Film making as a form of self-therapy wasn’t on the agenda for Tom Berninger, the younger brother of Matt Berninger, the front man of the critically acclaimed band The National. In fact, he seems to stumble through this filmic undertaking about the Brooklyn-based indie band. What is concealed behind the documentary MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS is an amusing family story. At the center of the story is the relationship between the two brothers. Matt, the “alpha male,” invites his younger brother, a heavy metal fan and laid back aspiring horror movie filmmaker, to work for the band as a roadie. He accepts the job and packs his camera to film the adventure unbeknownst to his brother. Until this point his “underdog” brother Tom has mainly made amateur films and still lives at home. In the first minutes of MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS Matt Berninger is obviously impatient and frustrated by his brother’s seemingly inane questions and his inability to carry out his roadie tasks.
The film hovers on the border of decent taste but is softened up a bit by its dry humour. The band composition alone had enough potential insofar as the sibling topic is concerned. That the film is opening in theaters at a time when the band has moved from a critics’ favourite to a mainstream act (the band has an invitation from Berlin's Max Schmelling Hall), does leave an unsavoury aftertaste. This is mainly because this sibling anti-rivalry is not suitable for a mainstream audience. Though the film is spiced with a few entertaining The National anecdotes and stage performances, one cannot help but wonder if the entire film is a PR campaign for the band, which doesn't really fit to the melancholic and wonderful music.

Eileen Reukauf