''Brothers'' () is a 2004 Danish

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. Bier is the first female director to collectively receive an Academy Award (Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Foreign Film), a Golden Globe Award, a European Film Award ...

and written by Bier and

Anders Thomas Jensen Anders Thomas Jensen (born 6 April 1972) is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His film ''Election Night (1998 film), Election Night'' won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Jensen was born in Frederi ...

. It stars

Nikolaj Lie Kaas Nikolaj Lie Kaas (; born 22 May 1973) is a Danish actor whose career rose in the 1990s. Kaas graduated from the National Theater School in Denmark in 1998. He first appeared on screen in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's film ''The Boys from St. Petri'' i ...

Connie Nielsen Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born 3 July 1965) is a Danish actress. She has starred as Lucilla in the films ''Gladiator'' (2000) and ''Gladiator II'' (2024) and as Queen Hippolyta in the DC Extended Universe. She has also starred in films such as ...

and

Ulrich Thomsen Ulrich Thomsen (born 6 December 1963) is a Danish actor and filmmaker, known for his role of Christian in the 1998 film '' The Celebration'' and for the role of Kai Proctor in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee'' (2013–2016). Early and per ...

. The film was remade as an American production with the same title (2009), directed by

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish people, Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' (1989), ''The Field (1990 film), The Field'' (19 ...

Plot

A Danish army officer, Michael, is sent to the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

operation in Afghanistan for three months. His first mission there is to find a young

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

technician who had been separated from his squad some days earlier. While on the search, his

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

is shot down and he is taken as a prisoner of war, but is assumed to have been killed in action and is reported dead to his family. His wife Sarah and younger brother Jannik both deeply mourn him, and that brings them closer together. They kiss once, but pass it off as grief and do not pursue the relationship. Meanwhile, both the officer and a young technician are locked up in a warehouse, kept without food or water. After Michael shows them how to arm and disarm an anti-aircraft missile, his captors decide the technician is no longer useful and have Michael bludgeon him to death with a lead pipe in order to save his own life. Eventually he is rescued and brought back to Denmark. The guilt of what he did forces him to lie and provide false hope that the technician may still be alive. Michael becomes unstable, spiraling down into a pit of guilt and rage, and begins to threaten and abuse his wife and tear the house apart. It finally becomes necessary for the police to intervene. Michael overreacts, pointing a policeman's pistol at the officers. After Michael is taken into custody, Jannik helps Sarah begin the repairs on the house. Later, Sarah visits Michael in prison, where he breaks down and finally admits the truth about what he did in Afghanistan.

Cast

as Sarah *

as Michael *

as Jannik *

Sarah Juel Werner Sarah Juel Werner (born 27 July 1992) is a Danish actress. She appeared in more than ten films since 2002. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Sarah Juel 1992 births Danish child actresses Danish film a ...

as Natalia (daughter) * Rebecca Løgstrup as Camilla (daughter) *

Bent Mejding Bent Mejding (14 January 1937 – 12 November 2024) was a Danish actor, stage director, and theatre manager. He won a Danish Film Academy Award in 1985 and 2007. He was married to actress Susse Wold. Life and career Mejding had his debut at ...

as Henning *

Solbjørg Højfeldt Solbjørg Højfeldt (born 10 June 1947, in Copenhagen) is a Danes, Danish actress. She has performed in more than fifty films since 1978. She is married to Danish actor Henning Jensen (actor), Henning Jensen. Selected filmography Awards * B ...

as Else *

Niels Olsen Niels Olsen (born 8 March 1960) is a Danish actor. He appeared in more than forty films since 1990. Selected filmography References External links * 1960 births Living people Danish male film actors Best Actor Robert Award winner ...

as Allentoft * as Niels Peter *

Lars Hjortshøj Lars Hjortshøj (born 3 June 1967 in Hinnerup) is a Denmark, Danish stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and television and radio host. He has taken part in many Danish shows, including ''Casper & Mandrilaftalen'' and in the sit-com ''Langt fra Las ...

as Preben 2 *

Lars Ranthe Lars Kristian Ranthe (born 26 August 1969) is a Danish actor. Personal life Ranthe married to actress Christina Albeck Børge in 1998 with whom he has two daughters, actress Rigmor Ranthe (born 2004) & Betty Marie Ranthe (born 2008). Sele ...

as Preben 1 * André Babikian as Slobodan * as J. Solvej * as Ditte *

Henrik Koefoed Henrik Koefoed (born 25 November 1955) is a Danish actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films since 1979. Selected filmography References External links * 1955 births Living people Danish male film actors People from Vordingborg ...

as Bartender *

Tom Mannion Tom Mannion is a Scottish actor. He was trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.''Cyrano de Bergerac'' theatre programme, Communicado Theatre Company in association with the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh, A ...

as Captain David Ward

Production

The film was produced by

Zentropa Zentropa, or Zentropa Entertainments, is a Danish film company started in 1992 by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. Zentropa is named after the train company Zentropa in the film '' Europa'' (1991), which started the co ...

in co-production with companies in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway. It received support from the

Danish Film Institute The Danish Film Institute (; DFI) is the national Danish institution, agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest. It is the successor organisation to the Danish Fil ...

Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute () (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Founded in 1963, the institute is responsible for administering the annual Guldbagge Awards, and for managing the Swed ...

and Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond (Nordic Film and TV Foundation). It was primarily shot on location in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark;

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

, Spain, was used for the Afghanistan locales.

Reception

Opera adaptation

An opera entitled ''Brothers'', based on the story of the film, was composed by Icelandic composer

Daníel Bjarnason Daníel Bjarnason (born 26 February 1979) is an Icelandic composer and conductor. He has garnered widespread acclaim for his debut album, ''Processions'' (2010), with TimeOut NY writing he "create(s) a sound that comes eerily close to defining ...

. It was premiered at the

Musikhuset Aarhus ''Musikhuset Aarhus'' (Aarhus Concert Hall) is a large concert hall complex in Aarhus, Denmark. Located in the city centre, Musikhuset is Aarhus' main venue for music and with seating for more than 3,600 people in total, it is the largest concert ...

in Denmark on 16 August 2017. It was commissioned by

Den Jyske Opera Den Jyske Opera, also known as the Danish National Opera, is based in Aarhus, Denmark. Established in 1947, it is Denmark's largest touring opera company, and the second only to the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen. Description Founded in Aarhus ...

. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

was written in English by ; the director was

Kasper Holten Kasper Holten (born 29 March 1973) is a Danish stage director. From 2011 until 2017 he was Director of Opera for the Royal Opera House in London. He is Vice President of the Board of the European Academy of Music Theatre. Career Born in Copenhag ...

. To celebrate Aarhus as the

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

2017, three stage works – a musical, a ballet, and an opera all based on films by Susanne Bier – were commissioned and performed in Musikhuset.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers 2004 2004 films 2000s Danish-language films 2000s English-language films Pashto-language films 2004 drama films Danish drama films Films directed by Susanne Bier Films with screenplays by Anders Thomas Jensen Films set in Afghanistan Films set in Denmark Films shot in Denmark Films shot in Almería War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) films Anti-war films Nordisk Film films Zentropa films Films about brothers Films adapted into operas 2004 multilingual films Danish multilingual films Films scored by Johan Söderqvist