From Jeff Nelson

The refugee experience is a powerful and personal one, particularly when it’s put up on the silver screen for the audience to get a peek into such a vulnerable perspective. Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi’s In the Land of Brothers takes us through three such journeys, circling in on a precise moment of hardship and trauma.

Beginning in 2001, In the Land of Brothers tells three stories of Afghan refugees living in Iran over the course of its chapters. They seek to make this land their home, valuing family and opportunity above all else. However, dangers in the form of police brutality and administrative threats keep them in a state of fear, making it increasingly difficult for them to achieve the freedom they so desperately yearn for.

The concept of “home” is a common thread across all three narratives. Each protagonist has their own definition of the word and values that inform it, although each vignette explores a defining moment of their experience that will undoubtedly shape their lives beyond the story’s scope. The threat of deportation looms over their heads, forcing them to submit to the very powers that can make their greatest nightmares a reality.

In the Land of Brothers is rightfully an uncomfortable watch, although the characters are almost entirely defined by their traumas. The people and moments that bring them joy are glazed over, painting a harrowing image of refuge that is undoubtedly important and valid, albeit hangs on one note. Each segment begs for further exploration, offering potential as individual feature-length projects of their own. 

The performances strongly resonate across the board. Mohammad Hosseini, Hamideh Jafari, and Bashir Nikzad carry each of their respective vignettes, offering an emotional core that amplifies the pathos beyond the words on the page. Any one of them have the capacity to carry a full-length narrative, yet the film’s structure does them a disservice.

In the Land of Brothers is a potent exploration of the refugee experience and a timely interrogation of the meaning of “home.” Amirfazli and Ghasemi’s direction calls urgency to each segment, although the perspective characters are underwritten to the point where they’re defined by their trauma. Cinema provides us the opportunity to look at the world through another lens, which is a feat this drama achieves. However, it’s a shame that it spreads itself a bit too thin across three rapidly-paced narratives that limit our ability to utterly immerse ourselves in their worlds.

Rating: 3/5

In the Land of Brothers screened at Sundance 2024 on January 22nd, 2024.

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