Mistaken for Strangers

Tom Berninger is the younger brother of Matt Berninger, the singer of The National. His brother brings him along as crew on the band's biggest tour to date. Tom is a heavy metal and horror movie enthusiast, does not take the job especially seriously, and starts filming everything with a camera he has. What comes out is not a tour documentary but a documentary about the distance between two brothers. Tom directed it himself and does not conceal the fact: the camera keeps turning back on him, recording his mistakes, the tasks he forgets and his envy. The result shows, without embarrassment, what it means to live in a successful sibling's shadow. The band's High Violet tour runs in the background. It opened the Tribeca Film Festival on 17 April 2013. Who it's for: Listeners of The National, viewers who want more than a music documentary, and anyone looking for an honest account of siblinghood. Who it's not for: There is little here for anyone coming for the band's music and stage performances, and the amateur image quality runs from start to finish.