Who Shot My Brother?

Colombia-born, Montreal-based documentary filmmaker German Gutierrez puts his family in the spotlight in the unsettling documentary Who Shot My Brother? Gutierrez's brother Oscar, a left-wing politician, was the target of an assassination attempt (recreated for the film)—and although he was shot in the head, Oscar recovered from his wounds and remains politically active, but the hitmen were never apprehended. Guiterrez, who had been living in Canada for 30 years before receiving the news of the attempted homicide, returns to his homeland in the dual role of investigative reporter and detective, hoping to track down both the would-be killers and the higher-ups who ordered the hit. Yet, in the course of his sleuthing, a bigger picture emerges of a nation living a violently schizophrenic existence in which the national military, guerrilla militias, drug cartels, and shadowy American interests engage in a never-ending circle of violence, kidnapping, terrorism, and chaos. In fact, the Colombia that Gutierrez rediscovers seems downright lunatic, an environment where murder and mayhem are as common as traffic jams. If Who Killed My Brother? ultimately raises more questions than it answers, the film nonetheless presents a jolting ground-level view of how the breakdown of law and order affects both one country as a whole and one family in particular. A memorable, deeply disturbing documentary, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)