Two Brothers (2004)

NEUTRAL

Various

87%

2004, Adventure/Drama, 1h 48m

RT Critics’ Score: 78% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 2 nominations

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Critics Consensus

A charming family-friendly movie with stunning cinematography

Audience Consensus

Two Brothers is a movie that will make you feel all the emotions. It’s a beautiful story of friendship and family, but it’s also intense and might be too much for little kids. The cinematography is stunning, and the music will make your heart race. The lack of dialogue is made up for with an endless assortment of thrills. It’s a classic family movie that will make you feel like you’re watching a movie from the forties or fifties. And if you’re an animal lover, be prepared to tear up when Kumal and Sangha reunite. Overall, it’s a must-watch for anyone who loves a good adventure and a heartwarming story.

Storyline

1920s Indochina. In the wild, a pair of adult tigers have just had a litter of two male cubs. It is a loving family unit, with the two brothers having a bond through their adventurous spirit. In different incidents, the cubs are captured individually, and although both in captivity live very different lives. Their individual captures were directly or indirectly associated with the work of Aidan McRory, a treasure and big game hunter, whose main goal is to make as much money for himself by selling his largely illegally obtained artifacts and animal parts at auction in Europe. Through the process, he has an emotional connection with one of the cubs, who is eventually named Kumal, but of who he eventually loses track. The cubs’ lives are affected negatively by a number of other people who are working solely toward their own end goals, but the other cub, who is eventually named Sangha, also makes an emotional human connection to a young boy named Raoul Normandin, the son of the area administrator. Similar to Kumal and Aidan, Raoul eventually loses track of his tiger friend. The second year of the cubs’ lives, they now full fledged adult tigers, is different than their first, with a question being how their individual experiences in captivity will affect how they function in their much different new environments. Both Aidan and Raoul are determined to do whatever necessary to make sure what happens to the tigers are for the benefit of the lives they should be leading based on their history, with Aidan and Raoul perhaps having a different perspective on what that actually is.

Production Company(ies)
Excelsa Film

Distributor
Universal Pictures

Release Type
Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for mild violence

Year of Release
2004

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

DTS Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio:

2.35 : 1
Runtime:

1h 48m
Language(s):

English, Thai, French
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Jun 12, 2004 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 21, 2004

Genre(s)
Adventure/Drama

Keyword(s)
starring Guy Pearce, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Freddie Highmore, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Moussa Maaskri, Vincent Scarito, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, written by Alain Godard, Adventure, Drama, PG, box office gross $18.9M, produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud, Jake Eberts, Paul Rassam, reviewed by Nell Minow, Rex Reed, Nick De Semlyen, Marrit Ingman, Stephanie Zacharek, Alan Niester, Jim Lane, Michael Dequina, Carlo Cavagna, Jeffrey Overstreet, Tony Medley, twin tiger cubs, Kumal, Sangha, hunter, Aidan McRory, circus, abusive trainer, politician’s son, tigers, enslaved, killed for sport, reunited, mild violence, English, Universal Pictures, Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS, Scope (2.35:1)

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $62,174,008
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $98,078,653
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,029
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,695,600

US/Canada gross: $19,176,754
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $30,251,069
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,271
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,144,160
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $9,692,329
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 968

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 59660000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $94,112,839
Production budget ranking: 439
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $50,679,764
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$46,713,951
ROI to date (est.): -32%
ROI ranking: 1,574

Cast & Crew

Guy Pearce

Aidan McRory

Jean-Claude Dreyfus

Eugène Normandin

Freddie Highmore

Aidan McRory

Eugène Normandin

Raoul

Mathilde Normandin

Saladin

Guy Pearce – Aidan McRory
Jean-Claude Dreyfus – Eugène Normandin
Freddie Highmore – Raoul
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu – Mathilde Normandin
Moussa Maaskri – Saladin
Vincent Scarito – Zerbino

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Alain Godard

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Jake Eberts

Paul Rassam

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writer(s)
Alain Godard

Producer(s)
Jean-Jacques Annaud, Jake Eberts, Paul Rassam

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 2 nominations

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Nell Minow

Rex Reed

Nick De Semlyen

Marrit Ingman

Stephanie Zacharek

Common Sense Media

Observer

Empire Magazine

Austin Chronicle

Salon.com

TWO BROTHERS
All Critics (114) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (89) | Rotten (25)
Stunningly beautiful, but too intense for little kids.

December 29, 2010 | Rating: 4/5

Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
This is a family movie on a grand scale, enhanced by lush cinematography and throbbing music, with a minimum of dialogue and an endless assortment of thrills.

July 23, 2004

Rex Reed
Observer
TOP CRITIC
It’s undoubtedly good-natured, old-fashioned family entertainment, but Two Brothers never quite manages to strike a successful balance between fantasy and reality.

July 23, 2004 | Rating: 3/5

Nick De Semlyen
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
July 3, 2004 | Rating: 3/5

Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Noteworthy because it represents a kind of fevered moviemaking insanity that we rarely see these days.

July 3, 2004

Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
The kind of movie that kids used to flock to on Saturday afternoons in the forties and fifties.

July 3, 2004 | Rating: 3/4

Alan Niester
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
August 7, 2008 | Rating: 3/5

Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
The very definition of harmless, watchable entertainment. Exactly whether or not that is good enough depends on who you are.

January 7, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/4

Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
I defy any animal lover not to tear up with Kumal and Sangha reunite, even if it is a little faux.

January 1, 2005 | Rating: B+

Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com
It’s that rare kind of comedy — simple humor based on personalities, behavior, and folly …. rather than forced through crass punchlines or annoying sidekicks.

December 6, 2004 | Rating: 3/4

Jeffrey Overstreet
Christianity Today
October 7, 2004 | Rating: 7/10

Tony Medley
tonymedley.com
[A] heartbreaking fable of friendship, family ties, and the human impact on the natural world…

September 8, 2004

MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher…

Plot
1920s Indochina. In the wild, a pair of adult tigers have just had a litter of two male cubs. It is a loving family unit, with the two brothers having a bond through their adventurous spirit. In different incidents, the cubs are captured individually, and although both in captivity live very different lives. Their individual captures were directly or indirectly associated with the work of Aidan McRory, a treasure and big game hunter, whose main goal is to make as much money for himself by selling his largely illegally obtained artifacts and animal parts at auction in Europe. Through the process, he has an emotional connection with one of the cubs, who is eventually named Kumal, but of who he eventually loses track. The cubs’ lives are affected negatively by a number of other people who are working solely toward their own end goals, but the other cub, who is eventually named Sangha, also makes an emotional human connection to a young boy named Raoul Normandin, the son of the area administrator. Similar to Kumal and Aidan, Raoul eventually loses track of his tiger friend. The second year of the cubs’ lives, they now full fledged adult tigers, is different than their first, with a question being how their individual experiences in captivity will affect how they function in their much different new environments. Both Aidan and Raoul are determined to do whatever necessary to make sure what happens to the tigers are for the benefit of the lives they should be leading based on their history, with Aidan and Raoul perhaps having a different perspective on what that actually is.

Trivia