Rating: 
Summary: A rare diamond among children's films
Review: "Two Brothers" is a very rare film among the bombastically stupid kiddie pleasers that have filled in the movie landscape for some time now. It does what the best children's films do: It rises above the genre in such a way that it is not a children's film. It supposes that children are intelligent, thoughtful, and emotionally eloquent, and these terms describe the film well. The story surrounds two tiger cubs separated by fate and how they change the humans with whom they interact. One is rescued by a hunter and the other is taken in by a young French boy. The film meditates on issues such as animal cruelty and the choices we make in regard to nature itself. Jean Jacques Annaud, known for films such as "Seven Years in Tibet", and the similar, "The Bear," has made a film of unusual power. As in "The Bear", the dialogue is kept to a minimum, and story is all the more eloquent for it. There is no rapid fire, sound bite dialogue. When the two human leads speak (a great white hunter played by Guy Pearce & young Freddie Highmore) they communicate through, simple, direct dialogue that is somehow more moving by sparing us drizzly speeches or dewey eyed sentimentality. The tigers are wonderous to watch. The movie was shot on High Definition Digital Video instead of film, which also helps with the special effects. The illusion is created by simply filming the animals and adding some CGI alterations here and there. The result is magical. This is somehting of an art house children's film, it feels like a French import and its pacing and visual style. It is distinctly "non-Americanized" and I am grateful for that. While film's like "Shrek 2" which is clever yet obvious dominate the box office, I am hopeful that audiences will discover this film either in its theatrical engagement or on video and DVD. Kids who have seen it have told me it is the best movie they have ever seen, which I think is due to the fact there are no longer any films that credit them with having an attention span or interest in a film that has a fully realized, emotional story (save of course PJ Hogan's spectacular version of "Peter Pan", another underrated gem). More than that, adults will be every bit as enchanted and as taken by suprise as I was.
Rating:
Summary: Another great animal film from Annaud
Review: "Two Brothers" tells the story of two tiger cubs, living in the jungles of Asia, who are suddenly split up when treasure hunters who are plundering a temple shoot the father tiger in self-defense. One of the tiger cubs, Kumal, is found by the expedition leader Aidan McRory (played by Guy Pearce). When McRory is thrown into prison, Kumal is sold to a gypsy circus. The other tiger, Sangha, escapes with his mother. Mother and son are separated during the Prince's hunting expedition, and Sangha is found in a cave by the son of the regional governor who brings the tiger home. But, determined to be a danger to the boy, he is given as a gift to the Prince. The tigers re-unite at a staged fight and manage to escape with McRory hot on their trail.If you've ever seen Director Jean-Jacques Annaud's other animal film, "The Bear," it's told in much the same way -- very little dialogue between the human characters. The animal trainers and the director did an amazing job with the tigers so, at times, I could almost tell exactly what was going through the tigers' minds. Also, Annaud films some of the scenes from their point of view to give that additional depth to the characters. Guy Pearce shows some fine work as McRory who is torn between the spoils of hunting and his love of Kumal. Great scenic shots of the Asian jungles, too. It's just a great family film.
Rating:
Summary: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright...
Review: 'Two Brothers', a UK-French film collaboration project under the direction of Jean-Jacques Annaud (known for 'The Bear' and 'The Name of the Rose') and written by Alain Godard and Annaud, is at once the heartwarming and heartwrenching tale of two Bengal tigers, While the advertising makes it seem like a Disney-esque film, this is not really one for younger children, so parents should beware. In today's world there are many people who are not particularly nice toward wild animals; a hundred years ago, the time period during which this was set, there was even less regard for the great animals of the jungle, seen as objects for sport and amusement rather than creatures of integrity in their own right. I went with two adults, one of whom felt it necessary to leave the theatre for a brief while; there were children present in the theatre, and again I saw parents taking their children out at some of the more troublesome scenes - unfortunately, many didn't return for the happy ending. This is a great film, worth five stars without doubt, but alas, the marketing is inappropriate, and would get a single star from me. Guy Pearce plays the 'great white hunter' character of McRory, a world-famous hunter-explorer of European origin and fame, a known author as well as second-class Indiana Jones, looking for what will sell back in the London auction houses -- he changes from animal skins and tusks to statues and antiquities. There are no other actors of wide fame, but all do a good job, from the Westerners in the French Indochine to the locals, from tribal persons to high potentates. All seem to have reasons to be against the tigers, save a few, who eventually come round and help the tiger brothers through their troubles. The real stars of the film, of course, are the tiger cubs Kumal and Sangha, in addition to the other tigers, including the mother Tigress and the great Tiger Father. The lead trainer, Thierry Le Portier, a fellow Frenchman to Annuad who worked on 'The Bear', and trainer Randy Miller stated that 30 tigers in all were used, and one of the biggest efforts was to have tiger cubs available -- they grow so rapidly, they might not be the same size over the course of shooting. In the end, the effects and training were magnificent, and given the kinds of harrowing treatment the tigers were to have received (usually, thankfully, just off-screen), one truly hopes the 'no animals were harmed in this production' pledge at the end was in earnest. The plot is a twisty one, following the two tiger brothers who are separated early, and each have different adventures (not all of them nice, and many downright disturbing) until they are reunited in a festival, when they are able to recapture their kinship and their brotherly playfulness. The movie has the obligatory happy ending; I was on the verge of tears from frustration and sorrow at different points of the film, but the only time I actually did shed a tear was as the sunlight pierced the tell-tale marker on one of the tigers (and those who see the film will understand this, but I don't want to give away the ending). The settings in Cambodia and Thailand are natural settings, still undisturbed jungles in many areas, and the temple settings as the home of the tiger family is a wonderful device. The Angor Wat Temples, now very popular tourist destinations, had to be closed to such traffic during the filming. The music is dramatic and playful as appropriate, but very much in the background; rarely did I notice the music for the visuals. A wonderful film in many ways, it is a statement for humane treatment of animals. Unfortunately, this sometimes involves disturbing scenes of mistreatment, which again makes this a film not for young children. Parental discretion and previewing is advised.
Rating:
Summary: Painful, but ultimately heartening.
Review: As an animal lover--especially of cats, big and small--most of this movie was extremely painful for me to watch. The movie begins with an idyllic babyhood of the two adorable tiger cubs, Kumal and Sangha, but quickly became a chronicle of their suffering and travails. First their father was killed by a big-game hunter (Guy Pearce), then Kumal was captured and sold to a cruel circus-owner, then their mother was wounded, and Sangha became the captive of a heartless governor. Stoic viewers who manage to stay with the movie, however, will be richly rewarded with an "all's well" ending that is amazing and extremely moving. I broke down into a blubbering mess. Director Annaud deserves bountiful plaudits for his amazing work with the tiger "actors" and for his impassioned but artistic statement on behalf of tigers (and all wildlife). We human beings have done so much evil to other creatures--but we can also do much good. May we become true stewards of the world.
Rating:
Summary: You have to see this movie!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Despite being highly overlooked, this movie is a masterpiece. All hunters and poachers need to watch this movie. It pretty much follows the two tigers from when they are born until they become adult tigers. This movie extremely sad but can be funny at times too. The music is the icing on the cake that really adds emotion to the film.
In this movie, two tiger cubs, Kumal and Songa, live in the jungle among the ancient ruins of Cambodia. But one day, they get separated from each other by hunters. Kumal is sold off to a circus and Songa gets taken to a home where he is loved by the governor's son. But will they ever be able to reunite and begin their journey home?
Let me just say that the ending is incredible and heart-warming! The best part of the movie to me was when the hunters tried to kill the mother tiger... Ah! I'd hate to ruin this incredible movie for you. I'll just say that you must see this movie ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: its not all that
Review: i bought this movie for my wife who loves tigers. she cared for this movie even less than i did. we are both in our early forties and have three older teens so we have seen our share of animal "road" movies. to start with, this movie is not for smaller children unless your child is of a more mature demeanor. you might have to explain scenes in the movie where cruelty and killing is implied but not exactly shown, and there are plenty of them. there are not however, enough comedic elements in the film to difuse the tensions created by these scenes. the movie made me feel uncomfortable through-out and i was glad when it ended, and fortunately it ended on a somewhat positive note. my wife walked out of the room halfway thru the movie and i had to coax her back to see the remainder. yes, there are some scenes in this movie that will make you cringe. the story itself is rather familiar and weak. big game hunter/explorer comes to jungle causes havok and relents- somewhat.local people live in an irrational fear of the "man eaters" local politicians are looking to exploit everything in site and of course the tigers are in the way.the "two brothers" are captured, seperated and live under strenuous conditions for over a year. one day they are reunited when they are to oppose each other in a fight to the death.they recognize each other and play breaks out. they escape when the people hosting the match open the cage to goad them into fighting. nearly all the human characters in this film are jarring and obnoxious. they are all miserable and self absorbed and have way too much screen time. there are even a couple of dogs that you wish would be put out of their misery. does this really sound like something you would enjoy watching? the hunter played by guy pearce (excellent in l.a. confidential) seems rather wishy-washy and not quite the "man of character" you would expect. he seems to like the cats, but thinks it would be better off killing them. in one scene he tells the young boy he "loves the tiger, more than you know". a few scenes later he's burning down the forest and has rifle men all over the jungle as if its a war. hello! almost all the other characters are given over to very poor dialogue which is delivered in the most irritating vocal delivery. the lone bright spot is the young boy raoul, son of the local magistrate. the only voice of reason in the whole movie and of course his screen time is practically nil. he is a very cute child with a nice speaking voice and he should have been central to this movie. then of course there are the tigers. i have nothing bad at all to say about them. they are magnificent creatures worthy of much admiration and respect. they seem to be trained quite well, although i am not quite sure if some of the stunts are computer generated. my wife and i discussed the movie and we both agree on pretty much all the statements i have written here. i would say you would be better off buying a national geographic documentary on tigers than this.
Rating:
Summary: Must See!
Review: I had seen the advertising teasers and knew this movie would pull at the heart-strings. It did. While this story of two tiger cubs, from their birth to their early grown-up years, is set in the early 1900s, its message remains powerful and important today. The photography in this film is breath-taking, the tigers are beautiful, plenty of close-ups which show the range of their expressions. There are funny moments, sad moments, overall very touching scenes that left me indescribably sorry for the way humankind treats members of the animal kingdom. The ending is uplifting and redeeming, even though somewhat improbable.
I highly recommend this film as a treasure to keep and show especially to a young and impressionable audience.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Touching Story
Review: Like Matrix and Lord of the Rings, the nowadays CG technologies can turn any impossible things vividly as reality to your eyes. However, director Jean-Jacques Annaud took the classic approach to make this film. He used real tigers to act, to stunt, to earn your tears. Unbelievably, those tigers have done truly stunning performance. The storyline is simple but very touching. Especially when two sibling tigers reunion at the arena, the scene showing they recognized each others, remembering they played together and climbing trees, you can feel the powerful brotherhood bond even they've been separated apart for over a year. The ending is also well plotted.
The DVD comes with very good bonus features. My most favorite pick is the 35 min. "Wild About Tigers". It is an excellent documentary short film about everything on Tigers with the following topcis:
- Tiger Ancestors & Tiger Land
- Territorial Tigers
- Courting Tigers
- Family Life
- Killer's Senses
- The Ultimate Killer
- Tiger Conflict
- Jungle Rivals
- Man-Eaters
- Cult Of The Tiger
- Save The Tiger
Overall it's a very warm and touching movie, highly recommended for tiger lovers and family entertainment.
*** Otto Yuen's DVD Special Rating for Two Brothers ***
1. Film Rewatchability: MEDIUM-HIGH
2. DVD Featurability: STRONG
3. Picture Quality: EXCELLENT
4. Sound Quality: EXCELLENT
(Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 01-Jan-2005)
Rating:
Summary: "Two Brothers" theatrical release
Review: My sister and I saw this movie today and what a wonderful movie! Being animal lovers, we did shed a few tears and fell in love with these lovable tigers, and was so glad that there was a happy ending - I loved the ending. I can't understand why this movie didn't do better at the box office. The tigers were so well trained and the human actors did a great job too! I plan to buy the DVD when it comes out so that I can watch it again.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully filmed, evocative story---but not for young kids
Review: The only reason I am giving this film less than 5 stars is because its always been billed as a family film and I believe that some of the more violent passeges of this movie are not for younger viewers.
"Two Brothers" is the story of two brother tigers who are taken from their wild family. One goes to the circus. The other goes to a private menagerie. Eventually, they are pitted against each other in a fight. Our human protagonist is the classic Great White Hunter, a profiteer in Indochinese relics who ends up getting stuck serving out time for selling temple relics and learning more about himself, tigers, and the culture than he knew before.
Otherwise, this film has a lot of wonderful elements. First, "Two Brothers" beautifully depicts the environment in Indochina in the 1920's. The film provides an excellent history lesson for older kids as long as they are prepared for violence toward animals.
Second, the protagonist, Great White Hunter (Guy Pearce) does some growing in this film. Two tiger brothers teach him more about humanity than he'd learned in his 30 odd prior years. Pearce does a fine job portraying the opportunitistic treasure hunter who has a chance to redeem himself in the end.
Third, the film depicts animals as intelligent and thinking creatures who sometimes are more capable than their human counterparts of memory, decency and caring.
Again, this is an excellent film and I would give it 5 stars, save for my concern for small children seeing it. Anyone under the age of 12 should probably be prepared with an explanation about the times and the fact that no tigers were hurt in the filming.
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