The Brother from Another Planet (1984) User Reviews

A beautiful movie

[Klaatu-18 · 8/10 · 30 September 2003]

When Rod Serling created the classic "Twilight Zone" TV show, he presented it as a harmless fantasy/SF show when it was actually a series of morality plays.

In this film you have John Sayles' take on the same concept. He talks a standard SF cliche -- the stranded ET -- and uses it as the jumping-off place for a story about something altogether different. He doesn't appear at the end, like Serling, and tell you what the moral or message was.

Rather than talk about all that (art appreciation and interpretation is pretty much a subjective affair), I would like to say a word or two about the performance of Mr. Joe Morton as the eponymous character:

Zowie!

The Brother is totally mute. And yet Morton's performance knocks the poop out of any piece of acting you could name. Human and humane, empathetic and sympathetic. This guy will have you laughing and crying right along with him.

An incredible performance. Well worth the price of the rental, and the popcorn, and the gas that you burned up picking it up and...

Odd, quiet and very watchable.

[davedee4 · 8/10 · 14 February 2008]

This is a very strange film to watch, but easy to do so despite the fact that the plot is only added to near the end of the film with the men in black. It's no masterpiece at all, not even on a low budget standard, but one thing that brings above a lot of other films is a great performance by Joe Morton as The Brother, not an easy role to do, but his mute performance is pulled off so charismatically, that we can't help but be drawn into to The Brother's adventures. The film is at times very witty, very clever and very charming. John Sayles (writer/director) did well at adding in just enough subtle comedy. Most of the way through, the film is not really a science fiction film, it just happens to contain an alien. If I were to hazard a guess at how Sayles came up with the idea of The Brother From Another Planet, I would assume he started with the idea of; what if everything was kind of new and unfamiliar to you, as if you were born again, he probably started with that and worked from there to form this delightful film. One down side is the ending, because; as I mentioned before, 80% of the film is not really science fiction like, but the ending is very much science fiction, but it doesn't spoil the picture too much.

I give this gem a firm 8/10.

The Brother From Another Planet

[cultfilmfan · 8/10 · 18 March 2005]

The Brother From Another Planet, is about an African American alien who crash lands on Earth in Harlem, in New York City. The brother does not speak English (or any language at all) but he can understand others and soon makes friends at a local bar and gets a job fixing things. He also gets a place to stay, lodging with a single mother. Many things on Earth seem unusual to the brother and he encounters many unusual people and situations. Soon we also find out about two men in black who are after the brother and want to get rid of him. He also shows his many alien talents during the film. Winner of The Caixa de Catalunya Award for Best Actor (Joe Morton, who plays the brother) and Best Screenplay (John Sayles, who also directed and edited the film) at The Catalonian International Film Festival. The Brother From Another Planet, has good direction, a good script, a good performance by Joe Morton, as well as a good supporting cast, good original music, good cinematography and good film editing. The Brother From Another Planet, takes a little while to get into but gives us an entertaining story, a likable main character and likable side characters, interesting situations and the script is filled with good dialogue, good character development, is full of smart satire and unusual characters and lots of unique situations and plot twists. The film is quite enjoyable and entertaining and is deliciously different. I enjoyed this film quite a bit and it is a nice clever sci-fi/comedy.

An Unusual Cult Classic

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 22 April 2015]

A mute alien (Joe Morton) with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.

If this film had been made five years earlier, it might have fallen into the blaxploitation trap. But, luckily, this is not the case because it is above and beyond blaxploitation and in many ways far more clever. Rather than dwell on race, it just sort of accepts it.

There is the theme of immigration, though it is not heavy-handed and the viewer can choose to see this as a parable or not. They can choose to see it as science fiction or not. (Obviously it is, but it is light.) There is plenty of room for a viewer to imprint his or her own thoughts on to the story and make it their own.

Bonus: Fisher Stevens shows up.

Strange and unique quiet drama...

[dwpollar · 7/10 · 6 June 2007]

1st watched 6/6/2007 - 7 out of 10(Dir-John Sayles): Strange and unique quiet drama about a man who lands on earth as an escapee from another planet where he was apparently a slave. Joe Morton, as this brother from the other planet has no dialogue but effectively portrays a true illegal alien. He really is a frail being who just wants to do good and be needed. He is being hunted by what appears to be his owners but he affects everyone he comes across in such a positive way that they get behind him 100% and keep these thugs from getting him. He eventually earns his money by fixing things with his otherworldly powers(once he realizes that stealing isn't right) and even gets to the point of hunting down a drug dealer in Harlem who has caused the demise of a young one in the neighborhood. This character is probably the most likable alien that has ever been put on the screen(next to maybe E.T.) and it's definitely a departure from most films. The low production value is certainly evident but the character and the storyline keeps you interested and rooting for this unlikely hero from another planet. These were the type of quiet independent movies that were made in the 80's when it was truly "seen" that the budget was low, but the makers only cared about creating a worthwhile project and John Sayles definitely did that with this one. This 80's relic is not to be missed by a true cinemaphile or anyone who wants to see the benefits of good deeds even if it's coming from someone with feet a little different than ours.

A fantastic, multi-layered sci-fi parable...

[davidals · 10/10 · 25 September 2003]

*Minor spoilers*

It's great to see this odd and remarkable film finally getting a worthwhile DVD release. BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET is among the few John Sayles films I've seen, and watching it again makes me want to check out what else I might have missed.

Blending sly topical humor with science fiction, BROTHER FROM... superficially resembles ALPHAVILLE or MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH as it explores various themes: assimilation, perception and identity; and technology and control; along with less abstract but equally serious issues like drug abuse and urban despair. This fantastic film is notable for its' dry humor and complex observation of urban problems, and is also notable for Joe Morton's astonishing, expressive performance in a mute role, which - though helped by Morton's theatrical training and his overall attractiveness - still has to be seen to be believed.

Crash landing his tiny space ship in Harlem, our silent hero tries to make sense of his surroundings, moving from fear and puzzlement to relative comfort. Because of his dark skin, certain assumptions are instantly made of him, even as his silence gives no one anything to hang a stereotype on. It quickly becomes apparent that 'he ain't from around here.' The edgy humor turns on this (pay attention for great spoof quotes from TERMINATOR and TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE/BLAZING SADDLES) - not so p.c. at the surface, but still broad-minded and intelligently observational, with an intriguing viewpoint - that of a very disoriented immigrant dropped into the American subculture he's expected to most easily fit into. Simultaneously, his quiet and graceful manner of dealing with the world around him implies an unquestionable conviction that every human ought to be considered with some kind of respect and dignity, even as day-to-day realities might necessarily modify this ideal (another of the key themes here).

A short subplot involving a nightclub singer touches vaguely upon Harlem's celebrated past, making apparent Sayles' belief in the contemporary value of history, and his awareness of the importance of context even in a fantastical story. Likewise, a second subplot - though a tad clumsy - deals with Harlem's more recent history - a struggle to survive and preserve identity through an avalanche of drugs, potential violence and despair.

As a runaway slave from another world, themes of technology, surveillance and control (shown in the eyeball/flashback scenes, and the great capture scene near the end) are also introduced, even as Sayles' references African-American history at unexpected moments throughout ("My people built this country. Ever heard of South Carolina?...") - implying to a degree that technology can easily be manipulated to make slaves of us all, or at least that technology hold the potential to divorce us from our history.

With all of the varied themes and subplots, BROTHER FROM... could've easily become overloaded or didactic, but Sayles' loose stylishness and light touch as a director (along with the skill of the cast) makes it all work well, even with a very modest budget and a tight shooting schedule. The cinematography throughout is remarkable - lots of long takes, with characters woven into the fabric of everyday life. The pacing is slow and methodical (Sayles is always very meticulous in developing plot and characters), but never dull.

This is a great film - below a hip and ironic surface, the covert intellect and graceful sweetness of this film links its' numerous themes into a seamless and unique fantasy/parable. This cult classic from the mid-80s deserved a wider audience at the time, and still does - I strongly recommend it.

Intelligent, Heartfelt & Beautiful - It's Not What You'd Expect

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 12 November 2016]

A very intelligent and heartwarming movie. Sure it has it's comical moments but I could hardly laugh because I kept feeling sorry for the mute alien - he had no idea what was happening sometimes but he does learn fast. The movie is funny yet sad at the same time.

Example of what I mean by funny yet sad: He's hungry and grabs a pear to eat, the store clerk gets upset grabs the pear from him and fusses at him, she then waits on a customer, the aliens see that money was handed to the cashier for pears, so the alien ends up opening the cash register to get money to give to the cashier for some pears. Of course she thinks he was stealing and all he tried to do was to give her money for pears. That's funny but it's also very sad to me... he was hungry and but didn't have a clue about money.

During the whole course of the film, my heart kept going out to our mute alien. Sure I got some giggle from the movie but I kept feeling sorry for him - like I wanted to grab him and teach him things from our planet and to protect him. LOL.

This is a good movie with some comical moments, some very sad moments and, I guess you can say, a lesson to teach us about our own society (from immigration to drugs).

7/10

Great Cult Film.

[film_aficionado · 10/10 · 22 March 2004]

This is one of the best and most underrated movies I have ever seen. This is a brilliant black comedy with great social commentary on racism and classism. I loved it the first time I saw it, and it held up when I bought it on DVD. This is definitely worth the time it takes to watch it, and you will find yourself quoting the movie later. The "Beer . . . on the Rocks" quote is my personal favorite, but the card trick is a close second. Have fun with this little known, early John Sayles Masterpiece.

Saw somethin' strange, watch your back, 'cause you never quite know where the M.I.B.s is at.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 10 April 2013]

A mute, three-toed, super-sensory humanoid (a fine performance from Joe Morton) arrives on Earth, appropriately landing near Ellis Island and taking up residence in Harlem, where his African American appearance helps him to blend in with the locals. The inquisitive alien sets about exploring his strange new environment, absorbing the unique sights and sounds of '80s New York with the help of his otherworldly sense of touch and his removable eyeball, but his journey of discovery is interrupted when he finds himself being hunted by two mysterious men in black...

Although writer/director/star John Sayles' strongly suggests that Morton's character is an escaped slave and makes references to class divide, racism and America's history of slavery, he ensures that The Brother From Another Planet doesn't ram a moralistic or political message down the viewer's throat, focusing instead on examining the human condition though the use of interesting characters, quirky dialogue and intriguing situations. The film is all the better for it—a somewhat bizarre but fun sci-fi adventure on the surface, but one that can be dissected, examined and discussed on a deeper level if so desired.

Remarkable given time, budget it was shot with

[TheMrLee · 5/10 · 23 November 1998]

Considering Sayles shot this as a pick-up piece to give himself something to do while waiting for financing of "Matewan," this is a remarkable film. It doesn't have the production values or amazingly well-crafted writing I've come to expect from Sayles, but it is still interesting and amusing.

Typical Sayles

[k4man123 · 9/10 · 18 February 2007]

What I love about Sayles is that he never forgets that first and foremost, movies should tell stories.

This one is a real gem in the rough. It has the irreverence and SciFi conventions of Barry Sonnenfeld's MIB but with social commentary instead of a budget. Also, instead of merely clever comments on NYC life, Sayles shows his characteristic political side by highlighting little tableaux of real life. Slipping in the Harriet Tubman subplot was pure Sayles.

I especially loved his usage of music and the chemistry of the barroom regulars. That fight with the MIB was a hoot! Sayles, a Corman vet, knows that special effects shouldn't be used for the sake of having them.

a different turn for John Sayles

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 18 October 2006]

In what may have been John Sayles's most Hollywood-style movie - and I use that description loosely - an alien slave (Joe Morton) lands in Harlem and tries to escape two bounty hunters (the director and David Strathairn) from his planet. In the process, even though he can't talk, he starts fixing video-games (unintentionally, natch). It just goes to show that you don't need an exorbitant budget to make a good movie about extraterrestrial life. Maybe not Sayles's all-time masterpiece, but worth seeing, partly as a look at people's everyday lives. I'd recommend it.

Make all the white people disappear. Yeah...

The Brother from Another Planet

[jboothmillard · 4/10 · 4 February 2011]

It was someone else who wanted to watch it more than I did, having seen Alan Davies mention it on Q.I., but the description I read certainly sounded interesting, so I watched as well. Basically The Brother (Terminator 2: Judgement Day's Joe Morton) is an alien from outer space who lands in the upper harbour of New York City, he is an escaped slave who looks just like any normal black man, in rags like a tramp. Also, he is unable to talk, so ending up in Harlem (which feels like the lower side) he makes some friends in a bar owner and some of the regulars. But they also discover his secret power, from his hands he creates a ray of light, and this enables him to fix anything put in front of him, such as wounds, televisions, arcade machines, and fruit machines. So while the mute hero makes money doing this "mending" job and empathises people with his inability to talk, he is unaware that two bounty hunters from his home planet have come to Earth to take him back. There is also some story where he takes his eye out to show drug dealers in action and have someone do something about it, and by the end he has I guess accepted his new environment. Also starring Daryl Edwards as Fly, Steve James as Odell, Leonard Jackson as Smokey, Bill Cobbs as Walter, Maggie Renzi as Noreen, Tom Wright as Sam, Renn Woods as Bernice and Reggie Rock Bythewood as Rickey. Morton makes his character that never utters one word likable, he makes everyone around him feel good, the healing power moments are like something out of E.T., and this is supposedly meant to show realistic situations put in front of this alien, if it had some more spice added it would be a good watch, but it's a pretty average science-fiction satire. Okay!

Interesting but not successful

[preppy-3 · 6/10 · 1 December 2007]

An alien from outer space (Joe Morton) crash lands in NY. He looks like a black man, is totally mute and can fix machines and heal wounds with his bare hands. He's taken in by the citizens of Harlem who grow to like him...but he's being followed by two men in black (John Sayles and David Stratham) who want to bring him back to outer space.

An interesting change of pace for director/writer and editor John Sayles...but it doesn't really work. I caught this in 1984 at an art cinema and was pretty unimpressed. My thoughts haven't really changed much. There's no real plot...just Morton wandering around and meeting all these odd but always friendly people. The dialogue is great and Morton is excellent (that's why I'm giving it a 6) but the rest of the acting is pretty bad (except for Sayles and Stratham) and nothing really happens. It just sort of lays there. It also leads to a real ambiguous ending which could be interpreted a number of different ways. Still, this was the kind of independent film that came out in the 1980s and 90s before Hollywood took them over. For that alone this is interesting to watch. It has been beautifully restored by the Anarchists Covention (???) and UCLA. It looks better now than it did in 1984!

great concept, interesting start but ...

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 12 January 2015]

An alien (Joe Morton) lands in NYC. At first, he's outwardly a black man missing a leg. He's mute, has the ability to heal, fix machines, takes out his eye, reads minds and super athletic. He grows a leg. He befriends a group at a local bar in a black neighborhood. He is being pursued by two mysterious Man in Black (David Strathairn, John Sayles).

It's a really interesting concept to do a low budget indie of a friendly alien finding his way in a minority neighborhood of a modern city. It starts well but it meanders and rambles. I want it to do something and it would be great to have the brother learn to speak. There are some nice scenes early on like the Korean grocery store but the movie fades. Instead of accelerating into the climax, it devolves into silliness.

Went in for a blackspoitation movie, got a gem of a film

[siderite · 8/10 · 22 October 2012]

With a ridiculous title as this, I thought the movie would be about alien black people high-fiving each other. Maybe something akin to Blackula or Black Dynamite. Boy, was I wrong. You can see something is off with expectations like these when you see the cast. None of the actors are high rollers in Hollywood, but you know most of them for their work throughout, as support characters.

Joe Morton is the main character in the movie, along an African American cast that is too long to list here, but I know most of them. John Sayles, the director, is one of the "immigration agents", while the other is David Strathairn. You've got Fisher Stevens and Giancarlo Esposito in small roles. It just goes on and on. Of course, in 1984 they were not known actors, but they proved in time that they are good ones.

The plot is simple, an alien running on Earth from two enforcers, but the script is filled with complexity, tackling in a subtle way things like racism, social status, societal satire. And they are part of the story, while this quiet (Joe Morton doesn't say a word all movie) timid alien is discovering Earth with its good and bad points, starting from Harlem.

Bottom line: highly underrated film, it is low budget, but it has class. I am not surprised it has become a cult classic and I am glad I had the chance to see it. And it's free! You can watch it online royalty free.

This is The World, and youze beez alien

[batzi8m1 · 9 November 1999]

So aliens can be black and illegal. Some can regrow toes and fix computer games by passing their hands over them.

This is really a movie about illegal aliens controversy in the USA, Brothers that can't understand bro-speak and the assumptions this society makes about who people are by the way they look. As someone who grew up in a furrin country but can fake being a Merkin, I've always gotten a kick out of such presumptions. I highly recommend this movie to any furrners confused about the attitudes of certain Merkins. To fully appreciate this movie you have to know that among US soldiers stationed overseas, the US is "The World" and anything outside it's borders is another planet that may or may not exist in reality. So when a Merkin calls a furrner "alien" they really do think of them as something akin to the visitors at Roswell.

Great Ahnold "Ahhl be bahk" reference by the alien bounty hunters in the trench coats.

One of my favorite movies of all time.

Manifestations of science fiction and the modern world of mutable slavery

[mojojobob · 7/10 · 4 April 2006]

John Sayles film, The Brother From Another Planet, uses the arhcetypes of science fiction to examine the stunted evolution of history. His story stands as a character study of a alien slave who crash lands in earth's culture epic center of New York City. Through this window into the life of the ultimate foreigner Sayles analyzes the social barriers that segregate people culturally, these divisions stand as an allegory for slavery, paralleling the nature of history, positing that it does not repeat itself so much as it evolves into different manifestations. The starting point begins with "the brother" character running from intergalactic slave traders while assimilating into the American lifestyle (an attempt to start his new life and blend into the society around him), along his way he observes the supporting cast of everyday characters and learns that several societal institutions (immigration, the drug game, sex) are mutated tools of civil control. Sayles is interested in the construction and roots of these devices, the primary barrier between human rational and animal instinct, and begs the question, is it within are makeup as human beings to fear/control the differences between people or are we predisposed as animals to exercise a Darwinian ideology of the strong dominating the weak? From his film it seems to that he believes that latter, that although we can rationally say "people are people" we can not morally explain social injustices and that there is an automated response of "dog eat dog" that restricts history from changing. While Sayles is strong in his assertions, the end of his film leaves the audience with a resolution that the subservient can only offer survive in their convictions, the just will be rewarded in their brotherhood and imperial control is fleeting/incapable to separate the plight of the many.

Great film

[TuesdayNight · 10/10 · 5 December 2003]

I love this film! Lots of laughs, lots of humanity. It's awesome that such an unknown cast can deliver such a great performance. The guys in the bar are hysterical. Every scene is a gem, but the card trick on the subway is one of my all time favorites. Go rent this movie today. 10 out of 10.

One Very Unusual Immigrant, To Say The Least!

[ferbs54 · 7/10 · 25 October 2007]

Although many unusual immigrants have passed through the gates of Ellis Island, none perhaps has been more so than the one who crashlands his spaceship in NY Harbor and fetches up on that storied entryway in John Sayles' "The Brother From Another Planet" (1984). The nameless black Brother looks a lot like other illegal aliens--except for his taloned, three-toed feet, of course--and although mute, does have some compensating abilities. He can fix mechanical devices such as video games and TVs with a mere touch, like some kind of techno pinball wizard, and heal a child's booboos with a laying on of hands. He can also get vibes from objects by touching them, can regrow a limb overnight, and can pop an eyeball out of his head to plant like a secret spying device. Anyway, this charming and often very funny film shows us what happens when this Brother winds up in Harlem and meets an assortment of neighborhood characters--barflies, a single mother, a lounge singer, a social worker, junkies--and tries to do something about the heroin scourge afflicting the city, all while being pursued by a pair of Men In Black-type bounty hunters. This sweet movie makes some poignant observations about Harlem in the mid-'80s, and Joe Morton, seven years pre-"T2," uses all the nonverbal tricks of the actor's trade to make us see through the Brother's eye(s). His is a fascinating character, so I was a bit disappointed that we never get to learn anything about his background, or why he is on the run. Sayles tells us in an interview that his film cost only $400 K to make, but even without elaborate FX, it works just fine. And I just loved the reference to my favorite movie, 1948's "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," that Sayles manages to work into his script. One other thing: Watch this film with the DVD's English subtitles on; you'll need them for a lot of the background talk, not to mention that Rasta guy!

You Can Achieve Much With Silence

[view_and_review · 5/10 · 19 July 2019]

A Black man lands in New York from another planet. He has problems right away because he can't speak and presumably doesn't understand the language. He learns to understand English really quickly plus he has the ability to fix things with a touch. With just his quiet charm and healing hands he pretty much goes on an adventure.

What was the point of the movie?

Stay quiet.

It has to be. I've never seen a Black man accomplish so much in such a short time while not opening his mouth. He found a place to stay, got a job, (for whatever reason) used drugs, found a woman, had a one night stand, stole a car, found the big dog in a drug ring-- all within a week perhaps-- and all without saying one word!

I'd like to say that the movie was uplifting or inspirational but it wasn't. It ended as abruptly as it began and even though we saw a lot of "the brother" he didn't communicate much in his silence. We learned that he could fix things, he was a slave, he liked women, and he hated drugs. I'm only saying he liked women and hated drugs based upon the fact he successfully pursued a woman to bed her and he successfully pursued a drug dealer to harm him. It's not like he verbalized his likes and dislikes. It's not even like his facial expressions conveyed much of his likes or dislikes.

This was very much a small budget film but that's not an issue. As much as I'd like to like the movie I couldn't get into it.

Now Here Is Something Different!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 17 February 2008]

Can you say "different?" Have often do you see a movie in which the lead character never utters one word?

That's the case here, a unique story of an alien who crashes near Harlem, a famous black neighborhood in New York City. The alien is a black man, so he fits in despite not being able to speak! He's just looked upon as another "brother," as the title indicates.

Two aliens come after him - white guys, naturally. In the Liberal world of films, white people are bad and black people are good 99 percent of the time.....at least when there is a contrast between the two. Writer-director John Sayles is a prime example of this type of racist thinking. But he wrote a fun film here, I have to give him that.

Even though some of the scenes make absolutely no sense, it's an entertaining movie start- to-finish. Joe Morton plays the sympathetic alien with three toes and strange nails. You have to root for him because he's portrayed as such an innocent, harmless creature.

The best part of the film is the humor, some subtle, some not-so-subtle. The guys in the neighborhood bar where the alien hangs out brought the biggest laughs.

I find this a lot of fun to watch every three or four years.

The somewhat original premise deserves acknowledgement despite the low budget

[jordondave-28085 · 6/10 · 18 April 2023]

(1984) The Brother From Another Planet SCIENCE-FICTION DRAMA

Written and directed by John Sayles, in which the term "brother" as the movie is called, is in reference to the character played by Joe Morton, since it is what many of the people call him as a result of him crashing into earth and roaming around NYC Harlem. He is in fact an alien from outer space with zero explanation why he landed there in the first place, or why he happened to look like an African American. Except that there are strange people who are after him for unexplained reasons unknown.

I would have loved to have seen what independent director John Sayles would have done with this had he had a bigger budget.

Not bad!

[RodrigAndrisan · 7/10 · 27 April 2024]

Very easy role for Joe Morton, mute role, he didn't have to learn any lines, just nod his head from time to time and point with his thumb as if he's coming from somewhere above in the sky, when he's asked where he's from. The movie is not bad, it's pleasant to watch, although not much happens. I wanted to laugh, I tried but I couldn't. The first film made by John Sayles that I saw. He is also an actor, playing one of the two tall men dressed in black who are looking for Joe Morton's character all over New York. Although I didn't manage to laugh, I admit, there are several funny scenes, someone else could laugh copiously.

The second best Science Fiction movie ever.

[gam3 · 10/10 · 13 June 2000]

The only Science fiction movie that is better than this is ``The Day the Earth Stood Still''. This is just a great movie. This is a thinking mans movie. If you want Star Wars this is not for you. As with all the best Science Fiction this is a movie about human kind in the present and not alien life-forms in some distant future.