Although familiarity with Italian politics helps in appreciating this film, anyone can enjoy this energetic tale of a house divided.
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.
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
Reviews for My Brother Is An Only Child
Although familiarity with Italian politics helps in appreciating this film, anyone can enjoy this energetic tale of a house divided.
Director Daniele Luchetti's strategy is to personify the long-standing divisions of his homeland in a pair of siblings, but make the characters so vital that we don't feel we're being browbeaten with political allegory.
The rough-and-tumble tone is bitterly entertaining but in the end doesn't contribute to a convincing historical portrait, and a pileup of half-baked resolutions spoils the buzz.
In this lively drama of rebellion and revolution, emotion is even more inflammatory than politics.
The film's early affability eventually wears out, and a sharp turn into deadly seriousness feels out of place.
Thanks to the captivating performances, this is well worth checking out.
My Brother Is An Only Child reminisces with improbable yet affecting fondness over the adolescents behind the -isms that would shape post-war Italy.
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.
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.
Tells a familiar story in a familiar way with conviction and no small amount of talent on both sides of the camera, though it's hardly essential.
A spunky, memorable, and emotionally touching Italian film about the quest for personal transformation through politics.
It's an engrossing political love story, with a strong sense of the shadings within the daily lives of these characters.
works best as an Italian dramedy with its history used as window dressing and any original thought kept happily to itself.
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.
It's vibrantly shot throughout, with the handheld camerawork well suited to conveying Accio's impulsive behaviour.
What makes My Brother Is an Only Child so alive and entertaining is how it dramatizes the endless tug-of-war between political conviction and personal experience -- the way the lines twist and blur and finally implode.
This smart, engaging film shows how much political convictions are often rooted in the inchoate passions and early disappointments of youth.
Luchetti's craftsmanship is evident in the movie's fluid on-location cinematography, excellent production design, and its wonderful period score.
One hardly needs to have grown up Italian in the '60s to feel a pang of nostalgia watching My Brother Is an Only Child, Daniele Luchetti's tale of small-town brothers.
Latest News for My Brother Is An Only Child
March 25, 2008:
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July 24, 2007:
Mio fratelle e figlio unico (My Brother is an Only Child) - preview & trailer ![]()
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