My Brothers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

My Brothers Blu-ray Movie Review

Sons' Day.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 17, 2013

Millions of people celebrated Father’s Day recently, honoring their Dads with vintage pictures on Facebook, cards, gifts and probably a celebratory dinner. But doubtless only a very few may have thought of watching the charming, if awfully sad, 2010 Irish film My Brothers, a melancholic journey of three siblings who are coming to grips with the impending mortality of their father. The Irish are often accused of being overly sentimental, and some may feel that this debut feature from writer Will Collins and director Paul Fraser wallows a bit too much in lachrymose territory, but it’s also an incredibly honest and incisive look at the interrelationships between three very different boys and how their father’s declining health is affecting each of them.

When oldest son Noel (Timmy Creed), who begins the film with some touching narration, decides to take a memento, a basically worthless watch, to remember his father by, things soon spiral out of control, to the point where Noel and his two younger brothers, portly Paudie (Paul Courtney) and Star Wars obsessed tyke Scwally (T.J. Griffin) are soon accompanying him on a road trip to replace the object, which has become damaged. That sets the bulk of the film in motion, where the three brothers have various small scale adventures that slowly but surely peel back the layers of their emotional turmoil. This is an uncommonly affecting film, filled with beautiful and heartfelt performances, and it should certainly be appreciated by anyone who’s ever been a parent or a child.

My Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

My Brothers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The elements here are in stellar condition, and as is almost always the case with Olive releases, there has been no obvious digital tweaking of them in preparation for this high definition release. The film has some very minor contrast issues which present some difficulties in some of the most dimly lit scenes, but otherwise this is a top flight presentation that offers accurate, nicely saturated color and excellent fine object detail.

My Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Brothers's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 offering more than capably handles the relatively small scale sonic ambitions of the film. Dialogue is cleanly presented (though those thick Irish brogues can be a bit hard to penetrate at times, and sadly there are no subtitles to help), but perhaps the most memorable thing aurally speaking is the really moving score, including some beautiful acoustic contributions by Gary Lightbody and Jacknife Lee.

My Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

My Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Chances are you've probably never even heard of My Brothers, despite the fact that it had a run at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for (and won) some Irish equivalents of the Academy Awards. But if you're looking for a beautifully realized evocation of both the bonds and dysfunctions of sibling relationships, look no further. This is a devastatingly effective experience and instantly jumps into my list of favorite Blu-rays I've seen this year. Highly recommended.