I just saw this film for the first time last night on PBS and thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot, performances and the entire milieu were riveting. With the juxtaposition of modern and historical timelines I experienced the Harlem Renaissance as in no other film I've seen. Thnaks to solid writing I felt the anguish and confusion of Perry and the other characters. The screenplay made some choices that I might not have made but they were valid decisions nonetheless. I may be old fashioned, but I appreciate a film with a discernible plot, interesting setting and characters whose motivations I can understand and for me this film had it all.

I met Anthony MacKie, the actor who plays Perry, after experiencing his wonderful portrayal of Tupac Shakur in a play off Broadway in NYC and we had a few moments to chat as he signed my program. As I watched "Brother to Brother" I kept wondering how much of Perry's life paralleled the life of Anthony MacKie? I loved this movie! I felt that the characters were well developed and the contrast and similarities between modern day and the Harlem Renaissance fascinating. I find it hard to believe that this movie is only being shown at one theater in NYC. Anthony MacKie has, to his credit, roles in Manchurain Candidate and 8 mile, as well as theatrical roles in the Off Broadway "Up Against the Wind" and the (less successful) Drowning Crow on Broadway. Brother to Brother is an outstanding motion picture.

this film brought together a lot of parallel themes. after leaving the movie i keep talking about it, surprised that i was not familiar with the involvement of Zora and Langston in the Renaissance time period gay struggle. there were so many timeless themes involved in this movie which is such a rarity in today's one-oversimplified-theme kind of world. it is very provocative and forces the viewer to explore their own views on the issue of linking these causes together (i.e. class/homeless/gay/black/whoredom).i do have one remaining question, please answer it or comment if you can:was the ringleader of the guys that beat up Perry his friend? he was angry when Perry did not want to compromise his art for the white dealer and never came back in the movie. it also would parallel the memory of Bruce's when Fire was burned in the steel trash can by other blacks.

"Brother to Brother" just won the two most coveted awards at the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival - otherwise known as Outfest. The Audience Award for Best Feature and the Jury Prize for Best Feature! And I was one of over a thousand queerfolk who voted them into the first award. This film is amazing!The Harlem Renaissance was a seminal period in African American history; one that can be seen to have repercussions through to Stonewall and beyond. Sadly, it was one of the only times in our history where African American queers and other "outcasts" created and published their own voices for the world to see, read, and hear. And hear it they did.Some of the most powerful and important queer poetry and prose were written during this time by the likes of the incredible Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman, and of course, Bruce Nugent; one of the main characters in this story.Over the course of befriending Perry, a present-day artist/student trying to find his own voice in the world, Bruce recounts some of his own history with his radical, groundbreaking friends.The film is exquisitely composed. The music created for "Brother to Brother" is eloquent and evocative and perfectly reflects and tints the images and perspectives within the story. Organic timing creates an engaging flow of story and character which passes back and forth from past to present and back; revealing at once how much and how little has changed over the last 80 years of Black (and queer) history.All in all, this film ends as handsome Perry begins to find a clearer path for himself in the world. It ultimately gives us much of value that is even more than the sum of its respective parts. Most importantly, it shows us ourselves - beautiful, flawed, real human beings who seek nothing more than to have a voice, to give and receive love, and to make life as good as it can be.This is one film which fully deserves its place in movie theaters and in DVD collections.