Four of the best performances you'll see this year won't be winning any Oscars. They won't be coming from A-list actors or anyone walking down the red carpet at the film's premiere. They'll belong to the two adult tigers and two tiger cubs that portray Kumal and Sangha in Two Brothers. And if they don't steal your heart, you probably don't have one.
Two Brothers tells the story of two Cambodian tiger cubs who become separated from their parents and each other. One ends up in a circus, and the other as the pet of an ambassador's child. While never showing any abuse too intense for younger viewers, the film still doesn't pull its punches. When the brothers are finally reunited, I've never heard more people simultaneously go, "Awwwwww."
Director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear) takes anthropomorphism to a new level. The furry stars of the film (who are rightfully top-billed) don't speak a word, yet even the smallest of children could tell you at any point in the story what the tigers are thinking, feeling, and saying. Truly amazing.