There is a strong and understandable tendency to over praise films dealing with or representing minority groups simply as a means of encouragement. It's all very well being supportive of a particular minority group, but biased criticism ultimately does nobody any good.
Countless of very mediocre gay themed movies have received disproportionate praise. With themes of being black as well as being gay, "Brother to Brother" is a perfect candidate for such slanted criticism.
Let me state clearly, that to my mind, "Brother to Brother" is in no way mediocre clearly having being made with much care and devotion. As others have pointed out, it's informative and educational in its depiction and discussions of the Harlem Renaissance about which not terribly much is known by the wider public. Rodney Evans proves himself a director and writer with a lot of promise.
However labelling this a "masterpiece" or "amazing" is to do a disservice to Evans. Hopefully he will go on to create masterpieces and amazing films but this is not it. "Brother to Brother" has much to recommend it. The performances are solid, the dialogue flows, the characters are interesting, and the cinematography is way above the average for a first time indie effort. For all this Rodney Evans certainly deserves praise.
With all the genuine will to encourage young black, (or gay) film makers, it's important to keep focus on the real quality of the work. "Brother to Brother" despite it merits doesn't quite make the grade.
