The Brother in The Brother From Another Planet crash lands on Ellis Island in the middle of the night. Injured and dazed, he crawls from the wreckage of his ship and wanders into the buildings that once held thousands of immigrants. A touch of the wall reveals that the Brother is sensitive and can hear all the languages of those past souls. He also has the power to heal, as his hand held with a glowing light to his amputated foot begins to repair what was lost.
When light shines on a new day the Brother manages to get to Manhattan and all the way uptown to Harlem. Confused and hungry, he finds his way into a local bar where a few of the regular patrons are suspicious of his appearance and odd behavior. His inability to speak makes it hard to understand who or what he truly is. But his ability to fix broken machines with a touch helps to find him a place on this new planet. But danger awaits as he is being pursued by two men in black, alien bounty hunters who identify themselves as “Immigration.”
Spoilers ahead.
As the Brother settles into a rented room in Noreen’s home, he befriends her young son, Little Earl. He takes the boy to a museum exhibit on the Underground Railroad. As he points to a picture of a slave and then points back at himself it becomes clear why he was fleeing another planet.
The Brother begins to recognize symbols that would appear to us as just graffiti. As the men in black close in on him, these symbols may lead him to a safe place. Even when the men in black have him in their grasp he still finds a way to escape. Following the symbols like long ago directions for the Underground Railroad, he finds his way to those who are like him. He asks his fellow refugees with a thumbs up if they are going back into space. He is given a thumbs down, meaning the subway and a ride back uptown on an A train to Harlem. He has found a home.
The Brother From Another Planet stars Joe Morton, Maggie Renzi, John Sayles, David Strathairn, Steve James, Bill Cobbs, Leonard Jackson, Tom Wright, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Directed by John Sayles.
The Brother From Another Planet is available with subscription on AMC+. Free with ads Tubi, Plex, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel. Free on YouTube (lower quality but no ads). $3.99 in the usual places.
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The animated short is Your Black Friend, narration and screenplay by Ben Passmore. Animated by Krystal Downs and Alex Krokus of Doggo Studios.
Next week’s movie is Paris Is Burning.
