Son frère
France,
2003, 95 min
Shown in 2003
CREDITS
- dir
-
Patrice Chéreau
- scr
-
Patrice Chéreau, Anne-Louise Trividic
- cam
-
Eric Gautier
- editor
-
François Gédigier
- cast
-
Bruno Todeschini, Eric Caravaca, Maurice Garrel
- source
-
Flach Pyramide International, 5, rue de Chevalier de Saint-George, Paris 75008, France. FAX: 33-1-40-20-05-51. EMAIL: pricher@flach-pyramide.com.
- premiere
-
North American Premiere
OTHER
Patrice Chéreau, one of the world’s greatest theater and opera directors, has also mastered the film medium. His eighth feature in 30 years, His Brother confirms his accomplishment as a cinema artist, and won the Best Director Prize at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival. This intimate film reveals an ascetic style, a sobriety, even an austerity, that gives priority to the actors and the complexity of human relationships. During a summer on the seaside, in the house where he spent his childhood, Thomas is waiting for his death. At any moment, the smallest injury may threaten his life—he is unable to stop bleeding. His younger brother Eric, with whom he always had a difficult relationship—or, more accurately, no relationship at all—kindles a close bond with him. Long flashbacks to the previous winter, when Thomas was being treated at the hospital, make us feel the agony of a decaying body. His Brother, in its relentless and uncompromising portrayal of a coming death, is closer to Maurice Pialat’s Mouth Agape than to the aesthetic experience of Bergman’s Cries and Whispers. Shot in four weeks with a small camera, His Brother confirms the maturity of an artist in complete control of his craft.
—Michel Ciment
FACTOID #177
In 2000 animator Faith Hubley was the recipient of the Persistence of Vision Award. One year later, her daughter Emily appeared at the Festival with her bandmates, Yo La Tengo, to perform a score accompanying the silent underwater films of Jean Painlevé.
