Uncle Howard

The movie is a deft sort of dual narrative.

Uncle Howard begins as a slightly tentative film about a nephew’s quest to discover more about his adored film-maker uncle, Howard Brookner. But it grows into a perceptive, poignant documentary which looks at many things.

This is no starry-eyed, heart-on-sleeve flashback but a low-key, respectful one, no less appealing for its relative reserve.

A deeply personal piece of work that offers both an introduction (or re-introduction?) to the director’s uncle — a once-burgeoning independent filmmaker who died of AIDS in 1989 at just 31 years of age — and a somber meditation on talent lost.

A bit disjointed but also vibrant and loving.

It’s a sad project, a testament to lives cut short and stories half-told.

Here is a sensitive, intelligent portrait of film director Howard Brookner.