Blood Brother

Oh boy.. This film.. After seeing this film there was a lot to process and I feel like I was leaving the film quite disheartened. I think the film inspired some deep conversations between my friends for a good hour after the film. I think perhaps it made me angry at times and sad at other times and sometimes I wasn't quite sure what to think. It was good at provoking emotion. A part of me wonders if thats the goal is to provoke emotion or if its goal is to simply just tell a story I am simply unsure or maybe perhaps its goal was to do both. Im not really sure if I can find much words for this film i was more or less left speechless. However at a part of the film when he was taking care of the boy in the hospital I couldn't help but think it reminded me of our human relationship with God. It reminded me of how we can literally be repulsive to God because of the sin we sink in but God never stops taking care of us he loves us so much that he cares for us and he wants to see us overcome the things that can literally render us unmovable.  

Blood Brother Blog

I forgot I hadn't posted this blog. I wrote it the night we watched this and completely forgot. So here it is.
     What starts out as a profile of filmmaker Hoover's best pal turns into a remarkable journey into the human soul. Not only does Hoover witness something unexpected, but his own life is changed forever by the experience. And the film is beautifully shot and edited to make the story powerfully compelling.

After living in India for three years, Rocky comes home to Pittsburgh a changed man. He had to return to America to sort out his visa, and realizes that he simply can't fit in there anymore. So Steve decides to return to India with him and see what his life is about. Rocky now lives in rural India and works an Aids refuge populated by HIV-positive women and children. Steve is a bit unnerved by how Rocky has no barriers with these kids: he is now their brother. And they are his whole life.

Hoover's perceptive camera catches tiny details of life both in America and India, putting scenes into sharp perspective. And as he documents Rocky's interaction with these children, who are often dangerously unwell, his camera refuses to cut away. This makes the film transcend the documentary format, because it shows us the truth we would rather not see. A dying child is unbearable for us to watch; we want to run away. And yet there is Rocky, diving into action to help.

Hoover also captures Rocky's goofy antics, moments of deep doubt and the steely resistance we see him struggling to overcome in order to help people. Even his courtship with that girl doesn't go as planned, forcing Rocky to consider the reality that he's also marrying India itself.

Aside from really great photography, the film's real strength is in the way it confronts us with our own life choices. Rocky has decided to live an almost shockingly non-Western life in a very difficult place, simply because it has more meaning than the empty pursuit of money and things back home. And even if this comes from his religious convictions, his satisfaction even in darker moments inspires us even more than the selfless work he does every day.

Blood Brother

So… I know this one might seem irrelevant now, but I did take notes on the Blood Brother film so I remember most of it.

First thing is first, this film was a huge tear jerker. I found myself multiple times being on the edge of full on bawling. It was extremely emotional. In the beginning of the film they started off by showing the young girl go limp, and immediately, we all knew that this film wasn't going to be a cheerful film. We quickly found out that it would take us all on a roller coaster ride of emotions. 

Also, early on in the film, they told a story of a cat being essentially brought back to life by this young kid who we find out to be the main character of the film, this aspect really showed his sense of determination which we later find out plays a huge factor for the reason that he does what he does.

Among other things, Rocky had a very tough time getting to India, but when he is there, he brings so much joy to the kids there. Those kids are in such a grim situation and he keeps their hopes up and encourages them. And when the children go through tramtic stuff, he was there for them and helped them through it. The film did a great job at tugging at the emotions of the people in the audience.

What a wonderful and inspirational film.

Blues Brothers

Sunday I watched the Blues Brothers at the MCA building which would be the last Signs and Wonders showing of this semester. The Blues Brothers is about two brothers (who are always getting in trouble with the law) trying to get their old blues band together in order to raise money to save their former Catholic orphanage from going under. Thinking their quest is a mission from God because of what they are trying to save, the brothers becomes more bold in trying to escape capture from the police. One of the things that makes this movie so interesting is all the ridiculous car chases that goes on. The first chase was in a shopping mall. What I liked about this scene is how all the cars was trying to create the most destruction in the mall while trying to make it look unintentional. In the last car chase, the brothers had a huge army of police cars chasing them. The great thing about this scene was not just the unrealistic mass number of cop cars but how extremely easy for them to crash and be alluded, and how indestructible the brothers were. This movie was filled with humor and I loved it.

Our Blood Brother Is Family

Dying in a house with a sickness no one can cure

How long we will live, no one is sure

People come and people go

When asked to stay, the answer’s no

Only one man came back, and no one knows why

He bought a house here and told his family goodbye

He comes everyday

To help us and play

We know he loves us just as we are

He left us once but he didn’t go far

The friends that come back with him all think he’s crazy

He tells us at home, his father calls him lazy

It isn’t all fun, he disciplines us too

But he’s there with a smile, when you’re feeling blue

Our blood brother is family, even though he is not sick

He married an Indian girl though he could have an American pick

Now he will stay with us for as long as he lives

Which will be a long time, with the kindness he gives

Him and his wife will live happily ever after

With us as their family through pain and through laughter

Blood Brother

I went into Blood Brother not really expecting much and just wanting three blog credits but I left really thinking about it. It sparked multiple conversations just on the way back to my dorm. It had a six out of ten on imdb and I will tell you it deserves much more. It was extremely emotional. Multiple times it had me on the verge of tears. It showed such beautiful and human moments. Its incredible how a man from our society can leave all of this good fortune and comfort behind to go live and work with sickly kids on the other side of the world in an extremely poor area. Before this film I would have been a little scared to interact with the kids because like the villagers I would have been afraid of being infected myself. After this film I just wanted to go to India and adopt all of those kids. I most likely won't end up doing that but it does really make you want to do something.

It did a great job of taking these kids that are kind of shunned from society for a disease and shows us that they are still human. This man was able to see past the sores and their skin problems and have real relationships with them, something many people couldn't do.

Blood Brother was truly a great film and it had many people fighting back tears. I came for the blog credits and stayed for the emotion.

Brother of Blood (blood brother)

Blood Brother was a tear jerking story of a young man's journey to India where he finds an orphanage full of kids that he eventually has a heart for. The orphanage was for kids and women that are HIV positive.

The young man, named Rocky, fell in love with the orphans at this orphanage in India and the kids fell in love with Rocky. He looked passed the aids and really just enveloped all of them. This film follows his journey back to America from India and then Back to India again.

The film to me was very deep and also great. It really had good character development and helped you connect with the people in the film. It took you on an emotional roller coaster and love every minute of it. I liked the film because of that aspect.

Rocky eventually falls so much in love with India, the kids, and a woman that he ends up marrying her and gets to live in India with her, close to the orphanage. The movie had it's ups and downs, but it was a real great documentary. I would recommend it to anyone, especially if you have a heart for the nations.

Blood Brother

I saw this film several weeks ago, and I have to say that I was quite touched by it. The movie actually gave some very unique perspectives and ideas that I have never previously thought about. So what’s it about?

 In the documentary Blood Brother, a graphic designer named Rocky Braat decides to visit India. After stopping by a home for children with H.I.V, he falls in love with the kids and chooses to stay. The relationship between Rocky and the children is very beautiful and inspiring. He is often playing games with them, cleaning their cuts, brushing their teeth, and drying their tears. Whenever he visits them, they are overwhelmed with joy, and you can’t help but smile when they all run to him. The children are like family to him.
 
“No child ever grows out of their need for family” (Rocky Braat). That statement seemed to be very true for him as well throughout the film. His complex relationship with his father and his mother’s abusive boyfriend caused him much pain as a child. His past allows him to truly understand the necessity for a family. However, as much as he wants to be close to the kids in India, the villagers were suspicious of his presence in their home. Rocky worried that the people would only see him as “the white-skinned king helping the darker-skinned needy”. Nevertheless, by the end, he gets married to an Indian woman and commits his life and future completely to the village, living in the same conditions as they do.

Seeing such a selfless person these days is such a breath of fresh air. The fact that he was so willing to give up a luxurious life in the United States to stay with the kids in a place that barely had indoor plumbing is truly inspirational. Rocky Braat discovered the true power of love while he was serving in India and used it to care for others. Though this documentary has some very sad moments, it also has uplifting ones. It is a very inspiring piece of artwork, and for those who haven’t seen this film yet, you should take the time to watch it.

Blood Brother

(Rocky with Crew of 'Blood Brother')

It was interesting to see how an average person like Rocky could make such an impact to the lives of the children he helped. I was taken aback about the entire subject of the film. Documentaries I think are sometimes more powerful than regular fictional film because it is real. There is no hiding from what you see on screen. For the most part, documentaries are shot as the events are happening instead of staging them like in a regular film. This allows the story to be striped away from anything that can get away from raw emotion and gives the audience a sense that events are happening as they see it. 

The team is currently working on their second documentary 'Gennadiy' which follows the story of a man living in Ukraine who helps homeless drug addicted kids get back on their feet again. Sometimes forcefully. It seems to me that these young filmmakers are interested in human interest stories that deal with suffering children and someone who tries and helps them out of their situation. The film is scheduled to hit the film festival market in 2015. The crew had a kickstarter campaign that ended recently to help fund production. 

So...triple blog cred? Yeah. I'm in.

I will admit it. Blood Brother made me cry. I kept willing myself to stay strong, but when the little boy opened his eyes... I lost it.
This documentary was successful in it's purpose- to open our eyes to the crap Rocky goes through practically every single day, and maybe show that anyone can make a difference (Rocky described himself as being "borderline retarded," if he can do these things, so can you).
A few days ago, I came across an article online about a three-year-old girl who was cured of HIV. She is the second person "who is believed to be functionally cured of HIV."
The child was given a larger dose of HIV medication (ART) within the first 30 hours after she was born, which is sooner than most babies with HIV. Anthony Fauci, from the National Institutes of Health, says, "You could call this about as close to a cure, if not a cure that we've seen."
Unfortunately, the conditions in the areas with the greatest problems with HIV and AIDS do not allow medical services like the article described above. These services are harder to come by, especially if you don't have any money. But it is good to know that there are some advances in finding a cure. If a cure is truly found for newborns with the virus, it will be easier to find a cure for older carriers.
A final note: Leeper- you wanted to know if Rocky Braat is a Christian. After minimal Facebook creeping, I found that he does indeed love Jesus.

Blood Brother

Blood Brother is about a young man from the United States of America who gets a chance to travel to India. After visiting an orphanage in Chennai, India, where children with HIV/AIDS are kept, his heart is filled with love and compassion for them. He decides to stay back and care for the children in the orphanage.
One of the things that stood out for me was how beautifully Steve Hoover (Director) injected the roller coaster of emotions into the simple story. The story of Rocky "anna" and the children of the orphanage come in laughter, joy, sadness and tears. Also, the way in which the documentary transitioned from one emotion to another was great. 

Another thing that really stood out for me was the way that the Gospel made its way into the documentary without anyone mentioning it. The part where Rocky kept caring for Surya, the child who had to be hospitalized, was the moment the defined the documentary for me. Rocky kept caring for Surya and tried to be with him as much as he could because he did not want to lose him. He ignored the fact that he could be infected by Surya and kept working hard to help Surya recover. I believe that it was Rocky's love for Surya that brought him out of the pit of death because it was love that led Rocky to keep on caring for Surya, even when the doctors had given up on him. The miracle came through Rocky's love.
Rocky's desire to live in India and sacrifice the "good life" in the United States of America is a clear example of selflessness and a passion to serve. That is something that we are all called for in one way or another.

"Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi

Blood Brother

I wasn't sure what to expect when the movie started with a scene of a a man carrying a dying girl and Rocky trying to drive them somewhere on his motorcycle. This, along with the picture on all of the posters around campus kinda made me wonder why I came. I didn't want to sit through a movie about death and sadness. I thought it was going to be the classic, a little fun, a little grief, missionary story. And to a point, I was right. But also not...

What I found interesting was how much he treated the kids like they were his own kids, buying them gifts of toys and pizza, playing with them like a sibling, caring for and loving them like a father, and all around just being there for them in their times of need.

Like when he found out that his little "sidekick," Surya was in a dangerously ill condition. I couldn't look for some of that scene, he just looked so awful. And I, just like, I think it was the camera man said, Rocky is in there, helping in any way he can, even though he doesn't work there, and I'd be afraid to even come close. And that's really sad. I mean, honestly, I thought at one point when I was younger that I could be a missionary. Now that I really look at it, I don't think I could do everything that's needed. I couldn't do everything that Rocky did and does. I love children, I work very well with them and get along well with them. But, and I know this is extremely selfish, I could never give up everything I have and go to another country just to be surrounded by the death of those I love.

Blood Brother

    When I first heard about Blood Brother being shown, I didn't think much of it. I thought it was just some random student film about India, man was I wrong. I found that out after actually finding it on Rotten Tomatoes. I said to myself, "Wow, this is actually an early screening." So Thursday came around and I was pumped to go.
   From about 8 to 9:30 I was hit with so much sadness, happiness, love, loss, everything. I never thought I could have experienced India through a film. As Rocky lived his life I couldn't help but envy his brave decisions. I mean, how many of us would actually go out to India essentially for the heck of it? Then once he was dealing with the children with HIV I cringed a little bit. It's not a very enjoyable time to see children pass before they become an adult, I don't believe I could ever do it. This is what makes the film so great, Rocky's determination and love for these children is outstanding. I truly loved the message of the film, but as most things, there's a downside, even if it is tiny.
   I understand that the film was a documentary and shots aren't exactly planned, but at some points the sun's glare and extreme shaky cam became disorienting. A very minor and hard to control nitpick though. I only found fault with one other thing. When still images were used, there was some kind of filter thing in between the camera and the image. It looked as if one second we were looking through someone else's prescription glasses. The image would be on screen for ten seconds, but we would only see it for five. The Ken Burns effect would have been just fine. Now for technical aspects that I loved.
   The first scene of the film is Rocky trying to save the dying girl, I unfortunately don't recall her name. That was almost as if Steve Hooper, the director, was setting the tone for the film. It set a very dark and quite terrifying tone, but that's the point. As I said, the film is loaded with different emotions, but sadness and loss are nearly constant. So the film essentially opens up with the lowest point, allowing the audience to deal with the rest with ease. A great editing technique if you ask me. Another great strategy was when Rocky called in sadness about the one boy nearly dying. The audio was heart-wrenching, but the darkness on screen empowers it to the max. Something along the lines of why David Fincher films are darkish green all the time. It's to subliminally convey the tone of the scene, or film as a whole.
   With great strategies such as those, they more than make up for the minuscule problems I found with the film. So, for those that did not attend the screening, find it somewhere and watch it! You will not regret it, promise.