From the beginning of time, sibling rivalry has plagued mankind. Since Cain killed his brother Abel in a jealous rage, Romulus murdered Remus over a triviality, and, in the American Civil War, brother fought against brother.
The Obscure Brother is the story of one such sibling rivalry. This is the tale of Jesus’ step brother, whom is convinced Jesus is the result of an affair between his stepmother, Mary, and another man.
As the boys grow up, The Brother speaks of his half-brother as a con man and trickster, who later leaves their village only to return ten years later, still doing magic tricks.
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This film is an interesting twist on Christian mythology. Some traditions hold that Joseph was a widower with children when he wed Mary, yet very few people have taken the time to consider what things may have been like from the perspective of these children.
However, some of the suggestions made in the film could potentially offend some people. Speaking strictly in terms of Biblical narrative, Mary would have already been pregnant when she and Joseph were married, but in The Obscure Brother, it appeared that they had been together for a while before Mary became pregnant. Also, according to Christian tradition, Mary remained a virgin, even while carrying and giving birth to Jesus. Catholic tradition holds that she kept her virginity throughout her entire life, while Protestants believe that, after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived as husband and wife and may have had other children together. In this movie, although Mary and Joseph had not yet consummated their marriage, a brief scene between the two of them implied that they finally did, resulting in the birth of Jesus. The Brother, however, saw Mary once speaking to a strange man and thus assumed that Jesus’ birth was the result of an affair on the part of his stepmother.
But in this film, The Brother tells the audience that Jesus’ death was nothing more than His greatest trick, and that Jesus had asked his half-brother to help with it. However, it does seem entirely possible that, due to The Brother’s extreme jealousy, he really did turn on his brother out of revenge, and instead lied to the audience in order to justify his actions.
Given the fact that this was such a short film, the story was pretty well condensed. However, there were a few jumps in logic that made it a little hard to follow. First of all, it seems somewhat odd that The Brother would have such a deep connection to his stepmother, as most children are somewhat resentful of a new parent taking the place of an old one. It might be good to add a narration that better explains The Brother’s feelings.
Additionally, there was very little to plant the suggestion of Mary’s infidelity within The Brother’s mind, except for a brief scene in which she is seen talking with another man. It’s difficult to tell if the implied affair is actually real or simply a product of The Brother’ jealous mind. If not, it may be good to extend that scene to include The Brother overhearing a conversation or something that implied infidelity. (Editor's Note: The director recently made a slight extension to this scene to imply that, rather than a lover, the man Mary was talking was the angel Gabriel, which would imply that Mary was in fact a virgin and that The Brother's suspicions were a product of a jealous mind.)
Also, there was a scene in which The Brother told Joseph of his suspicions and soon after Joseph tells Jesus that he is no longer his son and Jesus leaves their town. These two scenes seemed a little too brief and random, especially the scene in which Joseph disowns Jesus, and a little more exposition in this manner might make it clearer. (Editor's Note: The director wished it to be made known that her intent was to portray that Joseph gave into fear under The Brother's denouncements, rather than that he truly believed Mary to have been unfaithful. As this was the case, the recommendation is that this needs to be made more clear, either through a slightly longer scene or a short additional scene that gives us this information.)
