Rocky Braat, traveling through India with the only purpose of feeling something real, stumbled across an orphanage for mother’s and children with HIV. After spending a few days there, he found that he couldn’t leave them and so he went back to America, sold everything he owned and went back to help take care of the children who thought of him as a big brother. The film begins with his friend picking him up from the airport when his Visa had expired. It was his return after 3 years in India and a glimpse at the toll it took on him to be away from what became his life. Steve Hoover, his best friend, decides to follow Rocky back to India to find what had compelled him to give up his life in America and why these children were so important to him.
There are some really tough scenes to watch in this film because they are so real and haunting, but it isn’t without a purpose. This is the harsh reality of the children’s lives. In most of the film they show them at their higher spirits, playing and happy even with their sickness, so it’s important to show you how serious it is at the worst of times. You get to know Surya when he is a smiling, hopeful face and see why it hurts so much for Rocky when he finds he only has a 10% chance of survival. It hits hard, but it also shows you the power of friendship, love and family when hope seems lost.
Blood Brother is honestly one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. Rocky Braat is so genuine, humble and gracious of his life. You can see the love he has for the children who he cares for just as if they were his own sons and daughters. For all that he has been through, all the lives he has had to lay rest, he still holds on and breaths his life into the world around him.
One other thing about this film that really shines out is how our perceptions of HIV/AIDS truly effect those with the disease. I must admit that when watching Rocky be so intimately close with the children when they were hurt or even eating from each other’s plates, I was taken aback, but I realized that he is right. They are children, they still need a parent when they hurt, when they’re crying and we all know that children can read a great deal in our expressions. I can only imagine how my son would feel if he fell and scraped his knee and instead of scooping him up and taking him to get a band-aid I pulled away from him in fear.
Take the time to watch this movie and if you will, purchase it. All Filmmaker proceeds are donated to the children seen in the film and to HIV/AIDS Initiatives. For those of you that are curious, you can get an update on Rocky and Surya by visiting here.
Connect: Learn more about the film and how their projects of building Halfway Homes for kids transitioning out of the orphanage, check out the Facebook Page and/or @BloodBrotherDoc on Twitter!
Purchase: You can purchase Blood Brother for $27.56.
