Brother (2022 film)

Francis and Michael are brothers living in Canada and sons of Caribbean immigrants from Jamaica. In the summer of 1991, the young men immerse themselves in the hip-hop scene of Scarborough. When his childhood sweetheart Aisha returns to their neighbourhood for the first time in 10 years, Michael is forced to reconsider a family tragedy. Growing up as young black boys in a neighbourhood prone to gang violence and police brutality, his older brother Francis had to be Michael's best friend, protector and even parent at the same time, because their single mother worked shifts as a nurse. As they grew older, Francis and Michael parted ways, but the unconditional love between the brothers and their mother continued. The film uses a non-linear structure, switching back and forth between the boys' childhood, their teen years leading up to and the lingering aftermath of Francis' death, all building toward the ultimate revelation in the film's climax of how Francis died. Although the film doesn't explicitly address LGBTQ themes in dialogue, a key scene toward the end of the film depicts Francis being physically intimate with his friend Jelly, suggesting that some of his emotional issues around their father's absence from their lives stem from being queer. == Cast ==

• Aaron Pierre as Francis • Lamar Johnson as Michael • Marsha Stephanie Blake as Ruth • Kiana Madeira as Aisha • Lovell Adams-Gray as Jelly • Maurice Dean Wint as Samuel • Dwain Murphy as Dru == Reception ==

Critical response In The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz wrote, "The spirit of what Scarborough represents – for Chariandy, and for Clement – is undoubtedly present in every lovingly composed frame of Brother." Peter Howell, film critic for The Toronto Star gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and added, "A world is revealed, brilliantly." Brian Tallerico, editor for the film review website RogerEbert.com published, "There’s such gracefulness to the filmmaking here, cutting back and forth across time, building like a thriller." For Deadline Hollywood, Valerie Complex wrote that "Brother is a film that reaffirms why I love movies. The narrative asks so many vital questions about Black life and masculinity, but most of all: If Black boys are raising themselves to adulthood, where do they turn for support? This is the ultimate dilemma Francis and Michael find themselves in. Brother isn’t just another “Black” film. This is a vital piece of cinema that hasn't received the buzz it deserves. I don't want to see this fly under the radar, and I hope others will be open-minded enough to witness the genius of Clement Virgo and these young actors." Accolades The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2022. It won 12 Canadian Screen Awards at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, the most awards won by any film in the Canadian Screen Awards era to that time (although its record was surpassed within one year by the 14 awards won by BlackBerry), and the best performance by any film since Night Zoo (Un zoo la nuit) won 13 Genie Awards at the 9th Genie Awards in 1988. == References ==