If the political backdrop is not alienating, Accio's actions might be. As he swings from one side of the pendulum to the other, he remains at arm's length
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
My Brother Is An Only Child reminisces with improbable yet affecting fondness over the adolescents behind the -isms that would shape post-war Italy.
Despite its charged historical backdrop, [director] Luchetti keeps My Brother light and snappy without sacrificing narrative tension.
[Director] Luchetti understands that the soul of Italy is found in its disparate people -- its brothers -- and particularly in its cinema tradition. Luchetti strides in the footpath of giants.
It is almost a relief to find some ideological clarity in a film that unfortunately ends in complete political disillusionment on all sides.
Luchetti's craftsmanship is evident in the movie's fluid on-location cinematography, excellent production design, and its wonderful period score.
[Actor] Elio Germano vitalizes the film: He's hyper-reactive, flickering between brash, bashful, playful, and awkward -- offering a Swiss Army knife performance that's diverse and yet totally unified.
A spunky, memorable, and emotionally touching Italian film about the quest for personal transformation through politics.
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.
My Brother Is an Only Child moves so playfully and briskly you may not notice its glibness, which may have been director Daniele Luchetti's intent.
Made in the tradition of Italian films documenting the effects of shifting political contexts on personal and family lives, Luchetti's intelligent work at once pays homage to and belongs to seminal films by Bertolucci (Before the Revolution) and Bellochio
Politics takes a back seat in a jaunty comedy of a pair of brothers, one Communist and one Fascist, who come to a fraternal understanding too late.
Handsomely shot and astutely cast, My Brother Is an Only Child should achieve the same attention and success accorded to The Best of Youth, whose scriptwriters worked with Luchetti on this one.
A fine and engaging study of two personalities, seemingly in sharp contrast, that prove awfully alike in the end.
Surprisingly funny, good-looking and a true showcase for the talents of rising star Elio Germano.
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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