The faces of white people are always obscured in BROTHER, either positioned just out of frame or out of focus in the background of a shot. The film tells us that we don’t need to see the face of the oppressor: they are faceless, formless. Instead we see the effects of Black trauma reverberating through non-linear time, ripples spreading backwards and forwards through the timeline of a life from one devastating moment. Aaron Pierre is an incredible on-screen presence as Francis, the one person in Michael’s (Lamar Johnson) life that makes him feel safe and the entire film is structured around that relationship and that sense of safety. How do you continue when that safety is suddenly taken away?
Full review available on Cinetopia podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cinetopia/episodes/September-2023-on-EHFM-reviews-of-FREMONT--PAST-LIVES--EL-CONDE--and-BROTHER-plus-an-interview-with-SMOKE-SAUNA-SITERHOOD-director-Anna-Hints-e29gfma