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Movies / On DVD / My Brother Is An Only Child
My Brother Is An Only Child

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My Brother Is An Only Child (2006)

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Reviews Counted:58

Fresh:50

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: Luchetti takes advantage of the storyline's historical context without sacrificing his cast's fine performances or the script's light wit.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Mar 28, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: Already a smash in its native Italy, MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD, which was presented at this year’s Cannes and Toronto film festivals, reunites director Luchetti with longtime collaborators Sandro... Already a smash in its native Italy, MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD, which was presented at this year’s Cannes and Toronto film festivals, reunites director Luchetti with longtime collaborators Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli, best known as screenwriters of the highly acclaimed “The Best of Youth.” Set in a small Italian town in the 60’s and 70’s, the film tells the story of two brothers who want to change the world – but in completely different ways. The elder, Manrico (Riccardo Scarmaccio), is a handsome, charismatic firebrand who becomes the prime mover in the local Communist party. Accio, (Elio Germano) the younger, more rebellious brother, finds his own contrarian voice by joining the reactionary Fascists. What starts as a typical tale of sibling rivalry becomes the story of the polarizing and paralyzing politics of those turbulent times and, the rift between the brothers is further intensified when Accio realizes that he loves his brother’s girlfriend, Francesca (Diane Fleri) who, like everyone else, is blind to Manrico’s increasingly dangerous ideas. An intensely cinematic and incredibly incisive film about the dreams and disillusionments of the 60’s and 70’s, MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD is set in the exact era of the groundbreaking early classics of Bernardo Bertolucci and Marco Bellochio. Not only does Luchetti pay explicit homage to those films – “Before the Revolution,” “Fist in the Pocket,” and “China is Near” – he comes very close to matching their beauty, intelligence, and youthful exuberance. --© THINKFilm [More]

Starring: Angela Finocchiaro, Luca Zingaretti, Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio

Starring: Angela Finocchiaro, Luca Zingaretti, Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio, Diane Fleri, Alba Rohrwacher, Massimo Popolizio

Director: Daniele Luchetti

Director: Daniele Luchetti
Producer: Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz
Screenwriter: Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Daniele Luchetti
Composer: Franco Piersanti
Studio: ThinkFilm

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Release:

Aug 5, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The violent political unrest of 1960s Italy brings simmering tensions between two feuding brothers to the boiling point in this critically acclaimed film. Eager to distance themselves from each other, Accio (Elio Germano, Do You Like Hitchock?, Respiro: Grazia's Island) and older brother, Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio, Romanzo Criminale, Three Steps Over Heaven), join opposing political parties but are tied together by their dysfunctional working-class family... and a beautiful girl named Francesca. As the turbulent decade comes to a close, the brothers slowly discover they're more alike than they thought, but that realization might come too late.
  • Source: Image Entertainment Inc.
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    Reviews for My Brother Is An Only Child

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    The film, which argues that blood brotherhood is stronger than political brotherhoods, vibrates with their youthful energy and ardor.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Carrie Rickey
    Carrie Rickey
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Daniele Luchetti's fluent, heartfelt Italian picture is the story of two brothers born after the war, who come of age in the 1960s and drift apart in the paranoid, violent, sour political atmosphere of Italy in the 70s.

    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Peter Bradshaw
    Peter Bradshaw
    Guardian [UK]

    A merry swirl of vital, passionate performances.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
    08/07/08
    Jonathan Kiefer
    Jonathan Kiefer
    Sacramento News & Review

    It's an engrossing political love story, with a strong sense of the shadings within the daily lives of these characters.

    Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
    06/20/08
    Paul Byrnes
    Paul Byrnes
    Sydney Morning Herald

    Fast-paced, well-acted and acute about sibling rivalry, the film nonetheless fails to leave a strong impression.

    Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
    06/20/08
    Jake Wilson
    Jake Wilson
    The Age (Australia)

    This is such a lovely film from writer/director Daniele Luchetti, nostalgic perhaps, but with that indefinable Italian whimsy that takes serious political themes and undermines them beautifully.

    Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
    06/13/08
    Margaret Pomeranz
    Margaret Pomeranz
    At the Movies (Australia)

    The performances are astonishing, perhaps enabled by the flawless script.

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    06/12/08
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile

    Despite the awards pedigree, the drama is a bit of a slog at times, with Accio taking seemingly ages to come of age, but nobody said growing up was easy.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
    06/12/08
    Phil Villarreal
    Phil Villarreal
    Arizona Daily Star

    "Only Child" is both funny and heartbreaking, and incredibly adept at shifting between lighter and darker tones.

    Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
    06/11/08
    Rob Thomas
    Rob Thomas
    Capital Times (Madison, WI)

    Although familiarity with Italian politics helps in appreciating this film, anyone can enjoy this energetic tale of a house divided.

    Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
    06/08/08
    Beth Accomando
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org

    Although familiarity with Italian politics helps in appreciating this film, anyone can enjoy this energetic tale of a house divided.

    Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
    06/08/08
    Beth Accomando
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org

    The linkage in this movie between politics and family dynamics is a point well taken, but the movie -- whose sense of frenetic activity going nowhere is captured by Luchetti's buoyant camera -- does go on and on before anyone learns anything.

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    06/06/08
    Philip Marchand
    Philip Marchand
    Toronto Star
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The best thing about the movie are the performances, all of which are outstanding; in particular, Angela Finocchiaro, who plays the long-suffering mother, is superb.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    06/06/08
    Liz Braun
    Liz Braun
    Jam! Movies

    Sometimes, under a torrent of social pressures, water runs faster, if not thicker, than blood, and even the strongest bonds drown in the flood.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    06/06/08
    Rick Groen
    Rick Groen
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The film's early affability eventually wears out, and a sharp turn into deadly seriousness feels out of place.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
    05/22/08
    Josh Bell
    Josh Bell
    Las Vegas Weekly

    My Brother Is an Only Child is a buoyant, handsomely crafted film.

    Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
    05/16/08
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    St. Paul Pioneer Press

    A coming-of-age story about a young man who – like the era he was born into – has no idea how to come of age, except by violent fits and starts, in all directions, to varying ends, and ready to change course whenever the mood strikes.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    05/16/08
    Josh Rosenblatt
    Josh Rosenblatt
    Austin Chronicle

    You don't need a degree in political science to love this film...The film entertainingly demonstrates that the bonds of blood are stronger than those of ideology.

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    05/15/08
    Colin Covert
    Colin Covert
    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    That it clicks is largely due to the daredevil chemistry of the actors playing the brothers, who can be a handful whenever they're together.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    05/09/08
    John Hartl
    John Hartl
    Seattle Times

    In this lively drama of rebellion and revolution, emotion is even more inflammatory than politics.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
    05/08/08
    Sean Axmaker
    Sean Axmaker
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer
     
     
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