The Sisters Brothers

Movie
German title	The Sisters Brothers
Original title	The Sisters Brothers
Country of production	France , Belgium , Romania , Spain
original language	English
Publishing year	2018
length	121 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Jacques Audiard
script	Jacques Audiard, ; Thomas Bidegain
music	Alexandre Desplat
camera	Benoît Debie
cut	Juliette Welfling
occupation
	John C. Reilly : Eli Sisters; Joaquin Phoenix : Charlie Sisters; Riz Ahmed : Hermann Kermit Warm; Jake Gyllenhaal : John Morris; Rutger Hauer : The Commodore; Rebecca Root : Mayfield; Carol Kane : Mrs. Sisters;

The Sisters Brothers is a multi-award-winning western by Jacques Audiard , which celebrated its world premiere on September 2, 2018 in the competition at the Venice Film Festival . In Switzerland he was seen at the Zurich Film Festival in September 2018 . The German theatrical release took place on March 7, 2019. The film is based on the satirical novel of the same title by Patrick deWitt . John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix embody the eponymous brothers, Eli and Charles Sisters, who pursue a gold prospector in the wild west as hit men.

action

Oregon, 1851. The brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters are gunslingers who are hired by a wealthy businessman called the Commodore to track down and kill a certain Hermann Warm. The private detective John Morris has already been hired by the Commodore to track down Warm and then hand it over to the Sisters brothers.

Morris discovers Hermann Warm on a wagon trip to California and becomes friends with him. They travel to Jacksonville, where Morris has arranged a meeting with the brothers. But before that happens, Warm finds Morris' handcuffs and threatens him at gunpoint, but Morris overpowers him. Warm reveals that he too wants to make his money in the gold rush, but not as a normal gold prospector and prospector, but by means of a formula he has developed that makes the gold glow in the river bed. The Sisters were obviously set on him to extort the formula, if necessary with torture and murder. Morris does not want to be involved in the murder of an innocent man. He and Warm make their way to San Francisco to apply for a prospecting license for the two of them. Meanwhile, the brothers are haunted by bad luck. First a grizzly bear attacks her bed and Eli's horse, then Eli almost dies of a poisonous spider bite. In addition, Charlie is often too drunk and hungover to ride. They finally follow Warm and Morris to Mayfield, where they narrowly escaped an attack themselves and then rob and kill the brothel owner.

In San Francisco, Charlie and Eli get into an argument. Eli wants to go home and retire, but Charlie angrily refuses the idea. When the brothers meet Warm and Morris, the four fraternize against killers who were sent from Mayfield. At night they hold in-depth conversations around the campfire and agree to collect the gold from the river using warm caustic tincture and share it fairly among themselves. But when the glow of the gold begins to fade, Charlie panics and tries to add more of the formula to the water, but spills the undiluted substance on his arm and into the river. Eli tries to hold Charlie back while the dangerous liquid Warm and seriously injures Morris. The next day, Warm succumbs to his injuries while Morris eventually shoots himself to end his suffering. Eli takes Charlie to the next town, where a doctor amputates his arm.

With their exit from the business as contract killers, however, the brothers also betray the Commodore. He sends men after them to kill. The brothers realize that they must kill the Commodore themselves if they ever want to lead a peaceful life again. But when they finally reach Oregon City , the Commodore has already died. The brothers return home to their mother.

production

Jacques Audiard at the premiere in Toronto

The film is based on the novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt from 2011. It was directed by Jacques Audiard , who also wrote the script together with Thomas Bidegain .

The score was composed by Alexandre Desplat . The soundtrack for the film, which comprises a total of 20 pieces of music, was released by Why Not Productions on September 14, 2018.

Jake Gyllenhaal took on the role of John Morris in the film. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix play the brother couple Eli and Charlie Sisters. Riz Ahmed plays the gold prospector Hermann Kermit Warm, Rutger Hauer plays the Commodore. The German synchronization was created from the dialogue director of Karlo Hackenberger on behalf of the Scala Media GmbH, Berlin.

The shooting took place in Spain and Romania, where it was shot in the Castel Film Studios in Călugăreni and in Buftea in the northwest of the Romanian capital Bucharest. Exterior shots were taken at the Calugareni. In Spain, the film was shot in May and June 2017 in the port city of Almería and the Texas Hollywood theme park there.

The film premiered on September 2, 2018 in the main competition of the Venice Film Festival and competed for the Golden Lion . In September 2018 it was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival . It was released in cinemas in late summer 2018, on September 19, 2018 in France and on September 21, 2018 in selected US cinemas. There was also a screening at the Zurich Film Festival in autumn 2018 and at the London Film Festival in October 2018 . Wild Bunch Germany launched it in German cinemas on March 7, 2019 .

reception

Age rating

The shooting took place in Texas Hollywood, a western theme park in the Spanish province of Almería , and the Fort Bravo located there

In the USA, the film received an R rating from the MPAA , which corresponds to a rating of 17 and over. In Germany, the film was released from the age of 12, but is allowed from the age of 6 if accompanied by parents. The statement of reasons for the release states: "The film tells its story mostly calmly and cautiously and, in addition to numerous landscape and nature shots , shootings and black humor, also features characters and extensive dialogues atypical for its genre." It also says that the film offers children hardly any points of contact. Although individual explicit violence and action scenes under the age of 12 could overwhelm 12-year-olds, the historical setting and the otherwise restrained staging offer enough relief.

Reviews and genre discussion

John C. Reilly , here at the premiere for the film at the Toronto International Film Festival , plays Eli Sisters

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter explains that, like many classic westerns, the film tells a story of persecution and patient waiting, of a long journey, and of the known and unknown dangers it brings. There is also bloodshed, asset shifts and moments of chance, courage and luck. In addition, The Sisters Brothers show the curiosity of the filmmaker Jacques Audiard , who obviously enjoyed discovering a country that, after countless films, is both familiar to him but also quite distant. Unlike many previous westerns, the film does not show any taciturn men, rather they can sometimes articulate themselves very well, and the four men at the center of the story have even been given the necessary quantum of intelligence by the scriptwriters. The excellent cast is led by John C. Reilly in a kind of leading role that he has been waiting for his entire career. McCarthy particularly emphasizes the work of the production designer Michel Barthelemy and the costume designer Milena Canonero , which are extremely detailed. The icing on the cake is the score by Alexandre Desplat , says McCarthy.

Alexandra Seitz explains in the film magazine epd Film that The Sisters Brothers , with a pair of brothers who are on their way to kill, a lot of shooting-happy men, saloon scenes, a lot of horses and a good gold rush, have the classic set of a western, the French director and screenwriter succeeded Jacques Audiard, however, tried to undermine the audience's expectations right from the start. Barbara Schweizerhof thinks that the typical western fatalism strikes him too, but he lets his heroes gain an unusually high level of self-knowledge. The director succeeds in creating a fascinating multi-layered portrait of masculinity, letting his Sisters Brothers explore their feminine sides without ever exposing them to ridicule.

Katja Nicodemus , film editor of Die Zeit , writes that The Sisters Brothers is a film that spreads hope with warm colors and a camera inclined towards the characters, but no illusions about the time it is telling. The many senseless murders, the lonely deaths, sawed off arms and limbs burned while digging for gold were remembered.

Andreas Borcholte says on Spiegel Online that Audiard is telling the film with grandiose landscapes and a previously unimagined talent for humor and dialogue. The Sisters Brothers will certainly not be a blockbuster and lion winner , but those who are enthusiastic about the tender men's souls in 70s westerns like The Wild Rovers , Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or McCabe & Mrs. Miller will also find happiness here.

The Evangelical Film Jury selected The Sisters Brothers as Film of the Month for March 2019. The reasoning stated that the film unfolded a subtle criticism of American weapon worship and the destruction of the ecosystem. He puts a question mark behind the US's understanding of democracy when the idealistic proponent of this idea fails. The film is recommended not only because it is a literary adaptation and high-quality entertainment, but also because it intelligently discusses violence in the self-image of the most powerful nation.

In December 2017, The Sisters Brothers was named to Variety's list of the 20 most anticipated films of 2018 by film critic Joe Leydon . The film received the approval of 87 percent of Rotten Tomatoes critics and achieved an average rating of 7.3 out of a possible 10 points.