khreb@houxe.UUCP (11/11/84)
Go to see Brother from Another Planet, John Sayles' newest movie about an extraterrestrial escaped slave who lands on Ellis Island and makes his way to Harlem. It is both a comedy and a serious movie at the same time. I would like to hear other peoples' interpretations of the ending. If you've seen the film and have some ideas about this, please reply. Thanks.
drennan@nybcb.UUCP (drennan) (11/21/84)
John Sayles' new film "Brother From Another Planet" is a thoroughly remarkable movie. The basic premise is that the Brother, evidently a fugitive from another world, crashes on Ellis Island, and eventually makes his way to Harlem. Being black, he fits in pretty well, and some locals in a bar take him in as their own, not knowing what he is, of course. But there's more. The Brother is being persued by two others from his world, who happen to be white and dress like Johnny Cash. A remarkable thing about this movie is that the Brother never says a word, yet he conveys such a remarkable sense of wonderment toward what he encounters in New York, more convincingly than any tourist I've seen wandering around Times Square. I don't remember the actor who played the Brother, but it was one of the best examples of pure acting I've seen. I would recommend the movie on his performance alone. But there are a lot of other reasons to see this movie. First, it is genuinely funny. The humor is a very real sort, the kind you come across in normal life, and very intelligently done. I will admit, though, that many of the jokes require some knowledge of New York, or maybe some other large city, to make any sense, but this is not something that should keep anyone away. The story is also very touching and warm. The brother develops a very sympathetic character, and we really start to feel for him in his struggles his attempts to fit in, and as he makes friends with people here on earth. The acting overall is very good. The group in Harlem that take him under their wing is a great collection of personalities that work very well together, yet still retain very individual characteristics. They're the sorts of characters that everyone will recognize somewhere in their lives. The pair of aliens following the Brother, one of which is played by John Sayles, are appropriately bizarre, and one of the funniest parts of the movies. On the whole it is a very entertaining movie, and one that I would strongly recommend for everyone. Jim Drennan New York Blood Center ..seismo!cmcl2!nybcb!drennan
mem@sii.UUCP (Mark Mallett) (05/10/85)
The recent flood of articles about Buckaroo Banzai (why are they coming
NOW?) has reminded me of a movie that I saw in Boston last year, and
made me wonder why I haven't seen any mention of that movie here. The
movie, "Brother from Another Planet", is by John Sayles (the guy who
did that horrible (my opinion) movie "return of the seacaucus seven").
It is a wonderfully funny story of a black, mute alien who crash-lands his
spaceship on Ellis Island. He wanders into Harlem and tries to fit
in with the residents so that he can escape two Dragnet-like pursuers
("Just the facts, ma'am"), something made harder by his ability to heal
broken videogames with a touch of his finger. I loved this movie; it
got good reviews and practically no distribution (that I can tell).
Has anybody else seen it??
I have a feeling of deja-vu; if I posted a review of this last year,
please forgive me. I only have a 3-week memory.
Mark Mallett
{decvax|ittvax}!sii!mem
P.S. I don't work anywhere, so I don't have to disclaim my words.mupmalis@watarts.UUCP (M. A. Upmalis) (05/13/85)
This movie won at the Toronto Festival of festivals in 1984 as best film ( I can't remember if it was critic or audience, the two best film catagories) The film is very warm and human, and shows that the emphasis on Verbal (Noel Coward springs to mind, in films I can't think of as strong example) The movie has been playing in Toronto for the longest time, and I cant't recomend it too highly.. -- ~~ Mike Upmalis (mupmalis@watarts)<University of Waterloo>
lsmith@h-sc1.UUCP (liz smith) (05/15/85)
> The recent flood of articles about Buckaroo Banzai (why are they coming > NOW?) has reminded me of a movie that I saw in Boston last year, and > made me wonder why I haven't seen any mention of that movie here. > I loved this movie; it got good reviews and practically no distribution (that > I can tell). > Has anybody else seen it?? I saw this movie a couple of weeks ago and loved it! It was (probably still is) at the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge playing with 'The Gods Must Be Crazy.' The aliens in black were the funniest part. Liz Smith
lsmith@h-sc1.UUCP (liz smith) (05/15/85)
> The movie has been playing in Toronto for the longest time, and I cant't > recomend it too highly.. > Mike Upmalis (mupmalis@watarts)<University of Waterloo> Now does that mean you liked it or not ? :-) Liz Smith
wex@milano.UUCP (02/21/86)
In article <28400008@ccvaxa>, wombat@ccvaxa.UUCP writes: > Many people thought that the crowd that saved the Brother consisted > of aliens, but there were also quite a few people who disagreed. This is how > I saw the ending: They were people from an oppressed minority who recognized > the Brother's plight.... I don't think so. Take a look at their eyes. Also, the "hounds" are so afraid of these people that they suicide. Remember in the bar how they were easily able to take out a group of humans, but the brother gave them a real hard time? I suspect that if the crowd was human, they wouldn't have been able to cow the hounds that easily. > As for the writing on the wall, I thought it had been left by the trackers > for the Brother to see (and be frightened by). Again, I don't think so, for 2 reasons: 1) The brother is clearly not afraid, but looks happy, and even cuts himself to get blood to make his own mark. If he were afraid, why risk putting up something (blood) that the hounds could use? 2) If you look at the final chase scene again, it's pretty clear that when he runs from the hounds, he follows the markings, which lead him to the crowd that saves him. (Having the movie on video is a help.) Side note: can anyone think of any other movie in the "talkie" era where the main character never speaks? (the only one I can think of is Mel Brooks' "Silent Movie", but that really doesn't count, as only one person says anything in that movie. (for 10 brownie points, can anyone remember who speaks and what he/she says?)) -- Alan Wexelblat ARPA: WEX@MCC.ARPA UUCP: {ihnp4, seismo, harvard, gatech, pyramid}!ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex "Once in a while, you get shown the light. In the strangest of places, if you look at it right."
falk@sun.uucp (Ed Falk) (02/22/86)
> Side note: can anyone think of any other movie in the "talkie" era where the > main character never speaks? (the only one I can think of is Mel Brooks' > "Silent Movie", but that really doesn't count, as only one person says > anything in that movie. (for 10 brownie points, can anyone remember who speaks > and what he/she says?)) Well, in "Modern Times" Charlie Chaplin never speaks, but some of the other characters do -- although all the important dialog is done with titles the way it was always done for Silent Movies. By the way, John Sayles (director of Brother) is also the director of "Clan Of the Cave Bear", in which none of the characters speak anything meaningful. As for "Silent Movie", the only character who says anything at all is Marcell Marceau (sp?). His only line (and the only spoken word in the movie) is "NON!", to which the main character says (paraphrasing) "I don't know what he said, I don't speak French" -ed falk, sun microsystems
joe@oucs.UUCP (Joseph Judge) (02/23/86)
> In article <28400008@ccvaxa>, wombat@ccvaxa.UUCP writes: > anything in that movie. (for 10 brownie points, can anyone remember who speaks > and what he/she says?)) > It was Marcel Marceau, the greatest Mime of all the time, and Hey! that does rhyme! and that too... but not that. -- Joseph Judge 414 Morton Hall Ohio University Athens, Ohio 45701 {amc1,bgsuvax,cbdkc1,cbosgd,cuuxb,osu-eddie}!oucs!joe
falk@sun.uucp (Ed Falk) (03/02/86)
> > In a very short interplay with one member of the crowd, the alien points his > thumb upward as if to say, "Are you going back?" The other person (assumed > to be alien) points his thumb down, and shakes his head "no". For me, this > was the clincher which said, 'Oh, they must be aliens, too!' This made the > whole scene fall into place. > Hmmm... I thought the thumbs-up/thumbs-down exchange meant "did they go back where they came from?" "no, they went to hell". -ed falk, sun microsystems
wombat@ccvaxa.UUCP (03/05/86)
And I interpreted it as "Are you from up there?" // "No, I'm from right here." "When you are about to die, a wombat is better than no company at all." Roger Zelazny, *Doorways in the Sand* Wombat ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!wombat
john@moncol.UUCP (John Ruschmeyer) (03/07/86)
In article <3305@sun.uucp> falk@sun.uucp (Ed Falk) writes: >> >> In a very short interplay with one member of the crowd, the alien points his >> thumb upward as if to say, "Are you going back?" The other person (assumed >> to be alien) points his thumb down, and shakes his head "no". For me, this >> was the clincher which said, 'Oh, they must be aliens, too!' This made the >> whole scene fall into place. >> > >Hmmm... I thought the thumbs-up/thumbs-down exchange meant "did they go >back where they came from?" "no, they went to hell". Yeah, but what about that "come here" sort of gesture he makes just before pointing to the sky? -- Name: John Ruschmeyer US Mail: Monmouth College, W. Long Branch, NJ 07764 Phone: (201) 571-3451 UUCP: ...!vax135!petsd!moncol!john ...!princeton!moncol!john ...!pesnta!moncol!john Give an ape control of its environment and it will fill the world with bananas.