Brotherhood (2019)

Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood is a striking and heartbreaking exploration of family connection and values. Visually stunning and emotionally resonant, Brotherhood applies an intimate lens to the issue of extremism, presenting it in the frame of traditional family life.

When Malik, the estranged eldest son of the family, returns to rural Tunisia from Syria with a young wife in tow, the values and loyalties of the family he left behind are questioned and shaken. Across 25 minutes, Joobeur weaves complex family relationships with dexterity; the unease and suspicion of a father, the uncompromising love of a mother and the confusion of the younger brothers who have borne the hardships of their sibling’s departure.

The shooting style is sympathetic to the aesthetic of the film. The gorgeous muted palette and use of natural light are artistry. Add to this the masterful acting and Brotherhood is an utterly compelling watch. With incredible nuance, Joobeur evokes the most devastating or visceral of emotions with the smallest of reactions: a tiny glance, an almost imperceptible gesture. The dialogue is sparse and considered, and an overarching sense of quiet effectively conveys the tension and eventual breaking point.

The story of how Joobeur came to make the film is amazing in itself, coming across the striking, red-haired, freckled brothers in rural Tunisia, and returning with little information about their identity to find them and persuading them to appear in the film. It adds a unique dimension to the exploration of family, and of course brotherhood.

Perhaps the story of an estranged family member returning changed and unrecognisable, only to cause trouble, is nothing new. Yet at no point does the story feel inauthentic. The plots feel current and important rather than seeming like a reworking of an overplayed narrative. If the way in which the plot accelerates towards the end isn’t totally in-keeping with the pace of the film up until that point, it does provide an essential release of the desperate feelings of Mohamed and the family.

Joobeur has created a heartbreaking and beautiful film, placing familiar themes in a sparse and desperate setting and telling an essential story of family loyalty.