Mio fratello è figlio unico (2007)

Director:

Daniele Luchetti

Writers:

Antonio Pennacchi (novel) and
Daniele Luchetti (story)

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:

1960s | Politics | Seminarian | Latin | Revolution

Awards:

7 wins & 12 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

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:

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

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.

Enough already....

The first 30 minutes or so made me hope for the best. Elio Germano is an actor with an extraordinary power to grab his audience and make us care, plus, the film seemed to move away from the (very good) book it is based on and go for the most engaging comedic aspects of the story. I knew it was too good to be true. Shortly after the film falls in a series of common places robbing us from the possibility to be surprised, engaged or even care. I wonder why it is that we - in Italy I mean - feel the need to visit the past though the same identical paths. To tell you the truth, I'm sick and tired of it. Can we tell stories that live out of its own strength. Politics, intellectual reflections without any, real, base on reality. We are known for protesting at a bar table, maybe go to a demonstration but at the end of the day we are going to do what we're told. Honestly or dishonestly. Could it be that, this relentless film revisions, is a tacit way to justify the fact that we've been so ineffectual in real life. We've been through everything and more but nothing has really changed. We're better identified by the Alberto Sordi characters like the one in "La Grande Guerra" by the great Mario Monicelli. My question is: If I, as an Italian, couldn't care less about the political mismatch of two Italian brothers, imagine the rest of the world. How confusing and ultimately annoying way to tell a story. There was a sort of uproar today, knowing that this film had not been selected for the official selection at the Cannes Film Fest. Hey, come on, think again. Why should it be? There is absolutely nothing new in it. Nothing! Riccardo Scamarcio continues to sleep walk through his film roles. He is beautiful but not nearly as magnetic as Elio Germano. I hope we'll wake up soon and realize that we won't change the past by revisiting it. That we are who we are and should look ahead to see what happens.