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My Brother Is an Only Child (Mio fratello è figlio unico)
Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(from the 2008 AFI Dallas International Film Festival)
Director: Daniele Luchetti
Writers: Daniele Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli
Starring: Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio, Diane Fleri, Alba Rohrwacher, Angela Finocchiaro
My Brother Is an Only Child has been quietly flowing through the festival rounds since the Festival de Cannes, and has been picking up fans along the way. At its essence, the film is a story of two brothers, one a communist, the other a fascist, both of whom pursue their political causes with a passion born out of different parts of the body. Accio - "the bully" - is the family's black sheep, a thinker with no home for his thoughts until a mentor directs his attention to a fascist organization that can issue him a membership card. Accio's spirit is a restless one, and at times it seems that perhaps the only thing he truly seeks is a reaction. He is a provocateur at heart, and does not have the romantic notion of communist politics that has planted its seed in Manrico, his older brother.
Groucho Marx is attributed with saying that "politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies." And so it can be said of Accio's political direction, as he finds meaning in anything that leads him to where he wants to be, which, exceedingly, is in the arms of his brother's lover, Francesca.
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As Francesca, Fieri gives the film a lust-filled charge to the tension between the brothers. The movie cleverly weaves her charm in and out of the picture, off-setting the politics, and giving the younger Accio a personal goal outside of his own machismo. The movement of the film can be held to suggest that the calm and collected Manrico knew from the start that he was teasing his younger brother with her mere presence, distracting the younger's soul into complicity with Manrico's greater political vision.
Luchetti and his scribes not only provoke their audience with political ponderings, but they've imbued the tale with enough heart and humor to satisfy filmgoers at any level, from any region. While politics is always in play in Italy, this year it also occupies the majority of American minds - and, despite the reported polarity of voters in these 50 states, the parties could definitely not be charged with being as distinctive as Europe's post-war extremists.
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The acting in the film is of the highest caliber, with kudos being especially deserved by the two actors portraying Accio at different ages - Vittorio Emanuele Propizio (in a debut performance) and Elio Germano, winner of the David di Donatello "David" Award for Best Actor for this role. The writing is reminiscent of the best of Garcia Marquez, and possibly also alludes to the Russian literary classic. The color schemes utilized by the filmmakers also do well to draw the viewer back into the political minefields of the '50s thru '70s.
Slated to move from its festival run to open in limited theatrical release in the U.S. at the end of March, My Brother Is an Only Child is one worth watching - and the title alone is worth some thought.
For tickets and screening times, check in with the official sites of the festival and the film:
www.thinkfilm.com/
www.afidallas.com/
Photos courtesy of ThinkFilm (US) and Revolver Entertainment (UK). |
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