Review

The quiet, nearly impoverished farming community of Munnville, New York, became the center of a media barrage in 1990 when semi-illiterate farmer Delbert Ward was arrested for killing his 60-year-old brother while their two brothers slept nearby. Having been arrested and signed a confession under duress, Delbert was subsequently released on bail with the support of the local townspeople who believed in his innocence. This award-winning documentary, while scrutinizing the particulars of the case, becomes a fascinating probe into the mindset of rural America. It becomes painfully obvious that Delbert was a disoriented victim railroaded into a plainly false confession, which is the one very minor drawback of the film as it lacks none of the dramatic tension of The Thin Blue Line. However, as an examination of the chasm between rural and urban cultures, Brother's Keeper excels. It's a mesmerizing sociological and legal look at an almost forgotten piece of the American pie.