Brothers (film)
Encyclopedia
Brothers is a 2004 Danish
drama film
directed by Susanne Bier
and written by Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen
. It stars Nikolaj Lie Kaas
, Connie Nielsen and Ulrich Thomsen
.
The film was remade as an American
production with the same title (2009), directed by Jim Sheridan
.
operation in Afghanistan
for three months. His first mission there is to find a young radar
technician who had been separated from his squad some days earlier. While on the search, his helicopter
is shot down and he is taken as a prisoner of war
, but is reported dead to the family.
His wife Sarah (Nielsen) and younger brother Jannik (Kaas) both deeply mourn him, and that brings them closer together. They kiss once, but pass it off as the grief and do not pursue the relationship.
Meanwhile, both the officer and a young technician are locked up in a warehouse, kept without food or water. After Michael shows them how to arm and disarm an anti-aircraft missile, his captors decide the technician is no longer useful and have Michael bludgeon him to death with a lead pipe in order to save his own life. Eventually he is rescued and brought back to Denmark. The guilt of what he did forces him to lie and provide false hope that the technician may still be alive.
Michael becomes unstable, spiraling down into a pit of guilt and rage, and begins to threaten and abuse his wife and tear the house apart. It finally becomes necessary for the police to intervene. Michael overreacts, pointing a policeman's pistol at the officers. With Michael in custody, Jannik helps Sarah to begin the repairs to the house.
In the car, Sarah passes a sign reading "Statsfængslet" (National Prison). Her visit to Michael in prison finally forces him to admit the truth about Afghanistan.
in co-production with companies in the United Kingdom
, Sweden
and Norway
. It received support from the Danish Film Institute
, Swedish Film Institute
and Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond. It was primarily shot on location in Copenhagen
, Denmark; Almería
, Spain
, was used for the Afghanistan locales.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Susanne Bier
Susanne Bier
Susanne Bier is a Danish film director best known for her feature films Brothers, After the Wedding and the Academy-Award-winning In a Better World.-Life and work:Susanne Bier was born to Jewish parents in Copenhagen, Denmark...
and written by Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen
Anders Thomas Jensen
Anders Thomas Jensen is a Danish screenwriter and film director.Jensen won the Oscar for his 1998 film Election Night...
. It stars Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Nikolaj Lie Kaas is a prominent Danish actor whose career rose in the 1990s and who is still actively working today. He is also the host of the annual Zulu Comedy Galla on Danish TV....
, Connie Nielsen and Ulrich Thomsen
Ulrich Thomsen
Ulrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
.
The film was remade as an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
production with the same title (2009), directed by Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
.
Plot
A Danish officer, Michael (Thomsen), is sent away to the International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
operation in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
for three months. His first mission there is to find a young radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
technician who had been separated from his squad some days earlier. While on the search, his helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
is shot down and he is taken as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, but is reported dead to the family.
His wife Sarah (Nielsen) and younger brother Jannik (Kaas) both deeply mourn him, and that brings them closer together. They kiss once, but pass it off as the grief and do not pursue the relationship.
Meanwhile, both the officer and a young technician are locked up in a warehouse, kept without food or water. After Michael shows them how to arm and disarm an anti-aircraft missile, his captors decide the technician is no longer useful and have Michael bludgeon him to death with a lead pipe in order to save his own life. Eventually he is rescued and brought back to Denmark. The guilt of what he did forces him to lie and provide false hope that the technician may still be alive.
Michael becomes unstable, spiraling down into a pit of guilt and rage, and begins to threaten and abuse his wife and tear the house apart. It finally becomes necessary for the police to intervene. Michael overreacts, pointing a policeman's pistol at the officers. With Michael in custody, Jannik helps Sarah to begin the repairs to the house.
In the car, Sarah passes a sign reading "Statsfængslet" (National Prison). Her visit to Michael in prison finally forces him to admit the truth about Afghanistan.
Cast
- Connie Nielsen as Sarah
- Ulrich ThomsenUlrich ThomsenUlrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
as Michael - Nikolaj Lie KaasNikolaj Lie KaasNikolaj Lie Kaas is a prominent Danish actor whose career rose in the 1990s and who is still actively working today. He is also the host of the annual Zulu Comedy Galla on Danish TV....
as Jannik - Sarah Juel Werner as Natalia (daughter)
- Rebecca Løgstrup as Camilla (daughter)
- Bent MejdingBent MejdingBent Mejding is a Danish actor. He won the Robert Award in 1985 and 2007. He is married to the actress Susse Wold.-References:* The Danish film institute....
as Henning - Solbjørg Højfeldt as Else
- Niels Olsen as Allentoft
- Paw Henriksen as Niels Peter
- Lars HjortshøjLars HjortshøjLars Hjortshøj is a Danish stand-up comedian and television and radio host.He has taken part in many Danish shows, including Casper & Mandrilaftalen and in the sit-com Langt fra Las Vegas....
as Preben 2 - Lars RantheLars RantheLars Ranthe is a Danish film and television actor.-Selected filmography :-Selected television work:- External links :...
as Preben 1 - André Babikian as Slobodan
- Lene Maria Christensen as J. Solvej
- Laura Bro as Ditte
- Henrik Koefoed as Bartender
- Tom MannionTom MannionTom Mannion is a British actor.His television credits include Brookside, Up the Garden Path, The Bill, Boon, Cadfael, Doctor Finlay, Doctors, Eleventh Hour, Holby City, Hustle, Life on Mars, Midsomer Murders, New Tricks, Red Cap, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Spatz, Taggart, The Agatha Christie...
as Captain David Ward
Production
The film was produced by ZentropaZentropa
Europa is a film directed by Lars von Trier. Released in 1991, it is von Trier's third theatrical feature film and is the final film in the Europa trilogy....
in co-production with companies in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It received support from the Danish Film Institute
Danish Film Institute
The Danish Film Institute is the national Danish agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest....
, Swedish Film Institute
Swedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the Filmhuset building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm...
and Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond. It was primarily shot on location in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark; Almería
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, was used for the Afghanistan locales.