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.

• John Hartl, Seattle Times

  That it clicks is largely due to the daredevil chemistry of the actors playing the brothers, who can be a handful whenever they're together.

• 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.

• 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.

Read all 20 critic reviews