Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7979 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-12-06
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French, Thai
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Doing for tigers what The Bear did for Grizzlies and Kodiaks, Two Brothers offers lush adventure with a message that anyone can take to heart. French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud directed both films, blessing them with his keen eye for beauty and a love for wildlife that's as impassioned as it is infectious. This time, the adorable critters are Kumal and Sangha, sibling tiger cubs in French Indochina circa 1920, separated when a treasure-hunting adventurer (Guy Pearce) inadvertently leads them to capture. He makes amends by defending their right to freedom, but before that can happen, the now-grown tigers must endure cruel treatment that younger viewers (and sensitive adults) may find somewhat traumatic. There's a purpose to their ordeal, however, and Annaud (along with a world-class tiger trainer, 30 different tigers, and minimal use of digital trickery) films this uplifting story as a child's fable, with equal measures of danger and irresistible charm. As a family-friendly plea to protect endangered tigers everywhere, Two Brothers is cute, cuddly, and easily recommended. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud is known for tackling profound subject matter in films such as QUEST FOR FIRE, SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET, and ENEMY AT THE GATES. Occasionally he takes refuge in lighter films. After his first successful animal tale, THE BEAR (1989), Annaud's second wildlife film is TWO BROTHERS. Here the focus is two rambunctious, adorable tigers--Kumal and Sangha--who live among ancient temple ruins in the Southeast Asian jungle. They become victims of the garish and gluttonous era of British Colonialism in the early 1900s. Aidan McRory (Guy Pearce), a well-known explorer, hosts lavish hunting parties that are in stark contrast with the untamed wilderness. When he stumbles on the tiger family, McRory kills the adult male tiger, but takes pity on Kumal, the traumatized cub left behind. When McRory is arrested for looting ancient artifacts, little Kumal is sold to the circus where local ringleaders beat him into submission and break his spirit. Meanwhile, Sangha, the second cub, is discovered by Raoul (Freddie Highmore), the son of a powerful local administrator (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), but he is later sent to His Excellency, The Prince (Oanh Nyguen), where he is trained to be a vicious killer. Similar to animal flicks like LONG JOURNEY HOME and NEVER CRY WOLF, Annaud further closes the gap between wildlife documentaries and high drama with the help of topnotch actors such as Pearce and longtime co-writer Alain Godard (with whom he worked on THE NAME OF THE ROSE and ENEMY AT THE GATES).

Customer Reviews

Just Superb
One of the best films from this year, if not THE best. The tigers are the main stars in this beautifully produced film which is exquisite to watch. An absolute MUST for cat lovers of all ages. As the producer comments during one of the special features "when they are little you just want to cuddle them, when they are bigger you respect them". Although an emotional charged and touching drama, the underlying message comes across loud and clear. Respect them we must to ensure their survival in the wild. Just wonderful.

Tiger, tiger, burning bright...
'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.

Beautiful
I feel that this is a beautiful film. Sad a tear wrenching, but a very true film. Many of the reviews have said it was to cruel, but we have to open our eyes people. Its what happens everyday, for the stupid sake of a few people buying furs. It is a very true story with a powerful ending. It makes me cry from the second it begins. I would defently reccomend watching this film. It is a strong and beautiful film and it shows us what we are doing to our endangered wildlife.

'A few years ago 50,000 wild tigers roamed free. Now there are less than 5000'