I forgot where I am or what time it was, finding myself wanting to turn away from the screen for a second hoping to protect myself from the violent blows or the delightfully true moments of beauty and love of the two protagonist. Repressing your feeling is possible only for a short period of time and we all do this on a regular basis, but when it come down to our biological necessity, what we call LOVE, sooner or latter it will erupt, explode, gush out and NOT gently but with dire consequences. Brotherhood is an important film on so many levels for individuals and society in general especially for those living with "stuck in ancient times" mentality. Humankind evolves with lightning speed and "some" people should evolve with it, but unfortunately dogma, personal feelings, opinions are huge obstacles, creating violence and unnecessary hurt. For me this great film has an important message: Let people love and be true to themselves because it has nothing to do with you or the ills of the world and if you oppose this natural feeling, YOU are an obstacle to humanity and the beautiful progression nature created for us to "live life" as it should be lived.
matteopregio
I found this movie to be absolutely stunning in terms of direction and acting. The two lead actors were absolutely great and believable in their performances. The director was great at capturing moments of erotic tension and tenderness between the two leads. In terms of plot and story-writing there are certainly some flaws that could have been better worked out, but I really appreciated the way the theme was approached and developed. The neo nazi ideology was certainly one of the main themes but the director and the writers weren't too judgmental and they let the characters shine regardless of the reasons that brought them to be a part of such a violent and racist community. I certainly advice to watch it, cause it gives a good depiction of a "different" homosexual relationship not framable in the usual stereotypes of gay love. Good job!
