Two Brothers

Among the temple ruins of a distant land, Kumal and Sangha, two very different tiger cubs are born. One is fierce and strong, the other shy and gentle. However, fate and the actions of humans separate the two tiger brothers. The fierce tiger is taken to a circus where he lives in a cage, while the shy tiger becomes the pet of a governor's son. Over time the fierce tiger loses his spirit to homesickness and a parallel fate holds his brother who is eventually given away to a man who trains him to fight. The two brothers do meet again, but only when they have become enemies.

It feels somewhat refreshing to have a film about animals, which is not either animated, or computer animated. When you see this film you realise why it took 3 years to make, the sheer quality of the animals' performances makes you forget that they don't in fact know the script. Sadly this characteristic of the film is probably the reason why its promotion was so small; it has no special effects, its animals don't tell jokes or sing, they just live.

Two Brothers does not have the bright happy sentimentally that you might expect from a Disney film about animals. It presents the issues of tiger hunting and exploitation in a realistic and occasionally violent (though most violence is off screen) light. This results in the film being emotionally wrenching at times, and not just for 7-year-old kids but anyone.

Of course the moral behind the film is that if we do not look after tigers better then we will be left with only those animated talking ones. Yet the film is not devoted to this message, the humans that divide the brothers are not all bad and the end of the film is not as negative as you are led to expect. Plus the film is punctuated with beautiful cinematography and shots of Southeast Asia that add a wildlife documentary quality.

If you like cute animals, or care about animal issues, or enjoy wildlife documentaries or want to see a well made moving film, then you will not regret seeing Two Brothers.

Anthony Loh