Mio Fratello è Figlio Unico (My Brother Is an Only Child) (2007)

87% of critics liked it
(61 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(3,675 ratings)

Growing up in small-town Italy during the '60s and '70s, brothers Accio (Elio Germano) and Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) embody and celebrate opposing political stances, but share an impassioned love of the same woman that threatens to drive them to blows. Director Daniele Luchetti's political comedy… More Growing up in small-town Italy during the '60s and '70s, brothers Accio (Elio Germano) and Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) embody and celebrate opposing political stances, but share an impassioned love of the same woman that threatens to drive them to blows. Director Daniele Luchetti's political comedy Mio Fratello È Figlio Unico (aka My Brother Is an Only Child, 2007) observes the brothers over the course of 15 years, against the ever-shifting backdrop of tumultuous Italian sociopolitical history. During that time span, the siblings' loyalties will fluctuate; they will endure arguments and quarrels, and find themselves separated by the ravages of time and circumstance and reunited magnetically by the wisdom of age. In time, they will come to a firmer and clearer understanding of not only the differences but the similarities that they harbor. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Daniele Luchetti
Written By: Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Daniele Luchetti
Genres: Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 20, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Aug 5, 2008
Studio: ThinkFilm

Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
The film, which argues that blood brotherhood is stronger than political brotherhoods, vibrates with their youthful energy and ardor.
Philip Marchand, Toronto Star
The linkage in this movie between politics and family dynamics is a point well taken, but the movie -- whose sense of frenetic activity going nowhere is captured by Luchetti's buoyant camera -- does go on and on before anyone learns anything.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Sometimes, under a torrent of social pressures, water runs faster, if not thicker, than blood, and even the strongest bonds drown in the flood.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
You don't need a degree in political science to love this film...The film entertainingly demonstrates that the bonds of blood are stronger than those of ideology.
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
Director Daniele Luchetti's strategy is to personify the long-standing divisions of his homeland in a pair of siblings, but make the characters so vital that we don't feel we're being browbeaten with political allegory.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
In a sense, the movie is about Accio's appreciation of the practical limits of ideology and the practical uses of rebellion, and it's a poignant realization.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
Actors Germano and Scamarcio turn in magnificent, multilayered acting jobs.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Daniele Luchetti's fluent, heartfelt Italian picture is the story of two brothers born after the war, who come of age in the 1960s and drift apart in the paranoid, violent, sour political atmosphere of Italy in the 70s.
Jonathan Kiefer, Sacramento News & Review
A merry swirl of vital, passionate performances.
Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald
It's an engrossing political love story, with a strong sense of the shadings within the daily lives of these characters.
Jake Wilson, The Age (Australia)
Fast-paced, well-acted and acute about sibling rivalry, the film nonetheless fails to leave a strong impression.
Margaret Pomeranz, At the Movies (Australia)
This is such a lovely film from writer/director Daniele Luchetti, nostalgic perhaps, but with that indefinable Italian whimsy that takes serious political themes and undermines them beautifully.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
The performances are astonishing, perhaps enabled by the flawless script.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
Despite the awards pedigree, the drama is a bit of a slog at times, with Accio taking seemingly ages to come of age, but nobody said growing up was easy.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
"Only Child" is both funny and heartbreaking, and incredibly adept at shifting between lighter and darker tones.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
Although familiarity with Italian politics helps in appreciating this film, anyone can enjoy this energetic tale of a house divided.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
The best thing about the movie are the performances, all of which are outstanding; in particular, Angela Finocchiaro, who plays the long-suffering mother, is superb.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
The film's early affability eventually wears out, and a sharp turn into deadly seriousness feels out of place.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
My Brother Is an Only Child is a buoyant, handsomely crafted film.
Josh Rosenblatt, Austin Chronicle
A coming-of-age story about a young man who - like the era he was born into - has no idea how to come of age, except by violent fits and starts, in all directions, to varying ends, and ready to change course whenever the mood strikes.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stefanie C

differing political ideologies of communism versus fascism can not sever the bonds between two brothers. very moving and well acted film.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"There's nothing in the middle of road but yellow lines and dead armadillos." - Jim Hightower[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"My Brother Is An Only Child" starts in 1962 in Italy… More
[font=Century Gothic]"There's nothing in the middle of road but yellow lines and dead armadillos." - Jim Hightower[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"My Brother Is An Only Child" starts in 1962 in Italy where Accio Benassi(Elio Germano) is in a seminary studying to be a priest. He does well until he discovers masturbation and quits, reasoning that priests should be pure.(Good luck with that, by the way.) Returning home, he learns that his parents(Angela Finocchiaro & Massimo Popolizio) will not let him study Latin, instead forcing him to go to technical school, so he can learn something practical. To make matters worse, his sister Violetta(Alba Rohrwacher) is allowed to pursue the cello. Temporarily running away solves nothing but joining up with the Fascists through Mario(Luca Zingaretti) at least gives him a sense of purpose. It also gives him a point of argument with his older brother Manrico(Riccardo Scamarcio) and his cute girlfriend Francesca(Diane Fleri), both Communists.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"My Brother Is An Only Child" is an engaging examination of radical politics in Italy in the 1960's, minus the cliches, musical cues and references to historical events which takes the movie down to a personal level. Throughout, the Communists and Fascists appear to resemble little more than rival street gangs(you could make a pretty good Romeo and Juliet story out of this). They are fighting for the present as the Communists represent an idealized future while the Fascists represent a nonexistent past. Regardless, the movie makes a potent argument against violence waged for any cause.[/font]
Panta O

In this movie everything seems right... it was well directed by Daniele Luchetti, perfectly written by him and Sandro Petraglia with Stefano Rulli and all roles were superbly played by Elio Germano (Accio), Riccardo Scamarcio (Manrico), Diane Fleri (Francesca), Alba Rohrwacher… More
In this movie everything seems right... it was well directed by Daniele Luchetti, perfectly written by him and Sandro Petraglia with Stefano Rulli and all roles were superbly played by Elio Germano (Accio), Riccardo Scamarcio (Manrico), Diane Fleri (Francesca), Alba Rohrwacher (Violetta), Angela Finocchiaro (Mother) and Massimo Popolizio (Father). Some of the best social dramas I've seen in my life were Italian made, and this one should be in the top 10 - it has it all: class struggle, ideological warfare, political contention, you name it - and most of it is expressed through sibling rivalry. The director sets the stage for a morality play or maybe some kind of a family melodrama, but he manages to show us on that stage materialized violence or grief... and all seems natural, done in breezy and raffish maner! Explosions of the sibling rivalry between the brothers are regular while they make their choices in life. Did someone said the life is like a rollercoaster? A film with a message... a film which will make you think! Enjoy watching it!
William G

A rushed coming-of-age drama; call it 'The Second Best of Youth.'
Tom S

Great cast. Can't wait to see more from them.