Summaries

A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.

The Brother is an alien who has crash-landed on Earth, in New York City. While mute, strongly empathic, and able to fix things, he resembles a Black man with strange feet. His attempt to make a place for himself in Harlem is an allegory for the immigrant experience in the United States. Meanwhile, two bounty hunters from the Brother's home planet arrive and try to capture him.—Reid Gagle

A slave from outer space escapes to earth. Except for his three-toed feet, he looks like an ordinary young black man. He crash-lands on Ellis Island, appropriately enough, and ends up in Harlem. There he makes friends with the owner and the regulars of a bar. Because he can fix any machine (by simply touching it), he's able to make money. He's mute, which proves more of an advantage than a disadvantage. And he can heal himself and others with nothing but his hands. His real troubles begin when two extraterrestrial bounty hunters attempt to recapture him and bring him back to where he came from.—J. Spurlin

Details

Keywords
  • alien
  • new york city
  • slave
  • astronomical object in title
  • humanoid alien
Genres
  • Comedy
  • Sci-Fi
Release date Sep 13, 1984
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) R
Countries of origin United States
Language English Spanish French
Filming locations Ellis Island, New York Harbor, New York City, New York, USA
Production companies Anarchist's Convention Films UCLA Film and Television Archive A-Train Films

Box office

Budget $350000
Gross US & Canada $3677209
Gross worldwide $3677209

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 48m
Color Color
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

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