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Movies / On DVD / Son Frere
Son Frere

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Son Frere (2004)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:23

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.1/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Apr 2, 2004 Limited

Synopsis: This harrowing family tale about illness and grief is directed by the commanding Patrice Chereau (QUEEN MARGOT, INTIMACY). Captivating at every moment, the film thrives on the emotional intensity... This harrowing family tale about illness and grief is directed by the commanding Patrice Chereau (QUEEN MARGOT, INTIMACY). Captivating at every moment, the film thrives on the emotional intensity of its characters. Thomas (Bruno Todeschini) has been diagnosed with a strange blood disease, and he calls on his brother Luc (Eric Caravaca) for help. Though they both live in Paris, they are not close, using Luc's homosexuality as the barrier between them. Stereotypes are dissipated through these characters--Luc is gay yet self-assured and healthy; Thomas is straight yet self-defeating and sick. The chronology jerks forward months at a time--February, July, March, and so forth--as if time is on pause, and it might just stop. Thomas's illness is unpredictable, and his hospital stays happen unexpectedly, keeping everyone--parents, Thomas' girlfriend Claire (Nathalie Boutefeu), and Luc's boyfriend Vincent--in a state of constant anxiety. With painful-to-watch hospital scenes and moments of tortured emotional outpouring, SON FRERE is a poignant portrait of coping with human mortality. [More]

Starring: Bruno Todeschini, Eric Caravaca, Nathalie Boutefeu, Maurice Garrel

Starring: Bruno Todeschini, Eric Caravaca, Nathalie Boutefeu, Maurice Garrel, Sylvain Jacques, Catherine Ferran, Fred Ulysse, Antoinette Moya

Director: Patrice Chereau

Director: Patrice Chereau
Screenwriter: Anne-Louise Trividic, Patrice Chereau
Producer: Pierre Chevalier
Studio: Strand Releasing

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 25, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Son Frere

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/09/04
Guardian [UK]
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
03/17/04
Antonia Quirke
Antonia Quirke
This is London
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
04/27/04
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Somber, almost clinically severe...ultimately 'Son Frere,' for all its admirable qualities, fails to move us.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
05/21/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

It features two of the least interesting characters in recent memory.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/21/04
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine

While it's not the most dramatically gripping film, Son achieves an effective sense of realism with handheld camerawork, natural lighting and very convincing performances.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
04/01/04
E! Online

Patrice Chereau's film is not always pleasant to sit through, but it has the raw, unsettling power, and the surprising tenderness, of a Lucian Freud painting brought to life.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/01/04
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the best films about such a deceptively simple thing as brotherly love to have come out of France in quite a while.

Full Review Source: european-films.net | comment Comment
04/01/07
Boyd van Hoeij
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net

Fine performances, but it feels like they are being reined in to keep their emotional distance - from each other and from the audience. Still... it can be devastating.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
05/21/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

It's in [the hospital] sequences that the film works best, as director Patrice Chéreau imbues the story with little touches that feel authentic

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
03/25/04
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Beneath its surface of chronic suffering and hospital details, Chereau's best drama etches a humane, sensitive, and richly moving portrait of fraternal love struggling to mitigate human frailty.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
04/01/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

An unsentimental, almost uninflected, account of a preparation for death, told with a painful clarity that eventually bleeds into compassion.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/30/04
Dennis Lim
Dennis Lim
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Patrice Chéreau cuts to the core of human agony with the kind of raw precision that escapes most living directors.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
03/23/04
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Both [Todeschini] and Caravaca do a great deal with very little histrionics to make auds care for two brothers who are clearly re-learning to appreciate their family ties, but who only rarely confront each other about their respective emotional journeys.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/27/04
Eddie Cockrell
Eddie Cockrell
Variety

Insightful and often painful to watch, Patrice Chereau's sensitive drama captures the reality of chronic illness.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
04/02/04
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

It's as honest as it is agonizing.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
05/20/04
Gary Dowell
Gary Dowell
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie brings disease back to metaphoric ground zero and, in the process, links the sick and the healthy in one significant but often overlooked manner: We're all prisoners of our own bodies.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
12/10/04
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Affords painful insight into what happens to relationships during a serious illness.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
03/17/04
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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