Brother's Keeper

( 2 )

Overview

The first feature-length effort by documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, Brother's Keeper unfolds a strange-but-true story about a most unorthodox family. 59-year-old Delbert Ward lives with his brothers Bill, Roscoe, and Lyman on a dairy farm near the upstate New York village of Munnville. Barely able to function on an adult level, the Ward brothers keep to themselves, ignored and shunned by their neighbors. When older brother Bill dies on June 5, 1990, the authorities determine that his death...
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Overview

The first feature-length effort by documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, Brother's Keeper unfolds a strange-but-true story about a most unorthodox family. 59-year-old Delbert Ward lives with his brothers Bill, Roscoe, and Lyman on a dairy farm near the upstate New York village of Munnville. Barely able to function on an adult level, the Ward brothers keep to themselves, ignored and shunned by their neighbors. When older brother Bill dies on June 5, 1990, the authorities determine that his death was not from natural causes. Suspected of a mercy killing, Delbert is charged with second degree murder. It gradually becomes apparent that the police coerced Delbert into signing a confession, whereupon his neighbors, who previously wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the man, begin lobbying passionately for his release. It's not that they believe that he's innocent, it's simply that he is one of "theirs." Berlinger and Sinofsky firmly refuse to sugarcoat their subject; their glimpses of the Mann brothers and their bizarre lifestyle might be unsettling to some. In addition to its other accomplishments, Brother's Keeper also demonstrates in a non-judgmental fashion how the media can manipulate public opinion, both positively and adversely.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener
The ability of Brother's Keeper to deal with so many different subjects -- problems of the elderly and mentally challenged, the debate over mercy killing, the shifting definitions of community -- is its greatest strength. Because there is a trial for murder at the center of this story, the film is also about the limitations of our justice system to deal with acts that fall in a gray area that borders on criminality. Delbert Ward may have helped his older brother Bill to die, but given the circumstances -- Bill's debilitating illness, Delbert and his brothers' inability to administer proper care, and their extreme sense of isolation -- passing legal judgment on the act is almost impossible. The film is most provocative in depicting the attitudinal shifts the citizens of Munnville, from indifference and even suppressed hostility to the Ward brothers to passionate defense of them as fellow citizens of a rural community that prides its being removed from the rest of the world. Would residents of an urban apartment building rally around their neighbors with the same kind of antipathy to outsiders? Brother's Keeper is that rare documentary that raises questions without definitively answering any of them.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 11/11/1997
  • UPC: 720917010915
  • Original Release: 1992

    • Rating:

  • Source: Fox Lorber
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Lyman Ward
Technical Credits
Joe Berlinger Director, Editor, Executive Producer, Producer, Screenwriter
Bruce Sinofsky Director, Editor, Producer, Screenwriter
Douglas Cooper Cinematographer
Jay Jungar Score Composer
Lidsay Law Executive Producer
Molly Mason Score Composer
Jay Ungar Score Composer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 2 )
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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Posted September 19, 2011

    Must See

    I remember when this came to PBS. The most interesting documentary that I can remember that I had to tape and rewatch. Now that VCR's are becoming a thing of the past I was delighted to see that B&N had it on DVD. I bought one for myself and two more for Christmas gifts!

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  • Posted October 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    My Flesh and Blood
    Young@Heart
    Born into Brothels
    Man on Wire

    An excellent documentary about a small town and their misfits.

    Shows and interesting dynamic that people from small towns would enlighten those who weren't. This will lead to a lot of discussion about how the town came to support those they had previously shunned. Very tender moments from the brothers and their cousin. Highly recommended.

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews