Brother is a 2000 film starring, written, directed and edited by Japanese filmmaker, Takeshi Kitano. It is also his fifth collaboration with renowned Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi. This was also Kitano's first collaboration with designer, Yohji Yamamoto.

The French title for the film is Aniki, Mon Frère (lit. Aniki, My Brother).

Plot

Shot in Los Angeles, California, Kitano plays an exiled Tokyo yakuza who sets up a drug empire in Los Angeles with the aid of his half-brother. But the brother of the title is a local gangster and friend of the half-brother, Denny, played by Omar Epps. Their meteoric rise sees them inevitably clashing with the Mafia.

Critical reception

At the time of its release, Brother was hyped as Kitano's vehicle for breaking into the United States film market. The film has a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert, who has praised all of Kitano's films he has seen, complimented Kitano in his review, but ultimately denounced the film with a rating of two out of four stars, writing that "Brother is a typical Kitano film in many ways, but not one of his best ones."

On his side, Kitano self-admitted in an interview, that he was not fully satisfied with the final result of Brother and that he regretted his "Hollywood" adventure which was supposed to bring him a broader audience with a higher exposure. Therefore, Kitano confessed he had no intention of shooting outside Japan anymore.

The theatrical release of BROTHER in the US (and, therefore, the corresponding Sony Pictures Classics Region 1 DVD) contains a slightly edited version of the film. Approximately one minute of footage was cut, primarily so the film could attain an "R" rating. Most of the edits were for violence, although several key/memorable scenes were edited for time/clarity.

The uncut version of the film was released in the UK (Region 2) with an 18 rating, and Japan (Region 2J), also with a 18 rating.

Cast

• Beat Takeshi - Yamamoto, also referred to as Aniki (meaning elder brother)
• Omar Epps - Denny
• Tetsuya Watari - Jinseikai Boss
• Kuroudo Maki - Ken
• Masaya Kato - Shirase, the "boss of Little Tokyo"
• Susumu Terajima - Kato, Aniki's lieutenant
• Royale Watkins - Jay
• Lombardo Boyar - Mo
• Ren Osugi - Harada
• Ryo Ishibashi - Ishihara
• James Shigeta - Sugimoto
• Tatyana Ali - Latifa
• Makoto Otake - Chief of police
• Kouen Okumura - Hanaoka
• Naomasa Musaka - Hisamatsu
• Rino Katase - Night club Madame
• Joy Nakagawa - Marina, Aniki's girlfriend
• Amaury Nolasco - Victor

External links

• Official website
• Brother on RottenTomatoes