A deeply moving, compassionate and ultimately heart-warming film, He’s My Brother (Skyggebarn) may be modest and straightforward in tone and structure but is a wonderfully poignant doc that will strike a deep chord with audiences. It received a special mention as part of the Nordic:DOX competition at CPH:DOX and also screens at DOK.fest Munchen.
Essentially it is the story of Peter Hanberg, who was born deaf and blind, and his family, but given deeper resonance because it is co-directed by his sister Christine. She and director Cille Hannibal work perfectly together to craft a film that meshes thoughtful observation with heartfelt insight.
Peter recently turned 30 – the film closes with his birthday party – and has always lived with his family, cared for by his stoical and caring mother Jonna and father Jorgen. His sister Christine is four years younger. Like her parents she has, over the years, come to understand his unique sign language and expressions, but has worries for the future.
His need for help and assistance is so specific that the family is having trouble finding a residence for him. Five years earlier his day-care centre closed, and Christine was employed partly as an aide to her parents to look after Peter. As his mother says when they have a meeting at a possible residential centre, “there are only three like him in Scandinavia,” and while there is deep love for Peter, there is also a deep concern about what will happen to him, and who can assure him a dignified life.
The film opens and closes charmingly with Peter and Christine on a rollercoaster (a metaphor is ever there is one) before delving into delightful early footage of Peter as a baby, growing into a toddler and the arrival of his little sister. Christine – and the film – explores her role as sister and potential guardian, while there is special poignancy to her tough conversations with her mother as she tries to take a lead in caring for him. Her mother cannot quite let go, well aware that she has a special sense of understanding for the moods and needs of her son.
Christine travels through myriad mixed emotions, where she has to accept a future in which she will be taking care of her brother when her parents no longer can. She has frank conversations with her mother about how that future might develop. The film shows Peter in a variety of moods – frustrated, angry, loving, scared and funny…the same perhaps as any 30 year-old – but despite the astonishingly loving family dynamic there is always an underlying sense that ‘what’s to come’ is always on their minds.
As a gift, Christine gives her parents a four day trip to Amsterdam and she takes on looking after Peter by herself. The look on her mother’s face veers between happiness and worry, but the plan works well – they have a great time, and Christine bonds beautifully with her brother. The closing scenes of Peter’s birthday are a beautiful end to this deeply moving film. As Christine reads a touching letter to her brother she admits “as a matter of fact, you don’t know that I am your sister,” reflecting the deep sense of love and understanding that permeates this delightful film.
Denmark-Norway, 2021, 75mins
Co-Directors Cille Hannibal, Christine Hanberg
Production Final Cut for Real, Sant & Usant, Danish Film Institute, TV2, Norwegian Film Institute
International sales Cinephil
Producer Monica Hellström
Cinematography Christine Hanberg, Cille Hannibal, Julie Bezerra Madsen
Editors Cille Hannibal, Sofie Steenberger
Music Sune Koter Kolster
