Work Analysis of the Movie Brothers

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Military has been predominant in our society: a statistic showed that world military spending in 2012 went over 1.7 trillion dollars. Its present everywhere: in the news, on TV, in videogames and in movie. A movie example could be Brothers, where we can relate situations to certain themes. Within this analysis, I will relate the movie to three major themes: men’s relationship to war, war and patriarchy and women’s relationship to war.
Resume:
In overall, the movie is about a marine Captain (Sam) who leaves on his mission to Afghanistan, leaving his wife (Grace) and his two daughters behind. He’s also leaving his brother (Tommy), a criminal who just got out of jail for robbing a bank. While Sam being on mission and being captured as prisoners (presumed dead), Tommy looks after Grace and his two nieces, creating a strong bond between them, and helping the family go through its grief. When Sam comes home, he’s totally changed: he becomes a cold man suffering of PTSD and paranoia, and suspects his wife and his brother have had sex together. In the end, he attempts suicide, after having a rage breakout because of his daughter (she said that Grace and Tommy had slept together), and is sent off to a psychiatric clinic. He also tells his wife about what really happened while he was in his mission, how he killed Private Joe.
Men’s relationship to war
The film somehow suggests that the war experience confirms a young man’s manhood. We can see how Sam, successful captain in the US marines, is praised by his father in comparison with Tommy, who has spent most of his life getting into trouble. Hank, Tommy and Sam’s father, at one point states that Tommy should grow up, be a hero, just like his brother. In a way, war is reflected as a competit...

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...ould. Women are practically put as victims, but also supporters of war. As we see, the wife of Private Joe, Cassie Willis, grieves her husband’s death, but still honors him, saying that he died with dignity for a good cause. As said before, Grace goes to a community center where a lot of wives and kids of the military men hang out, which describes the role that Grace has in the military. Also, after her loss, Cassie goes to talk to Grace to relieve her pain and to talk about the nightmare she had which included Sam. Although Grace wished that Sam didn’t go to his mission, she still accepted it, which demonstrates how she encourages against her will her man to do his masculine duty. She understands that she may lose him, but still lets him go, because it is his duty. On the battlefield, no women are present: the military unit where Sam was did not contain any woman.

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