Brother to Brother Movie Review 2004

Ambitious debut effort ties the personal plight of a modern African-American painter to the artistic turmoil of the Harlem Renaissance. Perry (Mackie) is thrown out of his house once his father discovers that he is homosexual. Embittered, Perry rails against the anti-gay hostility within the black community and his college classrooms. After he meets a homeless man, Bruce Nugent (Robinson), in a local shelter, Perry realizes that Bruce was once a noted poet during the Harlem Renaissance. We then flash back to the 1930s to witness Bruce interacting with such luminaries as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. Evans effectively shows how issues of politics and sexuality transcend time, but the film lapses into didacticism once too often.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Available on DVD
Running time 94 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Harlem, Urban Drama, Gays, African America, Struggling Artists, Homeless, Coming of Age

Screenplay

Rodney Evans

Cast

Anthony Mackie, Roger Robinson, Larry (Lawrence) Gilliard, Aunjanue Ellis, Duane Boutte, Daniel Sunjata, Alex Burns

Cinematography

Harlan Bosmajian

Director

Rodney Evans

Music

Marc Anthony Thompson, Bill Coleman

Other

Joshua Anderson, Sabine Hoffman, Claire Falkenberg, Sarah Beers, Ernestor Solo

Producer

Jim McKay, Aimee Schoof, Isen Robbins