Director: Rodney Evans
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Roger Robinson, Duane Boutte, Daniel Sunjata, Alex Burns, Aunjanue Ellis, Lance Reddick

- Reviewed by Linda

BUY THE DVD! Brother To Brother

Rodney Evans' feature-film debut Brother to Brother may turn out to be the surprise of the year in gay cinema. This assured debut manages both to be an exploration of modern life for a gay African-American male (which is rarely explored in popular cinema), but also as a fascinating history lesson of the Harlem Rennaissance.

Perry (Anthony Mackie) is an art student who has been kicked out of his parents' house for being gay. Refreshingly, he is not a thug or a hip-hop ruffian, but is straight-laced, intelligent, and possibly headed for great things in the art world. But, like any college student, he is super-aware of his own self-discovery, and is having a hard time dealing with not only racism (both obvious and ingrained) within society in general, but also the double-whammy of hateful homophobia from his own black community.

Enter Bruce Nugent (Roger Robinson), a homeless man that befriends Perry, astonishing the younger man with amazing, fiery poetry seemingly off the top of his head. Bruce begins sharing stories—wild and wonderful stories—of a time where black artists ruled and were the envy and heroes of the urban arts world: the Harlem Rennaissance.

This is where Brother to Brother really comes to life. In lush black-and-white flashbacks, we meet Bruce as a wide-eyed young man, being introduced to the larger-than-life likes of Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, and Zora Neal Hurston. The flashbacks are recreated with such joy and zest that you want to jump into the fray of the conversation. The actors have a field day, spouting poetry and prose, flinging around ideas to set the world on fire... which they do, creating a famous (and infamous) literary magazine called Fire!, which folded shortly after its debut because of controversy.

I, for one, had heard of several of these artists and writers, but did not really know much about the Harlem Rennaissance except for a few names and paintings. But these moments in the film made me want to go home and do some research, to pick up a book or pen or brush, and create some art.

In the modern scenes, Brother to Brother slows down to a gentler, introspective (and maybe boring for some) pace, but these flashbacks bring the film to life. The acting overall is solid to exceptional, with charismatic Daniel Sunjata as Langston Hughes, and Roger Robinson as the elder Bruce Nugent as standouts. Apparently Robinson has won some awards from indie film fests for this role, and it is easy to see why. The twinkle in his eye combined with the weariness of his gait promises a thousand more stories than we are given.

Brother to Brother is not only a refreshing voice in gay cinema, but also as a treat for literature, art, and history buffs.

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