Docu reveals classical prodigies abused by dad
Join us for NYC Restaurant Week
from 1/21 to 2/8
Complete Lunch $26.00 Plus Tax & Gratuity
from 11:30 am to 4:00 pm
Complete Dinner $42.00
Plus Tax & Gratuity
Reservations Suggested (718) 833-8200
7717 3rdwww.GreenHouseCafe.com
Caribbean Life, Jan. 25–31, 2019 47
f
By Kam Williams
The 5 Browns is a musical
quintet composed of siblings
born in Houston, Texas
between 1979 and 1986, all of
whom started studying classical
piano at an early age. In
1991, they moved to Utah where
they were home schooled.The
promising prodigies eventually
came to the attention of Juilliard
which made the unusual
gesture of enrolling them all
to the exclusive conservatory
simultaneously.
Desirae, Deondra, Gregory,
Melody and Ryan skyrocketed
to fame in the wake of a profile
in the New York Times
which led to further coverage
in People Magazine and other
popular periodicals as well as
to appearances on Oprah, 60
Minutes and The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno. Meanwhile, they
began releasing albums, three
of which reached #1 on the
Classical charts.
Managed by their parents,
Keith and Lisa, The 5
Browns went on numerous
tours around the world where
they would do charity events
prior to performing in prominent
concert halls. Between
mom picking their repertoire
and dad overscheduling
them, the music wasn’t fun
anymore and the kids found
themselves putting on fake
faces on stage.
But far worse was the fact
that Keith had been sexually
abusing his daughters for
years. In 2007, the devastated
girls learned about each other
and summoned the courage
to confront him about the
incest. But he failed to exhibit
any contrition. Instead, he
started representing some
aspiring female teen musicians.
Alarmed, Desirae, Deondra
and Melody decided to report
their father to the police.
Keith was arrested, pled guilty
to child sex abuse, and is currently
serving a sentence of 10
years to life.
When publicized, the tragic
revelations shocked the fans
of The 5 Browns, given their
previously wholesome, happy
family image. However, being
repeatedly sexually abused by
their dad understandably left
the girls traumatized, with
the stress even causing one to
go blind in an eye.
To their credit, Desirae and
Deondra are now working
with N.Y. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
to extend the statute
of limitations for child sex
abuse victims. And they have
created a not-profit organization
called The Foundation
for Survivors of Abuse.
All of the above is chronicled
in engaging fashion in The
5 Browns: Digging through
the Darkness. The revealing
documentary marks the latest
offering from director Ben
Niles who figured out how to
handle a very difficult subject
with just the right balance of
probing and sensitivity.
A moving tale of survival
that’s timely, too, given
the emergence of the #MeToo
movement.
“The 5 Browns: Digging
through the Darkness”
Excellent (3.5 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 100
minutes
Production Company:
Plow Productions
A scene from “The 5 Browns: Digging through the Darkness.” www.imdb.com
Independent & Foreign Films
The 5 Browns: Digging
through the
Darkness (Unrated)
Skeletons-in-the-closet
documentary about
a quintet of siblings
whose meteoric rise
to super-stardom as classical piano
prodigies was spoiled by the shocking
revelation that their manager/
father had sexually abused his three
daughters.
Bricked (Unrated) Coming-ofage
drama revolving around a high
school grad (Tracy Campbell) who
finds himself at odds with his family
while coping with bipolar disorder.
With Terrence TC Carson, Shavonia
Jones and Tasia Grant.
The Image Book (Unrated) Impressionistic
essay, directed by the legendary
Jean-Luc Godard, examining
cinema’s failure to address atrocities
of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
Narrated by Godard and featuring
archival footage of Buster Keaton.
(In French, English, Arabic, Italian
and German)
In Like Flynn (R for violence, drug
use and a sexual reference) Thomas
Cocquerel plays Errol Flynn (1909-
1959) in this biopic depicting the
future matinee idol’s early adulthood
in Australia spent as an adventurer,
gambler, drug smuggler, gold prospector,
Kam’s Kapsules
By Kam Williams
womanizer and street fighter.
With Isabel Lucas, Clive Standen,
Corey Large and Nathalie Kelley.
The Invisibles (Unrated) World
War II saga, set in Berlin in 1943,
about four Jews (Max Mauff, Alice
Dwyer, Aaron Altaras and Ruby O.
Fee) who survived the horrors of the
Holocaust by hiding in plain sight
right in the Nazi capital. Support
cast includes Florian Lukas, Victoria
Schulz and Andreas Schmidt. (In
German with subtitles)
Jihadists (Unrated) Radical Islam
around Africa is explored in this
jaw-dropping documentary exposing
the radical ideology indoctrinating
thousands from Timbuktu to Tunisia,
and from Mali to Mauritania. (In
French with subtitles)
King of Thieves (R for pervasive
profanity) Michael Caine stars in
this fact-based crime caper as the 77
year-old mastermind of a $200 million
bank heist of cash and jewels by
a gang of eccentric senior citizens.
With Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent
and Ray Winstone.
/www.GreenHouseCafe.com
/www.imdb.com
/www.imdb.com