Brothers : a sharing of loneliness and trauma
It’s not that common to see the topic covered in the cinema indissoluble bond that unites two brothers. Especially through traumatic memories such as a mother’s abandonment and the years of survival that followed. The story of Brothers East inspired by the incredible true storyremained secret for a long time, from Michel de Robert and his brother Patrice. The story of the lost children among the thousands of people declared homeless after the Second World War, to whom the film is dedicated. And it is Olivier Casas who plays her brilliantly, a far cry from his first feature film, the comedy Children’s phone (2017).
The director made the wise choicea non-linear but rather organic staging. The links between present and past intertwine very naturally through the senses that the two boys have developed. Thus, when present-day Michel (Yvan Attal) listens to nature, he recalls the way 4-year-old “Mic” (Victor Escoudé-Oury) listened to the sounds of the forest where he took refuge with “Pat” (Enzo Bonnet), 5 years.
When present-day Patrice (Mathieu Kassovitz) walks through the snowy Quebec forest, it is 12-year-old “Pat” (Fernand Texier) he thinks of as he braves the freezing cold to bring food back to “Mic.” 11 years old (Viggo Ferreira-Redier). Why the two little ones experienced hunger, cold and fear for seven long years and we took care of each other. A tragedy that strengthened their unshakable bond.
The past invites itself to the curve of a road or to a wound to heal
The pieces of the puzzle of this period come together over the course of the film and the truth of the strength of their experience together is revealed before the eyes of the empathetic spectator. Michel, whose voiceover explains his feelings, is warned by Patrice’s partner that the latter has disappeared. Michel leaves everything during the night to find him. Everything, that is, his wife Lise (Chloé Stéfani), their two children and his architecture studio. He leaves, without giving any explanation.
They both learned to disappear, because the disappearance appears to be a family affair. Their mother Marielle de Robert (Alma Jodorowsky) did not return for them after their holidays in Charente-Maritime in 1948. They stayed a few days at boarding school, then a misunderstanding made them believe that the police were looking for them. And when she returned, she was no longer a mother in the protective maternal sense.
Brothers It immerses the viewer very well in another era, using a slightly different film color. A time when children were neither wanted, nor pampered, nor even taken into consideration. A time when mothers from good families who did not have contraceptives still wanted to live their lives, without the hassle of their children. The director also succeeds in the feat of not wearing no judgment on the behavior of these women.
What is interesting BrothersAll right the point of view of children in relation to the world of adults. The film shows them in survival and silence mode, not in pain and words mode, even though it would have been logical, given the circumstances, for the little ones to cry. Their reactions are up to the level of children, without explanation other than that of the facts. Their mother did not return. The boys thought they were doing something stupid and ran away. Nobody really looked for them. Sometimes they were in contact with friendly adults, sometimes they were approached by bad guys.
Michel’s beautiful tribute to Patrice
They finally managed to turn their worst moments into happy memories, just for them. But at what cost? Because the film modestly questions how an adult will build his life afterwards having been confronted with such tragedies and the burden of secrecy. Michel and Patrice certainly survived and made up for the years they spent at school, but something broke inside them.
Brothers it also offers a nice reflection on the natural gifts that the boys demonstrated, at the origin of their vocation. “Mic” built cabins and became an engineer, “Pat” took care of his brother and became a psychiatrist. Olivier Casas found three very touching pairs of brothers, including the adult one formed by the silent Yvan Attal and Mathieu Kassovitz. Although the scenes of the present are sometimes a little long, Brothers turns out to be a very touching film, which goes straight to the heart.
Brothers by Olivier Casas, in theaters from April 24, 2024. Above is the trailer. Find all our trailers here.
Source: Cine Serie
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