My Brother Is an Only Child (2007) Mio fratello è figlio unico (original title)

Director:

Daniele Luchetti

Writers:

Antonio Pennacchi (novel) and
Daniele Luchetti (story)
(more)

Release Date:

20 April 2007 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Music

Plot:

Two brothers come of age in a small Italian town in the '60s and '70s.

Plot Keywords:

Revolution | Seminarian | Love | 1960s | Fascist

Awards:

9 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Elio Germano	...	Accio Benassi
Riccardo Scamarcio	...	Manrico Benassi
Angela Finocchiaro	...	Amelia Benassi
Massimo Popolizio	...	Ettore Benassi
Ascanio Celestini	...	Padre Cavalli
Diane Fleri	...	Francesca
Alba Rohrwacher	...	Violetta Benassi
Vittorio Emanuele Propizio	...	Accio adolescent
Claudio Botosso	...	Prof. Montagna
Antonino Bruschetta	...	Segretario Bombacci (as Ninni Bruschetta)
Anna Bonaiuto	...	Bella Nastri
Luca Zingaretti	...	Mario Nastri
Pasquale Sammarco	...	Padre Tosi
Lorenzo Pagani	...	Bertini
Matteo Sacchi	...	Ragazzo Biliardino
Gianluca Viola	...	Nipoto Bombacci
Vincenzo Santillo	...	Piermario
Alessandro Vicca	...	Lupo
Daniela Novelli	...	Francesca's Mother
Joseph Rocchia	...	Francesca's Father
Angelo Tomassetta	...	Factory Director
Elio De Falco	...	Maresolallo Carabinieri
Giovanni Francesco Piccirillo	...	Quarta Sponda
Emanuele D'Avino	...	Calabrotto
Emanuele Dardo	...	Muriatico
Bernardino Bernardini	...	L'Umberto
Emanuele Minutello	...	Peppe Di Bari
Cristiano Serino	...	Orchestra Director
Enzo Ardone	...	Giorgione
Fabio Colussi	...	Compagno piemontese
Maria Luisa Seravesi	...	Compagna piemontese
Marco Guadagno	...	Impiegato assegnazione caso
Melissa Celli	...	Amadeo - at 2 years
Francesco Salvatore Lodato	...	Amadeo - at 5 years

Directed by
Daniele Luchetti

Writing credits
Antonio Pennacchi		(novel "Il Fasciocomunista")
Daniele Luchetti		story and screenplay
Sandro Petraglia		story and screenplay
Stefano Rulli		story and screenplay

Produced by
Marco Chimenz	....	producer
Matteo De Laurentiis	....	executive producer: Cattleya
Gina Gardini	....	executive producer
Bruno Ridolfi	....	line producer
Giovanni Stabilini	....	producer
Riccardo Tozzi	....	producer

Original Music by
Franco Piersanti

Cinematography by
Claudio Collepiccolo

Film Editing by
Mirco Garrone

Casting by
Gianni Costantino

Production Design by
Francesco Frigeri

Costume Design by
Maria Rita Barbera

Makeup Department
Francesco Pegoretti	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Paolo Venditti	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michele Corona	....	second assistant director
Gianni Costantino	....	first assistant director
Gianluca Mizzi	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Roberto Benetti	....	leadman

Sound Department
Gianluca Basili	....	sound effects editor
Sergio Basili	....	foley artist
Daniela Bassani	....	sound editor
Francesco Cucinelli	....	sound re-recording mixer
Davide Palmiotto	....	ProTools operator
Davide Palmiotto	....	sound assistant
Bruno Pupparo	....	sound

Special Effects by
Luca Ricci	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Stefano Camberini	....	digital mastering editor
Fabrizio Cucinotta	....	recording operator
Simone Fontana	....	digital mastering editor
Cosatti Francesco	....	roto artist: Proxima
Fabio Luongo	....	lead compositor

Stunts
Alessandro Borgese	....	stunt coordinator
Alessandro Borgese	....	stunt performer
Alessandro Novelli	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Simone Barbona	....	grip
Ernesto Busillo	....	video assist operator
Fabrizio Cucinotta	....	electrician
Claudio Gallicchio	....	electrician
Patrizio Marra	....	grip
Michele Paradisi	....	second assistant camera
Mauro Pezzotti	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marzia Nardone	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Francesco Garrone	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Angelo Giovagnoli	....	orchestra coordinator

Transportation Department
Andrea Belletti	....	driver

Other crew
Salvatore Borghese	....	master of arms (as Salvatore Borgese)
Tea Cappiello	....	production secretary
Alberto Mattia Cerri	....	production secretary
Carmela Compagnone	....	production accountant
Alice Di Giacomo	....	script supervisor assistant
Daniele Esposito	....	production assistant
Daniela Macrillo	....	payroll clerk
Raffaella Ridolfi	....	unit manager
Tommaso Vozzi	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Cattleya
• Babe Film
• Film Commission Torino-Piemonte (in collaboration with)
• Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBAC) (with the participation of)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures Company (2007) (Italy) (theatrical)
• StudioCanal (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• ABC Distribution (2007) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• NonStop Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2007) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Homescreen (2008) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• KOOL Filmdistribution (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• Odeon (2009) (Greece) (DVD)
• PlayArte Home Vídeo (2009) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Seville Pictures (2007) (Canada) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Digital Records Roma  orchestra
• New Digital  sound effects

Also Known As:

"Mio fratello è figlio unico" - Italy (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Runtime:

USA:108 min | France:100 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:III | Italy:T | USA:Unrated | Germany:12 | Ireland:15A | USA:R | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Latina, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cattleya

Trivia:

Taken from the novel "Il fasciocomunista", the title has been changed in "Mio fratello è figlio unico" as a tribute to the eponymous song by Rino Gaetano.

coming-of-age film with a political twist

Based on the novel by Antonio Pennacci, "My Brother is an Only Child" is a tale of two brothers growing up in Italy in the turbulent 1960s and '70s. Though remarkably alike in disposition and temperament, the two siblings, nevertheless, find themselves on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Manrico (Riccardo Scamarrio), the older of the two, is a committed Communist who rallies the workers in his town to stand up for their rights. Accio (Elio Germano), his younger brother and also the narrator of the story, is a hardcore Fascist who venerates Mussolini and participates in violent protests against the Marxists. A hothead and a bully by nature, Accio (the name actually means "bully" in Italian) finds a convenient outlet for his rage and violence in the thuggery and strong arm tactics he and his fellow fascists use against their adversaries. Manrico and Accio have obviously had a tumultuous love-hate relationship their entire lives, and things get even more complicated when Accio falls in love with Manrico's girlfriend, Francesca. But each man must ultimately decide where his true loyalty finally lies - with family or with the ideological cause that moves and empowers him. This becomes an even more complex question when one of the brothers becomes increasingly disillusioned with the goals and tactics used by his side, while the other grows increasingly radicalized in his commitment to his.

Director Daniele Luchetti brings renewed life to the coming-of-age genre with his intense concentration on the sociopolitical elements of the story. It gets so bad between the two warring factions that even a performance of Beethoven becomes a pretext for bloodshed and violence. And the constant tussling between the two brothers - who can't seem to see eye-to-eye on anything except the girl they love - becomes a microcosmic reflection of the larger world around them.

Uniformly superb performances and naturalistic direction make this a complex and ultimately very moving study of brotherhood, family, maturity and commitment.