Brothers at War
Encyclopedia
Brothers at War is a 2009 documentary film
directed by Jake Rademacher
and produced by Rademacher and Norman S. Powell. The film follows several soldiers in the Iraq War. The film's executive producer
s are actor, director, and Presidential Citizens Medal
holder Gary Sinise
and Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service
holder David Scantling
. Brothers at War won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the 2008 GI Film Festival
. The film features an original score by Lee Holdridge
and an original song--"Brothers in Arms"--by John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting
.
. As the film develops, however, it becomes clear that Jake's underlying motivation is to prove himself to his brothers, as well as to himself. Jake, who longed to join the military as a youth but was denied entry into West Point (which is never fully explained in the movie unfortunately), clearly feels the need for acceptance from his serving brothers. The film follows Jake’s experiences as he embeds with his brother Isaac in Iraq as well as other U.S. and Iraq
i combat units. Rademacher goes along with reconnaissance
troops on the Syrian border and into sniper "hide sites" in the Sunni Triangle. As Rademacher’s brothers return home, the film shows the toll separation and life-threatening work takes on soldiers’ parents, siblings, wives and children.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Jake Rademacher
Jake Rademacher
Jake Rademacher is the director/producer of Brothers at War, the award winning documentary about an American military family and the Iraq war...
and produced by Rademacher and Norman S. Powell. The film follows several soldiers in the Iraq War. The film's executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s are actor, director, and Presidential Citizens Medal
Presidential Citizens Medal
The Presidential Citizens Medal is the second highest civilian award in the United States, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is awarded by the President of the United States, and may be given posthumously....
holder Gary Sinise
Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise is an American actor, film director and musician. During his career, Sinise has won various awards including an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed, and played the role of George Milton in the successful film adaptation of...
and Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service
Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service
The Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service is the second highest award presented by the Secretary of Defense to non-career Federal employees, private citizens, and foreign nationals for contributions, assistance, or support to Department of Defense functions that are extensive...
holder David Scantling
David Scantling
David Scantling has led start-up technology teams at Uprizer, Econex, Grey Haven and Storage Continuity. As a senior executive at IBM, Hewlett-Packard and the US Department of Defense, he worked on major business transformation, Internet and telecommunications initiatives...
. Brothers at War won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the 2008 GI Film Festival
GI Film Festival
The GI Film Festival was founded in 2006 by husband and wife team Brandon L. Millett and Major Laura Law in response to the lack of quality films portraying American service members...
. The film features an original score by Lee Holdridge
Lee Holdridge
Lee Holdridge is a Haitian-born American television composer and orchestrator.-Biography:He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, of a Puerto-Rican mother and an American father, the botanist an climatologist Leslie Holdridge...
and an original song--"Brothers in Arms"--by John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting
Five for Fighting
Five for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman " , "100 Years" , and "The Riddle" .-Early years:...
.
Synopsis
Jake Rademacher states at the beginning of the film that he is setting out to understand the experience, sacrifice, and motivation of his two brothers serving in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. As the film develops, however, it becomes clear that Jake's underlying motivation is to prove himself to his brothers, as well as to himself. Jake, who longed to join the military as a youth but was denied entry into West Point (which is never fully explained in the movie unfortunately), clearly feels the need for acceptance from his serving brothers. The film follows Jake’s experiences as he embeds with his brother Isaac in Iraq as well as other U.S. and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i combat units. Rademacher goes along with reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
troops on the Syrian border and into sniper "hide sites" in the Sunni Triangle. As Rademacher’s brothers return home, the film shows the toll separation and life-threatening work takes on soldiers’ parents, siblings, wives and children.
Cast
- Mahmoud Hamid Ali as Himself
- Edward Allier as Himself
- Zack Corke as Himself
- Danelle Fields as Herself
- Ben Fisher as Himself
- Kevin Keniston as Himself
- Frank McCann as Himself
- Brandon 'Mongo' Phillips as Himself
- Claus Rademacher as Himself
- Isaac RademacherIsaac RademacherIsaac Rademacher is a United States Army Major and a 2000 Graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York....
as Himself - Jake RademacherJake RademacherJake Rademacher is the director/producer of Brothers at War, the award winning documentary about an American military family and the Iraq war...
as Himself - Jenny Rademacher as Herself
- Joseph RademacherJoseph RademacherJoseph "Joe" Rademacher , is a United States Army Staff Sergeant. He and his brother United States Army MAJ Isaac Rademacher, were featured in the award winning documentary Brothers at War that was directed and produced by their elder brother, Jake, along with producer Norman Powell and executive...
as Himself - Robert Smallwood as Himself