Mio fratello è figlio unico (2007)

Director:

Daniele Luchetti

Writers:

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

Release Date:

20 April 2007 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Older Brother | Years Of Lead | Anni Di Piombo | Brother vs Brother | Neo Fascism

Awards:

4 wins & 6 nominations

US Showtimes:

(register to personalize)

Cast

Elio Germano	...	Accio Benassi
Riccardo Scamarcio	...	Manrico Benassi
Angela Finocchiaro	...	Amelia Benassi
Massimo Popolizio	...	Ettore Benassi
Alba Rohrwacher	...	Violetta Benassi
Luca Zingaretti	...	Mario Nastri
Anna Bonaiuto	...	Bella Nastri
Diane Fleri	...	Francesca
Ascanio Celestini	...	Padre Cavalli
Vittorio Emanuele Propizio	...	Accio Benassi bambino
Claudio Botosso	...	Prof. Montagna
Antonino Bruschetta	...	Bombacci

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

Production Management
Paolo Venditti	....	unit production manager

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

Art Department
Roberto Benetti	....	leadman

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

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

Camera and Electrical Department
Fabrizio Cucinotta	....	electrician
Michele Paradisi	....	second assistant camera
Mauro Pezzotti	....	key grip

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

Music Department
Angelo Giovagnoli	....	orchestra coordinator

Other crew
Sal Borgese	....	master of arms (as Salvatore Borgese)
Carmela Compagnone	....	production accountant
Alice Di Giacomo	....	script supervisor assistant
Daniele Esposito	....	production assistant
Daniela Macrillo	....	payroll clerk
Tommaso Vozzi	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Cattleya
• Babe Film

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (2007) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Studio Canal (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• ABC Distribution (2007) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Homescreen (2008) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• NonStop Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Digital Records Roma  orchestra
• New Digital S.r.l.  sound effects

Also Known As:

Mon frère est fils unique (France)
My Brother Is an Only Child (International: English 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:

Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | USA:Unrated | Hong Kong:III | Italy:T | Germany:12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Ireland:15A | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Latina, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cattleya

Trivia:

The conversations with some fascists of the suburbs around Rome has inspired Daniele Luchetti for the lines of Luca Zingaretti's character.

Politics and family, Italian style

Luchetti's film ('Il mio fratello è figlio unico') goes from the Sixties into the Seventies in Italy following two brothers from a communist working-class family. Accio Benano, the rebellious younger one, who drops out of seminary very quickly, gives in to the constant indoctrination of a much older bus driver pal named Mario (Luca Zingaretti) and joins the fascist party. Then he falls in love with Francesca (Diane Fleri), the girlfriend (the first of a series) of his Lothario older brother Manrico (blue-eyed dreamboat Riccardo Scamarcio). Manrico becomes a leftist leader in '68 and moves on to terrorist activities in the Seventies. Accio's black-shirt cohorts cause their share of bother too, of course, but they are depicted as both inept and betraying Accio's confidence. Eventually the latter realizes he's a leftist too at heart. (He only adopted fascism because he wanted to be contrary.) This change in Accio comes almost in time to save Manrico from big trouble.

It took me a while to adjust to the shift in actors when Accio goes from early to late teens. No doubt Elio Germano was an inevitable choice for the older Accio because of his sweet, ironic presence: he's a lovely actor. But the younger actor, Vittorio Emanuele Propizio, and the incidents Accio's involved in early on, project a spirit of fun and craziness that I missed thereafter. In fact, the promise of the early sequences gets dissipated in what becomes an increasingly plodding (and overly telescoped) series of events as Accio's and Manrico's politics, love lives, and family involvements criss-cross over the years.

Reports from those who've read Antonio Pennacchi's amusingly titled novel 'Il fasciocommunista' say the movie lightens things up, but Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli, who collaborated on the screen adaptation, seem to have gotten bogged down and too literally followed the story after those light-hearted and promising beginnings. Mind you, Petraglia and Rulli are no slouches: they also scripted the recent 'Criminal Romance' (veteran actor Michele Placido's 2005 directorial debut, which also features Scamarcio) as well as the highly successful theatrically released TV miniseries 'The Best of Youth,' whose decade-sweeping plot this film's somewhat echoes.

A memorable set piece shows Manrico introducing a '68 reworking of Beethovan's 'Ode to Joy' with revolutionary lyrics. During the performance Mario's fascist hooligans move in, and their targeting his own brother leads to Accio's final break with the right.

The family's base is Latina, a town created by Mussolini south of Rome, which makes an ever-present reminder of heavy Italian legacies. Mario represents the element who refuse to erase or forget the nation's fascist past. He argues (among other things) that there's a worthwhile legacy of architecture. Indeed fascist architecture does have a certain kitsch charm one ought not reject too easily; and an inability to come to terms with the fascist past is surely one of the main reasons for Italy's muddled self-image. This story is a stab at dealing with that psychological issue in a healthy way.

'My Brother Is an Only Child,' which was rejected by the Cannes jury for Official Entry status, lacks the fluidity of Gabriele Muccino's 'Io come te nessuno mai' (which, though very different, comes to mind for its blending of coming of age, family conflict, and politics) but it has a kind of vernacular vigor. It's true, Italian cinema continues to go through a largely lackluster period, and Italian film-goers appear to have been bitterly disappointed with Luchetti's latest. That's a bit of a shame, because there is a lot of charm and humanity here, and for anyone interested in Italy and its modern history, this should be required viewing.

Seen during a limited run in Paris, October 17, 2007.