Takeshi Kitano's Brother is a powerful, unpredictable and at times beautiful film about gangster warfare, the strictness and honour of the Yakuza, but above all, it is a film about friendship. I'm not too sure really where I should start on this film, but what I found so startling and enthralling (apart from the extreme violence) was the way in which each character, expecially those of Aniki (Takeshi) and Denny (Epps), was depicted; Aniki as fiercely loyal and occasionally psychotic, yet mostly restrained, quiet and polite, with an engaging sense of humour, and Denny, who embodies a certain kind of innocense and honesty, as well as oppenness and trust, which allows the friendship between he and Aniki to develop. The performance of Omar Epps as Denny is really excellent, especially during the final scene of the movie, where we really feel the extent to which these two characters have bonded, even though they barely speak the same language or share any cultural similarities. However, the top honours must surely go to Kitano. With his portrayal of Aniki, he brings this element of unpredictability to the film: one minute Aniki is just the seemingly mild-mannered, man of few words, the next, he explodes with ferious violence. His stellar direction also embodies a certain unpredictable quality, and I was impressed by the seemingly effortless way in which he transferred between the painfully violent action sequences with the beautifully staged sequences of friendship between Denny and Aniki, handling each scene with care and sensitivity. Just so I don't keep on rambling, I'll finish off now. But there's so much more one could say about this film. Especially about the final scene, which is a real stunner. The music is beautiful as well.
Review of Brother
