Brotherhood

The film is based on a true life harrowing experience how eleven (11) young boys lost their lives in a horrific boating accident when an unexpected storm arose on the waters at Balsam Lake near the town of Kirkfield, Ontario. Upon arrival on July 20, the Wigington brothers were among the fifteen (15) people who set off in a 30-foot war canoe to purchase supplies in the town of Coboconk. Initial reports of a sudden squall with heavy wind and waves were later discounted and questions were raised about the experience of the paddlers. A mile or two from shore the war canoe capsized. As described by the survivors they witnessed the bravery of some of the other young men who deliberately swam away from the capsized canoe as the heroes realized the overturned war canoe could not bear the weight of all of them. In the film, the heroes bravery is reenacted and I am sure that the negative reviewers took umbrage of what they considered the unbelievable heroics of these young men who willingly gave up their own lives in the cold water so that others may have a chance at survival. Sad but true. This is a well made portrayal of the events leading up to the accident as well as the aftermath of the survivors, one survivor who watched as his own brother drowned on that day. William "Willie" Wigington, 16, witnessed own his brother John, 17, drown and I can only imagine the nightmares Willie had for years afterwards. Only four people, including Willie Wigington, managed to hang on for six hours until the canoe landed ashore at Grand Island at about 2am. This film is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and the realism of the fear, the panic, and of course the tragic deaths of the young men who drowned when this heavy 30 foot war canoe overturned suddenly miles from shore is hard to imagine, but yet, it did happen and there were eleven (11) young men who lost their lives in a horrific and tragic boating accident in the summer of 1926, on Aug. 3, 1926.

I did not know what to expect but could not believe how good this movie is. If you are familiar with this area, you could see how this tragedy could happen. They were ill prepared but that happens and hopefully lessons were learned. The actors were great and the first 5 I'll looked up are all Canadian. I will rewatch this and recommend it.

I've never heard of this tragedy, or of Long Point. I enjoyed the movie, even more after finding out this was filmed in Canada using a lot of Canadian talent. Usually, a few minutes in, I say to myself "This looks Canadian". This was a well-made movie. It was based on a true story, not made to be an action-packed blockbuster. Even the Titanic was a bit of a bore, but it was based on an actual event. Story Telling isn't always edge of your seat viewing.

The film was well acted and beautifully filmed and has a great historic feel, but was unfortunately rather boring, the cutting back and forth just did not work. Better would have been a chronological film and we might have got a bit more character development. The scenes in the boat are so dark at times you can barely make out what is going on and the sound quality is poor and the dialogue mumbled,

Like a Heritage Minute expanded to ninety, "Brotherhood" just may be the quintessential Canadian film. It is a beautifully shot, carefully paced, charmingly acted, and expertly wardrobed, family fare period piece, right in the wheelhouse of the CBC and NFB. Which also means that it is a little dry, a little too sentimental, and a little too eager to please. But damn it, it is maple leaf red Canadian, and the locals will love it. Capturing the simple but beautiful landscapes and times of a post First War Kawartha Lakes young men camping adventure, "Brotherhood" is a throwback not only as an historic piece, but also a nod to classic movie making. Strengths and flaws and backgrounds are onion peeled as the scrum navigate boys-to-men, life building skills, culminating in an ultimate weather and water survival test. Trouble is brewing, that much is clear, as the film flashes forward and back from sunny beach to ominous dark currents. What could have been a groaning plot spoiler, serves as character development whilst navigating a dire circumstance. Based on fact, "Brotherhood" is good enough to engage in a tragedy for which the ending is no mystery. A little sappy, and a little cliched, it nonetheless entertains, especially to a devout patriotic audience. Perfect for the post Hockey Night in Canada, late Saturday viewing on the small screen. hipCRANK

Utterly deluded, though it does a good job at giving some insight on the American view of heroism, totally devoid of stoicism or any self sacrifice for those around them. Just a bucketful of chest thumping nonsense, followed by self pity when it all goes wrong. Nauseating.

The scenes of the boys paddling the canoe tell it all. Despite the fact that the scenery is far from accurately representing Balsam Lake, no "leader" with any knowledge of canoeing and paddling that they would strike out with such an overloaded boat. Thirteen people in a round bottomed canoe, kneeling tall, traversing across the open lake, leaving late in the day with the weather clearly deteriorating, was more than foolish. It was extremely bad judgement. Furthermore, a "camp", where boys are supposed to be learning the arts of the bush, surely their leader would know how to right a canoe to the point that it could be paddled. There are so many questions like this about the movie. Beyond all that, there is so little genuine grit or edge that it becomes naive and boring. What group of boys, in a relatively isolated setting, at this period in history, swim wearing bathing suits? Come on! Where is the swearing, where is the edge, why are their hands manicured and their hair so perfect?

About a group of boys and their adult leaders that has their brotherhood summer training camp in the canadian wilderness, doing activities that shall strengthen the boy into a man. but accident happens underway, and the film is adrama about that and their fight to survive. its not a filom that scares the guts out of you, its more the mental battle to overcome their hardships, and the way the plot is put together are not to overwhelming, id rather say boring., but it gives you time to think out strategies to survive, why not turn the canooe, why not use some floating device etc etc. im grumpy and im old, and think this is a great film for the lame and slain tv viewers, its not good enough to enter the great screening theaters. the story gives opportunities, but the product are slow and motionless. a small recommend

Unfortunately, this is one of those movies that will have you staring at the clock, amazed that 96 minutes can seem so long. I say 'unfortunately' because there is so much material in this true story that should have resulted in a movie that is exciting, inspiring and extremely moving. In fact, the producers seem to think this movie is all of those things, but it is none of them. There are a number of problems. Firstly, we never get to know any of the characters before they are thrown together into adversity. Consequently, it's very hard to care about what's happening to them. Secondly, the actual incident depicted here is shot so darkly (understandably since it happens at night) that it's hard to know who is who and what is happening. Thirdly, a lot of the movie is told in flashback and these back stories just aren't interesting. Fourthly, the age group of the boys who endured this tragedy was between 6 and 16. I don't think many of these actors are under 20. It would have been much more powerful if the cast were the correct age. Finally, the script really, really tries to wring as much emotion and pathos out of every moment it can and it shows. It's amazing then that this movie does not elicit any emotion at all, other than joy when it is finally over. I really wanted to like this. I didn't. It's not going to say a bad movie, just incredibly dull.