Rocky Braat is that rarest of individuals: a selfless person who gives of himself completely, day in and day out.
Braat, a young American who works in an Asian orphanage filled with HIV-infected children, is the subject of Steve Hoover’s moving documentary, Blood Brother, now playing in Toronto.
The film, plodding at first, builds to an emotional crescendo, sucking you into its vortex of pain and joy.
Braat, whose mother was a drug addict and whose father was a deadbeat, yearned for love and stability. He didn’t find it at home in Ohio, but in a country thousands of miles from the United States.
On a trip to India, he stumbled upon the orphanage in the remote village of Tamil Nadu — which is frozen in time and has no running water — and was smitten by the children. This was an ironical development, since he had never liked children. But these kids were different. Ravaged by HIV, they were needy, just as he was.
“They gave their heart to me, and I gave my heart to them,” he says.
Hoping to be more than just a tourist, Braat began teaching English and computer skills in Tamil Nadu’s school. At first, the people of the village were skeptical of his motives, but eventually, they learned to trust him.
The rapport he has with the children is nothing short of amazing. In scene after scene, they wrap their arms and legs around him, showering him with radiant smiles.
Braat, a father figure, is their Big Brother. They take trips together. They celebrate birthdays. They go to movies. They play. All the while, he explains, he tries to build “character” ìn his charges, whose life stories are both tragic and incredible.
Above all, he is their caregiver, attending to their health. The cocktail of drugs he administers keep the the kids alive, but inflict side effects like blindness. Some have even died.
In one of the most touching scenes in this heart-felt movie, Braat nurses a boy who`s at death`s door. His body is covered with sores and bloody welts, but Braat is undeterred. He lavishes tender loving care on him.
The constant stress takes a toll on Braat, who admits he suffers emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Despite everything, Braat is committed to the children in the orphanage and, indeed, to India, judging by his relationship with a local woman.
He is a Good Samaritan. And, he says, “My heart is in India.”