Brothers of War (2015)

Instant Favorite.

Absolutely Fantastic

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Not actually a war film: a few minutes of improbable action. German troops are shown as shooting captured British soldiers - whatever crimes they committed elsewhere, this simply didn't happen.The real failure is the characters, all of them truly repellent. Flashes between different times, which is OK, but really nothing entertaining was happening in any of them.Must have been scripted by someone who's scared of the countryside and decides that it's full of awful people, instead of a mix of all sorts.There's apparently a plot, but really it did not interest me. Skipped most of it, no signs of anything but more dross

Having been involved in around 100 productions myself from no/low budget to Hollywood I can see one thing that everyone involved in this film believed in. While watching this of course I can see a few holes but what films don't. In my humble opinion those holes appear for a number of reasons with financial constraints in my experience can harm a truly outstanding script. What Brothers of War does is make the very best of the creative talent that I can see stretched themselves to the limit. Am sure the days was long and very few people moaned as they all knew what could be achieved when all pulling in the same direction. The results on screen are quite simply astounding and like I said earlier when making a film with very little budget its a miracle everyday to shoot something never mind put out a film which can be seen and in this case be proud of. My hat is tipped to those that inspired the monumental work ethic that all the cast and crew put into the making of Brothers of War and I for one would work with anyone involved on their next productions. Watch this and see what I saw and you will watch in awe at the talent we have in the UK independent film industry and I for one will be watching what they do next. Well done everyone.

Contains Spoilers!Just as my faith in the British Film Industry is beginning to wane, along comes a real gem!'Brothers of War' is a proper war film in that it concentrates on the impact of war and not just on moments of combat - which are actually few and far between in a film which is misleadingly packaged as an action movie.The story kicks off in Cologne with two German brothers discovering secrets of their ancestry in a letter left in their father's will. So begins an unravelling of the past; a journey with loads of twists and turns and a number of horrific incidents as well!On a small English farm back in 1939 two brothers are fighting over the same girl and the parents have made the problem worse by having 'favourites'. The brotherly rivalry finally comes to a head one afternoon when the older one starts to show off by playing Russian Roulette. What actually happens on the farm that afternoon isn't entirely clear until the end of the film, but the incident leaves the gung-ho brother shot and paralysed, and the other (more gentle soul) ready to enlist for battle. The story then follows the fortunes of the two brothers: one who is wheelchair bound, unable to speak and forced to watch his parents slowly destroy themselves, while the younger one runs away from the fighting and starts to work for the French Resistance. Despite a couple of military blunders (I'm sure the aggressive Sergeant Major would have insisted on closer haircuts for all his regiment!), the war scenes are generally well-handled. The massacre of the British soldiers is particularly horrifying, and the torture of the pregnant young French girl by the SD Officers is genuinely shocking!The story is beautifully told and the cinematography is stunning - so is the sound track - although I would have liked a few more moments of silence in some of the scenes.Don't watch this film if you want all-out war action, because you don't get it. What you get instead is a really powerful and convincing story which will leave you both uplifted and drained! Great film! British film-making at its best!

I absolutely loved this film, beautifully crafted and storytelling at it's finest. The director's style to my mind is very reminiscent of the late great David Lean. This would appear to be an independent film with no financial backing from a major studio, but you would never believe that. The acting is spot on throughout and the photography is really stunning. I particularly liked the music as well, at times really moving. If you like films like Atonement or Testament of Youth then you'll really enjoy this. Watched this film with my wife who turned to me as the end credits were scrolling and said "Now, that's a film'. Couldn't agree more.