It's hard to watch a film such as "Hermano" and not intrinsically link it to a film such as "City of God." Of course, by making such a comparison, every film will pale in comparison, but "Hermano" still stands alone as a solid foreign drama with lots of heart.
The movie itself is a Venezuelan export that has been making its rounds at various international film festivals over the past two years but has only made a splash stateside as of late. "Hermano" fell just short of being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards a couple years back, but luckily it is finally seeing a DVD release.
The basic premise is centered around two brothers who, while not of the same bloodline, are still extremely close to one another. The oldest of the two, Julio, is seen as the up-and-coming soccer star whose potential is exponentially dependent on his equally gifted little brother, Daniel, and vice versa. Daniel, nicknamed "El Gato," was abandoned as an infant but adopted by Julio's mother and raised as her own.
The brothers soon find themselves representing their barrio (La Ceniza) in the local championships. Like most barrios, La Ceniza is run by an underground cartel that enlists youths to do its bidding. In spite of all the pressure to compete at a high level and the added intimidation from the seedy underbelly of their surroundings, a small glimmer of hope exists. Both Julio and Daniel are being scouted by Caracas FC, the premier league of their country, for an opportunity that would bring the brothers and their mother out of the barrio.
"Hermano" does a good job of painting a unique and, more importantly, accurate depiction of barrio life. I enjoyed the fact that there was a great deal of positive energy radiating from the film. Despite the violent scenes scattered throughout, I got a greater sense of community and love of family more than anything else. In a movie such as this, it would be easy to paint a stereotypically ugly perception of the barrio, but "Hermano" manages to avoid such misnomers and stay honest throughout.
If anything, the overall composition of the film could have benefited from a much bigger mean streak. Aside from a small handful of violent spurts, the overall brutality could have been heightened in order to warrant the unusually abrupt ending. The gang presence in the neighborhood was only vaguely touched upon, when it should have instead anchored the entire film.
Outside of these minor miscues, I thoroughly enjoyed "Hermano." It was aesthetically gritty but intrinsically rooted in an independently minded spirit of filmmaking. All the while, there's an underlying message of brotherhood (obviously) and tight-knit family dynamics that really help to drive the film to its ruthless ending. Overall, it's an effort worth checking out, even if certain elements should've been touched upon further to pull the film up from simply good to great.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vrrRJDN64U]