The new documentary film, Mistaken For Strangers, was made by Tom Berninger, the brother of The National's singer Matt Berninger.

'Mistaken For Strangers': A Story About A Band Becomes A Story About Two Brothers

Soundcheck | Mar 31, 2014

Brooklyn indie rock outfit The National is a band of brothers -- literally. The group consists of two pairs of brothers -- there's Bryce and Aaron Dessner, and Scott and Bryan Devendorf, plus frontman Matt Berninger. But Berninger does, in fact, have a brother who is nine years his junior.

Tom Berninger joined The National as a roadie for a portion of its recent world tour, and he brought a camera along. And what he documented along the way has now been released as Mistaken For Strangers, a chronicle of Tom's relationship with his big brother and his conflicted feelings about Matt's rock star status. 

In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, the Berningers talk about how Tom's almost incidental inclusion in the band's tour support roster lead to a film equal parts painful character study and warm, funny portrait of family... with guitars.

This segment originally aired on March 31, 2014.

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