Tails of Two Kitties

I don't often devote an entire post to a single film. I usually leave it to the professionals, like the Film Geeks or Nehring. I also average about six movies a week, and it's more common for me to occasionally reference them when they fit in with my other myriad topics. I've seen three in the last 24 hours alone, and the one I saw Friday night moved me enough to write about it.

I'll often forget what movies are in my queue of 500 at Netflix, and unless I've specifically moved one up, from time to time one will bubble to the surface that I forgot about. This was the case with Two Brothers, a film I'd added years ago after seeing the trailer in theaters. It tells the tale of two tigers separated as cubs, and the different paths their lives take. It's also one of those movies that makes you loathe human beings. Sometimes, we really suck.

It's a hard film to describe, because while in some ways it's a live action Disney-esque film, it's also a nature documentary. It walks a fine and successful line between the two. There are no talking animals and no spontaneous musical numbers, but many of the other elements are present. The narrative told by footage of the tigers and other animals is great, and a lot of storytelling occurs without dialogue.

It could have been a beautiful movie without people, but inevitably actors do intrude, including Guy Pearce as a hunter with a heart and Freddie Highmore as a boy whose insight exceeds his peers. Their relationships with the brothers are as key to the plot as the the brotherly bond itself. The film is cheesy at times, for the most part appropriate for children with a few elements I don't think younger ones could handle. There's also an important message, and some staggering figures as to the world's current tiger population compared to years ago. Today, fewer than 5,000 of these majestic cats remain.

The scenery is breathtaking, and the vivid shots of the animals reminded me of some of the trailers I've seen for the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth high definition series. It works equally well as a documentary, and the DVD includes a more straightforward look at tigers in the wild, including mating, hunting, family life, and rivals. As for the fiction spun in the main film, it does an excellent job of drawing every emotion imaginable from the viewer. I knew going in there might be some teary moments. There were also spots I laughed or cheered aloud.

Maybe it's corny, and I'm corny too. Attention is paid to reality, and how tigers do behave in the wild as well as in captivity. For the sake of the story, human emotions are transcribed to the animals as well, from loss to recognition to despair to joy and more. I wonder how much footage was shot to get the right expressions and motions for the narrative. A lot of it was used in the bonus documentary as well.

I didn't mind the cute, fictional aspects of the tale. The world can be as dark a place as a happy one, and in an age where every day brings more bad news, it's great to just see something nice. If you have children older than 8 or 9, or if you're a kid at heart or an animal lover, you might want to give Two Brothers a look. As for me, I might be tuning in to more nature shows after this experience...