Brother's Keeper
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Movie Reviews of Brother's Keeper
Movie Review: Fascinating
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I watched this, and we both give it 5 stars. It's fascinating, sad, and really thought provoking.Movie Review: An American tragedy.
Summary: 4 Stars
Brother's Keeper (Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, 1992)
The saga of the Ward Boys remains, fifteen years later, one of the outright weirdest murder cases in American history. The Ward Boys were four brothers wholived outside Munnsville, NY, a bucolic upstate town. Their lives were turned upside down when William, the oldest brother, died. His brother Adelbert was arrested for his murder. Not out of the ordinary, you say? It becomes so when you realize that Adelbert, the youngest of the bunch, was fifty-nine when he stood trial.
Berlinger and Sinofsky seem to side with the prosecution's original thesis, that the killing was an act of euthanasia. Bill Ward was, evidently, suffering from a terminal disease, and had gotten to the point where life was nothing but pain. Thus, the original question the movie asks is whether euthanasia ought to be a crime. That is a worthwhile subject for a documentary in itself (and has been the subject of more than a few), but things get a whole lot weirder when the prosecution changes its angle of attack and starts labeling the murder as a deviant sex crime. No, I won't spoil the fun for you; watch the film and you can see the prosecution spell out this ludicrous idea in their own words. Berlinger and Sinofsky spent months in Munnsville, interviewing everyone they could get their hands on and more, and we get an interesting picture of the town and the Ward Boys themselves (who seem to have no real idea of what's going on; the best-educated of them is semi-literate, and all seem to suffer various levels of hearing difficulty). It may be hard for people to grasp how, in the nineteen-nineties, four brothers could possibly live in such squalor, and without most of the modern conveniences (for example, their shack has no running water); as shocking as the murder trial is, the day-to-day existence of the Ward Boys is even more so.
Here we are a decade and a half later, and Lyman, the last of the Wards, died in August of 2007. Thus, it is almost certain that we will never know what happened on the night of Bill Ward's death. Ultimately, however, it's a question that doesn't need answered; this started out as a document of a murder trial, but became a story about four brothers, three of whom stand against an adversity they cannot fathom. It is fine cinema from first minute to last, and well worth watching. ****
Movie Review: Am I my Brothers Keeper?
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a resident of Central New York and this story was very well known to everybody in these parts.If your reading this you probally have read some of the other reviews so I`ll be brief.This is an incredible film,you are taken to a place that exists and people that are exactly what you see...its almost like travelling back to the turn of the century when you visit the Ward farm.The Ward brothers were indeed considered outsiders by some locals but they,ultimately,were a genuine thread that made up the fabric of this community and after Delbert is charged with his brothers murder and when the people sensed a railroading by a politically minded D.A.,they rally to Delbert`s defense.It is a unique look at small town America...from its citizens,its lifestyle and its politics.
The film is sometimes funny,disturbing and even uncomfortable at times but it is as powerful an experience as you could ever have.Like another documentary I have seen - Sunshine Hotel....about flophouses on the Bowery in New York City - it pulls no punches and hits hard....gritty and bold it will resonate long after its final credits have rolled.
Movie Review: Interpreter
Summary: 4 Stars
I just purchased this dvd and watched it last night. I also watched Murder on a Sunday Afternoon, a couple pf weeks ago. They are both pretty much the same film. Dont get me wrong this is a really good movie. With one exception, IT REALLY NEEDS SUBTITLES!! I could barely decipher what the Ward Bros. were saying through most of the film. I kept having to rewind and turn the volume up to understand more than half of the dialouge of the entire film. The Ward Bros. were constantly mumbling with a big wad of chew in their mouths. I really should have rented this first, but I bought it for the filmmakers reputations. I own all of their other films and watch them alot. I would recommend renting this first. And if you have a closed caption on your TV I would highly recommend using it.Movie Review: Brother's keeper
Summary: 4 Stars
What a marveleous documentary. You could feel the tension in that courtroom...For a minute there i thougt Delbert would be found guilty. I am glad i was wrong. It's nice to know his last years were lived amoungts friends and family. The movie should have been nominated for an Oscar. Shame to the Academy...