Starring: Anthony Mackie, Larry Gilliard Jr., Duane Boutte, Daniel Sunjata, Alex Burns Directed By: Rodney Evans Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen Label: WOLFE VIDEO Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: June 14, 2005 Running Time: 90 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Description: Critically-acclaimed drama that invokes the glory days of the Harlem Renaissance. As an elderly man, poet Bruce Nugent meets a young black gay artist struggling to find his voice and together they embark on a surreal narrative journey through his inspiring past.
excellent historical gay drama excellent drama dealing with the black harlem renaissance, with a gay perspective. the actors and directing is convincing.taking place during the harlem renaissance and the present the young black man in this film learns that the past and present are very much the same.
A Thought-Provoking, Well-Acted Movie It's unfortunate this movie is not more well-known. I rented it a few years ago and immediately had to own it. I liked that it was a well-written, acted and directed piece about a sector of American society that is either ignored or pushed to the background. The mainstream gay community embraces it's black drag queens, so-called DL thugs and snap dragons, but seems to draw a blank when dealing with the everyday black gay man. It's refreshing to see the intelligence, beauty and grace of these men on celluloid.
Fascinating Portrait of Two Cultures I was completely captivated by this low-key indie about Perry Williams, a gay black college student navigating his various relationships and forging his own identity as an artist, an African-American, a homosexual and a man. After being thrown out by his parents, landing his first group show and embarking on a doomed sexual relationship with a (straight, white) friend, he meets Richard Bruce Nugent, a destitute elderly man who turns out to have been a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's. Nugent's fascinating story is told in B&W flashback sequences juxtaposed against the various tribulations faced by Perry in the present day. Beautifully acted (particularly Roger Robinson's Nugent) and sensitively written. Refreshing to find a film that gives equal time to two different minority groups, highlighting the similarities in the issues they face. Plus, Anthony Mackie's doe-eyed Perry is utterly radiant.
Courageous and honest Watched too many campy gay movies that lack any substance? Want something that tells you about homosexual experience without either a) telling you something you've already gone through, or b) interjecting with bunch of fruity fantasy that'll never happen (but you put it in your amazon.com wish list anyways).
Brother to Brother gives positive energy. I didn't expect much from it. In fact, initially I avoided it because I thought I didn't watch a movie that not only target specifically "gay", but also "black." As if we need more labels.
I am not African American, but I still can relate to the experience. That's the genius of this film. It's universal enough, honest enough, people who has an open-mind can feel what those characters in the movie went through.
The main character had some relationship problem, but it's not the cliche and over-played "I feel pity for myself" ending. He in fact, got into a platonic relationship with a fatherly figure who guided him into something beautiful. He learned his gay history.
It's positive and educational. It shows love isn't skin-deep. It's deeper than that.
Bringing the Harlem Renaissance to Life "Brother to Brother" is a poetic film about a gay African-American man,Perry (Anthony Mackie) struggling with his talent as well as homophobia and racism. Perry is an artist in search of his Muse. He has a troubled relationship with his white lover,and there is the issue of mutual exploitation. Perry meets up with Bruce Nugent (Roger Robinson),a writer who lived during the Harlem Renaissance. Nugent gives Perry a historical perspective to the issues of homophobia and racism. In flashbacks, gay poet James Baldwin debates with Malcolm X on whether gay African-American men are truly masculine; there is the shining oasis of the Harlem Renaissance embodied in Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston,and Wallace Thurman. This is an unusual way of handling the subject,but it works. Sometimes,it comes off as contrived, but it's an interesting way of setting up the love story.
Bruce Nugent was a real person. He was a gay African-American author whose short story "Jade,Lilies and Smoke" was in the short-lived journal Fire!! The romance between Nugent and Perry comes across as RPS (Real Person Slash) fiction. However,it is done in an artistic way. In the end,Nugent and Perry consummate their passion. It is not depicted graphically,but as two colorful paintings of the lovers surrounded by flowers and candles,as if it were a shrine. Nugent passes away shortly after,giving the encounter a bittersweet quality.
"Brother to Brother" has a talented ensemble cast. It's well-done. Occasionally preachy,it addresses thorny issues and is worth watching.
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