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Movies / Upcoming / 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.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

US Box Office: $0

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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Reviews for My Brother Is An Only Child

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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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)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

works best as an Italian dramedy with its history used as window dressing and any original thought kept happily to itself.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/28/08
Chris Cabin
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com

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.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
03/23/08
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

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

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

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
03/28/08
Kent Turner
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/25/08
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Chicago Reader

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

The film's biggest failure isn't Accio's constant contentiousness, nor the story's dense political center. Rather, it's the script's tendency to wander.

Full Review Source: Let's Not Listen | comment Comment
04/10/08
Tricia Olszewski
Tricia Olszewski
Let's Not Listen

manages to evoke, but never trivialise, the mad, internecine conflicts of recent Italian political history

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/06/08
Time Out

My Brother Is an Only Child is a lively minor addendum to the grand tradition of Italian fraternal cinema.

comment Comment
03/28/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is almost a relief to find some ideological clarity in a film that unfortunately ends in complete political disillusionment on all sides.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
03/26/08
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

Luchetti directs with a light touch that recalls the Italian comedies that were popular -- in the U.S. as well as Europe -- during the period it portrays.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
04/03/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

My Brother Is An Only Child reminisces with improbable yet affecting fondness over the adolescents behind the -isms that would shape post-war Italy.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/27/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film

[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.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
03/26/08
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

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

Yep, it's your typical shouty Italian movie, though this time presented with sharp humor and an effortless cinematic verity by director Daniele Luchetti.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
04/04/08
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News
 
 
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Latest News for My Brother Is An Only Child

March 25, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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July 24, 2007: Mio fratelle e figlio unico (My Brother is an Only Child) - preview & trailer Opens in new window
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