I was about half way through, when I first saw this movie back in 87, one real late night, around 2 a.m. I arrived just after Adam (Chard Hayward) said "Simmer down" to his brother, Kevin (Ivar Kants) while on a hunt, where he, Adam, let get some animal, a boar I think, go free, where he then aimed his sights on his brother. These two brothers, Adam, a photographer, Kevin, a journalist survived a close call, when they survived that real life Timor shooting of those five journo's back in 75. These two fictional characters have just been based around that tragic event, where the heart of the movie deals with the after effects of these inseparable two. Kevin, now residing in New Zealand, with his fiancée, has settled down, giving away the writing. Adam pops back in his life, where they have a phony fight outside a church, throwing concerns on the other church goers, where at first you think this fight is real. The intensity of the start where the five sorry journo's were gunned down was impactful, if unbearably tense. Other moments of this film are jolting too. Adam tries to lure Kevin away from his safe happy life, and of course creates conflict with his girl. Adam still has nightmares too over that fateful night, years earlier. Hayward as Adam, was very good here. I could truly see parts of his self still wounded, mentally, where Kevin was keeping it more under wraps, but he had his moments, like when he got over angry at Adam, for letting that boar go. Hayward develops a relationship with the town strumpet, a flirtatious young girl with a rep. The tragedies and their consequences that are sparked from this, carry the rest of the movie. Brothers is good strong drama, carefully, thoughtfully, plotted and written, with solid performances. Hayward is one of my favorite Aussie actors and he came off really good here. In short, Brothers is about two guys dealing with pain, still evident, their own way, a pain that may never be forgotten, in a film, you won't soon forget.
Review of Brothers
