In the past 15 years, I’ve been blessed to get to work a lot in my Church’s children’s ministry.
This has included being a camp counselor 11 times, plus another 3 at another Christian Camp. Yet all of this can’t hold a candle to what Rocky Braat has achieved in the film Blood Brother (and continues to achieve).
His inveterate friend Steve Hoover directs the documentary, which shows Rocky as a bit of an recluse (especially around his family). His decision to move to India seems rather impulsive at first, until we see Rocky in the village he has moved to, where he helps out with the local kids that suffer from AIDS.
Anyone who has worked with youth in any capacity for any amount of time knows the various endeavors one faces, and Rocky is no exception. There are the many occasions of losing his temper (yelling “SHUT UP!!!” in one instance), having those one on one conversations with kids who are unable to process their feeling at the moment, and even improvising with situations such as getting a stubborn ring off of a kid’s finger. This does not even account for the fact that these kids are at the high risk of dying from AIDS.
Then there is Surya, that one kid who always follows Rocky around (again, any teacher/counselor/kid worker of any kind can relate). There is the key moment of the film where Surya (who I believe is 10 or 11 at the time, but I can’t recall) is at death’s door, and all Rocky can do is take care of him the best he can (Rocky has no medical training). The doctors are amazed to see that Surya is able to pull through, and, as of this writing, is still with us today (last I heard he has gotten married).
Parents, the film is PG-13 for some truly tense moments, all involving kids. There is one part where one child sadly does not make it, and we see her lifeless body being carried. Take that as you will if you want your kids to see this or not.
In the last 25 years, cinema gave us three versions of Batman, two of Superman (not including the most recent one), two versions of James Bond, Jason Bourne, John Wick, Ethan Hunt, a new version of Mad Max, and too many heroes from the MCU to try and count (even google was not entirely certain).
Still, without any fame or superpowers, Rocky Braat has shown more selflessness than anyone I have seen on screen this century to date, fictional or not.
(As of this writing, Blood Brother is streaming on Tubi, able to rent on VOD, and even free to watch on YouTube.)
You can also follow Rocky Braat on Facebook here.
Nothing else to say 