
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.
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