Cinema as an extension of real feelings can provoke empathy. In my country Venezuela many people live in a violent context where what happens to them can break many types of relationships.
In this film the viewer connects with the pain of a people and the fraternal bond that the actors transmit in each situation in which they find themselves.
It reflects the triumph and salvation from poverty through soccer, we will not observe cheap melodramas or common situations in the cinema of self-improvement.
Brother uses our neighborhoods, poverty and delinquency, but on these bases we observe that the two protagonist brothers present defensive situations always trying to put the ball on their side in their relationship with their mother, with the neighborhood gangs and with soccer.
The film is an intelligent commercial cinema, which seeks to make us reflect on well-known topics, some topics of the genre called sport drama.
Hermano is the debut film of its director Marcel Rasquin and the context in which the events are narrated is violent and real. Two boys are raised as brothers and both are passionate about soccer, the dream of one of them is to become a professional and take his brother with him, because together on the field they are unbeatable.
A series of unfortunate events jeopardize the dream of these boys, leading one down the path of delinquency and the other, with a heart in mourning, to try to fight against the tide to get what he wants.
Here the sport of soccer functions as a means to enhance the fraternal relationship, which does not only come from blood.
Technically, the film presents an incredible editing in the soccer scenes, also presents a good story and powerful performances by its protagonists: Eliú Armas and Fernando Moreno.
Julio (Eliú Armas), is part of a very violent gang of delinquents, he is the brother appreciated by everyone in the neighborhood and respected, he sells drugs and the ill-gotten money he earns is used to help his mother. He is a party animal and very extroverted. He plays soccer in his neighborhood team and because of his talent he is the captain of his team, he has the opportunity to try out for the Caracas Soccer Club. However, after the death of his mother he does not want to play soccer anymore because he is very angry and wants revenge. He has no time to dream of a better life as a professional. Julio is the example of young people who let themselves be carried away by violence even though they have the chance to change and improve their lives.
Daniel (Fernando Moreno), Julio's adopted brother, was found in a dumpster when he was a baby. When Julio heard him crying, he thought he was a cat and that is why he calls him "gato" (cat). He is a short, thin and shy young man, he is not respected in the neighborhood and is in love with a girl who already has a boyfriend. He also has a talent for soccer as a striker and plays very well with his brother. He is determined to have a contract with the Caracas Soccer Club, but not only does he want a contract for himself, but the death of his mother alters his behavior. Daniel witnessed the death of his mother and knew who the murderer was, he did not tell his brother who it was, because he feared that he would take violent revenge and thus would end his dreams of joining the famous Caracas soccer team and they would not be able to leave a marginal and violent life.
Graciela is a brave person, a single mother with two children, who works as a baker and is also the lover of the soccer coach. Roberto coaches the neighborhood soccer team and is also part of the gang. He behaves a bit like a father to his brothers, and wants the two brothers to have a better life. He encourages them and accompanies them when they have an opportunity with Caracas Fútbol Club.
Maximiliano (Max) is a very violent, uncontrollable young man, he also plays soccer and works with Julio in the gang. It is he who kills the mother of the two brothers. He has no future away from crime.
Morocho is the boss of the neighborhood and of the criminal gang, he controls everything and uses violence, although oddly enough he treats the members of his gang as a family and despite being feared he is appreciated in the neighborhood.
Being upset, both brothers use a game of 1-on-1 soccer as a personal catharsis. The two brothers maintain a good relationship, although they have two different conceptions of life.
It was very difficult for Daniel to see the criminal who had killed his mother, along with his brother Julio, since he was not only a partner in crime, but also lied to Julio when he told him that he would help him avenge her death.
On a technical level, the viewer feels in the middle of the action, you can feel how the players suffer, fight and strive on the field; there are some excellent sequence shots with a montage that make you feel the kicks in the flesh.
But there are some characters that end up contributing little to the main story (Daniel's friend who is pregnant by someone else), and Julio's girlfriend is a simple visual companion.
This film is not a fairy tale with a happy ending, nor does it escape marginality and violence, being a portrait of a part of the Venezuelan population that still presents these symptoms. Nevertheless, it highlights the essence of the human being and his capacity to survive.
The final twist of the film surprises, Daniel, faced with a moral conflict, immolates himself out of loyalty to his mother and brother, which is somewhat disturbing. Julio lived for revenge, he was no longer interested in soccer. His brother Daniel and his criminal boss Morocho convinced him to play a soccer game because it was the final and everyone in town wanted to win. The brothers showed their talents in the game and thanks to them the neighborhood won the final.
Daniel could not keep silent any longer, he tells Julio the truth about who killed his mother, they argue and Daniel, very disturbed, hits Max, who was the goalkeeper of the team, to take revenge and kills him violently. The gang leader Morocho does not accept this fact and Daniel was killed by the gang.
The ending is bittersweet as the surviving brother manages to get his life back on track and correct his violent past. He enters the Caracas Futbol Club's starting lineup, thanking God while looking to heaven and thinking of his mother and brother.
This film won the Golden St. George Award for Best Film at the 32nd Moscow Film Festival, competing with 16 films from around the world, being awarded unanimously. It also won the Colón de Oro at the Iberoamerican Festival of Huelva in 2010, and in 2011 the Audience Award and Best Director at the Mostra de Cinema Llatinoamericà de Catalunya-Lleida.
Venezuela is a typical baseball country, and for me this film is the first one that among its themes touches on a sport, in this case soccer. The merit of this is due to Marcel Rasquin, a director whose opera prima is this film and until today year 2022 has not made any other.
I remember another movie related to the sport called Papita, Mani, Toston but this one is from 2013, with a much more friendly tone that narrates in a comedy way the rivalry between the fans of baseball teams, specifically what we call here the eternal rivals: Leones del Caracas, and Navegantes del Magallanes. Very recommendable indeed.
What is appealing about this film is that soccer serves as a common thread to show us the typical life in a slum that could be anywhere in the world, how its inhabitants live, who are their negative leaders and their influence, the hope of getting out of marginality and a spiral of violence.
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