Cheap Brother's Keeper (DVD) (Delbert Ward) (Bruce Sinofsky, Joe Berlinger) Price

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Customer Reviews of Brother's Keeper

And then, one of the brothers died and his brother was accused of his murder. The town banded together to help him as it seemed as if he were coerced in confessing. He had an IQ of 63 and could neither read nor write. The other brothers were equally as simple.

The trial got national media attention, and even Connie Chung came out to interview Delbert and the people of the town. How this all effected everyone concerned is painstakingly recorded in this documentary.

Us city-folk rarely get such a penetrating glimpse into the lives of a rural community and the townspeople, and the three surviving brothers all shine with humanity. We get to know the people. We get to see the trial. We hold our breath during testimony. Rumors fly. The case becomes absurd. All filmed with utmost compassion.

This is not a fun movie to watch but it rings with a universal truth and the viewer comes away with an enriched sense of humanity.

Thoughtful and moving.
A near impossible documentary to categorize, this touching film focuses on the alleged murder of Bill Ward by his brother Delbert, a plain dairy farmer in the central New York community of Munnsville. His defense becomes a rallying cry to his neighbors as he becomes a target of speculation, abuse and manipulation. At times it seems this story is about the exploitation of country-folk by the media, or the encroachment of the city on rural communities like Munnsville, or the importance of community activism in the judicial system, or abuses of power by an unsympathetic police department. But at its core, this is a yarn about four brothers, hermits, living a nearly extinct lifestyle among cows and hayfields, knowing only each other in their day-to-day life.

Berlinger and Sinofsky play with their audience. Lulling us into a false sense of knowledge, we casually apply stereotypes to the people of Munnsville and then, by watching how they respond to this crisis, slowly we are forced to conclude that, like the media circus that followed the Ward case for so many months, we are as wrong in our preconceptions and as quick to leap to judgment about these people as all those who've done them wrong. The people of Munnsville are not simple. Or stupid. They chose their way of life, they did not fall into it.

Despite which, the Ward brothers are, at times, seen as sad; illiterate and deprived of human contact as they are. When Lyman Ward testifies on his brother's behalf, he shakes and is unable to speak because people make him nervous. This scene is so touching - it is to the directors credit that they were deft enough just to let the camera record his trembling in silence. That image stays with the audience long after the film ends.

Brother's Keeper is more compelling than any fictional drama, painting broad strokes on a very small canvas. The story is personal, compassionate, and powerful.

Brothers Keeper
This is one of the most wonderful films I have ever seen. Why it was not given the academy award for best documentary the year of it's release I'll never know. This film will captivate you from begining to end. This is a sad yet masterfully told story of a simple people who by the death of a brother are propelled into the not so simple world of the judicial system. It is also a feel good story of a town who will do most anything to back their own. Im sure after seeing this Documentary you will be as moved as I was.