Two Brothers (2004)

Jean-Jacques Annaud is a director that never makes it easy on himself. As a child, I was first confronted with his work through 'La Guerre du Feu', an as realistic as possible depiction of life in the Stone Age. And even though some of the make-up feels a little dated, it is still a gorgeous film to watch. Then there was 'L'Ours', a film that is solely about two bears and that blew my mind even more. Especially considering they were working with real bears nearly all the time. As you can often read, the 'rule' is not to work with either children or animals, because they are obviously tougher to direct.

And here Annaud is again, with a film about two tigercubs. You have to admire the man's tenacity.

Two tigercubs are separated from their mother and themselves at a young age when a hunter shoots their father. One is sold to a fleabitten excuse for a circus, while the other one is eventually taken in by the young son of a French diplomat (this takes place in Indochina. I'm guessing Vietnam, but I could be wrong). After the latter kills the incredibly irritating pooch of the house, he is dropped off in the local prince's menagerie and grows up to be an extremely aggressive beast. The other one is a big softie. But when the prince decides to let animals fight eachother during festivities, the two brothers will have to face off against each other (unknowingly). How will it all end?

I could tell you, but let's just say that even though there are some truly heartrending scenes, overall this is a feelgood film. There are a lot of jokes and silly moments, and especially when the two brothers get up to mischief, it's hilarious. Maybe even a little too much. But on the other side, you have some serious animal cruelty (off screen, so as not to harm the animals themselves for real, obviously) and especially the heartlessness and callousness of the human actors is enraging. As is the case with 'L'Ours' as well, you won't care about the people, but all the more about the animals.

The main human actor is Guy Pearce, who plays a big game hunter and who later in the film admits that everything that has happened is his fault. It's true. It is all his fault. He has a change of heart through the course of the film, but even though it is meant to make you feel sympathetic towards him, I still think he is a jerk.

But of course the best part and the sole reason(s) to watch this, are the tigers. In a few shots they used animatronics (when it was too dangerous for the actors to interact with the real thing), but most of the time, you're seeing actual tigers and cubs. Sure, sometimes, their actions feel a little too overhumanized, but it's a tale, so I can forgive this idea.

Yes, that was a silly pun.

It's not Annaud's best work and can feel a little 'kiddie' at times, but it remains a very emotional film that is bound to make you laugh and cry. If you like animals and especially cats, this is one for you. The kids will also love it.