''My Brother's War'' (also known as ''Flashpoint'') is a 1997 American film directed by and starring

James Brolin James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He is ...

. It was filmed in Ireland for Concorde Anois.

Plot

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, brothers Gerry and Liam are members of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

. In the wake of the

peace process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...

, Gerry wants to follow ethical principles, while Liam knows no limits; this leads them to a divide and Liam forms a splinter group. A

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

agent and the support of Mary will force Gerry to stop his brother.

Cast

Jennie Garth Jennifer Eve Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Taylor throughout the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and Val Tyler on the sitcom '' What I Like About You'' (2002–06). In 2012, she starred ...

as Mary Fagan Bailey *

as John Hall *Patrick Foy as Gerry Fallon *Salvator Xuereb as Liam Fallon *

Gary Cooke Gary Cooke is an Irish actor, satirist and writer who is one of the stars, on screen, of '' Après Match'' and, on stage, '' I, Keano'' and ''MacBecks''. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of media personality Eamon Dunphy, although h ...

as Brian Fagan *Tony Boston as Aidan *Seamus Fox as Bobby *

Lesley Conroy Lesley Conroy (born ) is an Irish actress, director and screenwriter. She is known for her parts in ''Fair City'' and '' Mattie''. Background Conroy is a fluent Irish speaker from County Cork. She graduated from University College Cork in 19 ...

as Frances O'Brien *Emma O'Neill as Sinead *

Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), ''No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangste ...

as Pete *Mike Regan as Michael Fallon *Conal O'Fatharta as 12-year-old Gerry *Michael McNally as 8-year-old Liam *

Cristi Conaway Cristi Lea Conaway (born August 14, 1964) is an American actress and fashion designer. Early life and education Conaway was raised in Lubbock, Texas. Her father was a car dealer and her mother is a real estate agent. She attended Southern Method ...

as Kelly Hall (as Kristi Conaway) *

Craig Warnock Craig Warnock (born 22 February 1970 in Hammersmith, London) is an English actor. Warnock's best known role is that of Kevin in Terry Gilliam's ''Time Bandits''. Warnock has acted in ''To the Lighthouse'', an adaptation of the novel by Virgin ...

as Conal Byrne *

John Slattery John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Roger Sterling Jr. in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award fo ...

as Devlin * Bill Murphy as Paddy

Production

The film was shot in Ireland. Brolin was visited during filming by his then girlfriend

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

. "I really wanted to support Jim, because I knew how difficult it was to direct a movie that you're in," Streisand said. "I had been with men who were not so supportive when I was doing a movie. So I really wanted to give him what I felt I didn't get. I would get up at 5 and give him breakfast and help him through that ordeal. It was just a very loving intimate experience to live in a house with a thatched roof."

Reception

In his book ''The IRA on Film and Television: A History'', Mark Connelly cites the film as one of the films featuring the IRA that presents its acts as belonging to a "splinter" group at odds with the "official" IRA in an attempt to avoid political commentary, which Connelly argues "grant a cloak of legitimacy to the IRA by blaming violence and extremism on lone malcontents."

Awards

The film was named Best Feature Film with a budget over $1 million at the 1997

Hollywood Film Festival The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Los Angeles, California, USA. History The Hollywood Film Festival was established in 1997 by author and producer Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington.Pete ...

.An hour on the phone with James Brolin Dolan, Deirdre. Us Weekly; New York Iss. 299, (Nov 6, 2000): 68-71.

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, id=my_brothers_war, title=My Brother's War 1997 films 1997 action thriller films 1990s political thriller films American action thriller films American political thriller films Films about the Irish Republican Army Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Films set in Northern Ireland 1990s English-language films 1990s American films