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Blaxploitation sci-fi! Now that's a genre you don't hear of often. Starring Joe Morton, better known for his role as Miles Dyson in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day. He plays "the brother", who's an escaped alien slave hiding out in Harlem, after his ship crash lands. Directed by independent cult film director John Sayles, he made the movie as an obvious and at times overworked metaphor for the difficulties of being an immigrant in America.
Unable to speak "the brother" makes his way through New York and the movie in a series of situational vignettes, that often have a comedic nod towards the silent film era. It's clever and inventive, at times unstructured and confusing. Which adds to the feeling of alienation, and being a stranger in a strange land that Sayles is attempting to convey. The gentle comedy that Morton's character brings to the screen is juxtaposed against scenes of racial tension, drug abuse, poverty and urban decay. His outstanding performance as the innocent and charming alien carries the film. He's Chaplin's little tramp, who you root for and warm to. |
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Beautifully handled by Sayles, The Brother From Another Planet is a quirky and charming movie that stays with you long after you've seen it. Often underrated and overlooked, it's low-budget independent film-making at its leftfield best. And one of my personal introductions to independent cinema as a teenager. Over 30 years on from first seeing it, it still sits as one of my favourite (now) cult films of all time. I highly recommend that people seek it out and give it a watch.
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