Parents Television Council Reviews

PTC reviews aim to provide you with advance information about an entertainment offering so that you can be the final arbiter of what you and your family see.

Two Brothers
By Kimberly Sielen

Release Date: June 25, 2004
Starring: Guy Pearce, Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Co-Starring: Freddie Highmore, Oanh Nguyen, Philippine Leroy Beaulieu, Moussa Maaskri, Vincent Scarito
Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Genre: Family/Wildlife Drama
MPAA Rating: PG for mild animal and hunting violence

PTC Says:  Two Brothers is a beautifully portrayed account of two tiger cubs separated by treasure hunters only to be reunited later as unwitting enemies. Two Brothers focuses on the importance of love and family, and does an amazing job conveying the important message of family unity.

Two Brothers opens as the cubs' (named Kumal and Sangha) father, the Great Tiger, is killed after attacking a member of a hunter's party.  Sangha escapes with his mother, the Tigress, but Kumal is found by hunter Aidan McRory (Guy Pearce), who adopts him.  Unfortunately, Aidan becomes imprisoned for looting artifacts, and Kumal is sold to a local circus.  The local ambassador (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) learns of the tiger's attack and in response arranges for the new prince to hunt down and kill Tigress and Sangha for sport.  Killing a tiger would be the prince's way of following his father's legacy as a powerful leader and expert game hunter. But the soft spoken prince does not like to hunt, and can barely shoot a gun. The prince's lack of violent aggression is to the tiger's advantage. Rather than shooting the tiger the prince arranges for the ambassador to take Sangha home to the ambassador's son, to be raised as a pet.

The two brother cubs grow up in very different environments. Kumal is beaten by the circus trainers, and in captivity, never learns to hunt or fight.  Although beloved by the ambassador's son, Sangha gets into a tangle with the family dog and is sent away to be part of the Prince's collection of vicious animals. Here he is trained to fight for the public's entertainment. The harsh environment in which each brother lives deprives the young tigers of companionship and ability to learn skills they need to survive in the wild. As faith would have it, the now-grown tigers are reunited on the battlefield. Initially the two separated brothers do not recognize each other. But soon the sibling bond is restored. Their love for each other and past experiences come flooding back to the now-grown tigers in a heartwarming scene. The message: Families never forget each other.

Two Brothers is a great choice for families.  Some scenes may be too scary or intense for very little ones, children eight and up should find the colorful scenes with animals and bright costumes entertaining. Parents and older children will take away an uplifting message of family unity and strength. In some scenes, violence is implied however it is depicted in the aftermath, or the scene cuts away before the act actually occurs on screen. For example, we see Aidan aiming his gun, and then it cuts to the (bloodless) tiger lying on the ground surrounded by his family.  The tigers only attack in self-defense; they are not portrayed as ruthless hunters.  There is no inappropriate language. Sexual references are limited to an implication that the ambassador's wife has a crush on Aidan (which is never acted upon), and the implication that two tigers are mating - an act that produces Kumal and Sangha.  The prince's feelings of inferiority show that even the most powerful rulers need the support of others because that is when they are strongest.  Every character has someone to rely on.  Kumal has Sangha, Raoul has his parents, Aidan has his guide and band of followers.  No one is alone.  This is an important message in the film - people (and tigers) innately need each other to survive.

Overall, this movie is appropriate for everyone from late elementary school and older because of its uplifting messages of love and family. The film does a wonderful and original job portraying these meaningful and important themes.

PTC Presents Two Brothers Director with Seal of Approval

Family Movie Reviews

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org

Have you seen this movie? Comment on this review, Click here!