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 | 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
Gianluca Viola	...	Nipoto Bombacci
Vincenzo Santillo	...	Piermario
Alessandro Vicca	...	Lupo
Daniela Novelli	...	Francesca's Mother
Joseph Rocchia	...	Francesca's Father
Angelo Tomassetta	...	Factory Director
Elio De Falco	...	Maresolallo Carabinieri
Giovanni Francesco Piccirillo	...	Quarta Sponda
Emanuele D'Avino	...	Calabrotto
Emanuele Dardo	...	Muriatico
Bernardino Bernardini	...	L'Umberto
Emanuele Minutello	...	Peppe Di Bari
Cristiano Serino	...	Orchestra Director
Enzo Ardone	...	Giorgione
Fabio Colussi	...	Compagno piemontese
Maria Luisa Seravesi	...	Compagna piemontese
Marco Guadagno	...	Impiegato assegnazione caso
Melissa Celli	...	Amadeo - at 2 years
Francesco Salvatore Lodato	...	Amadeo - at 5 years

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
Daniela Bassani	....	sound editor
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
Simone Barbona	....	grip
Fabrizio Cucinotta	....	electrician
Claudio Gallicchio	....	electrician
Patrizio Marra	....	grip
Michele Paradisi	....	second assistant camera
Mauro Pezzotti	....	key grip

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

Editorial Department
Francesco Garrone	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Angelo Giovagnoli	....	orchestra coordinator

Other crew
Salvatore Borghese	....	master of arms (as Salvatore Borgese)
Tea Cappiello	....	production secretary
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. Pictures Company (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)
• Alfa Films (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• NonStop Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Homescreen (2008) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Digital Records Roma  orchestra
• New Digital  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:

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:

Taken from the novel "Il fasciocomunista", the title has been changed in "Mio fratello è figlio unico" as a tribute to the eponymous song by Rino Gaetano.

Growing up with bro is hard to do

Good Italian movies are few and far between – the last I saw was Zefferelli's "Tea with Mussolini", and before that, "Life Is Beautiful". It seems that Italian movies, good or bad, are rare. If the list in Wikipedia is anything to go by, Italy produces about ten to fifteen features a year, far less than Australia.

This one is about growing up in a post-Mussolini, post-war world as a working class Italian. The narrator, Accio (Elio Germano), bright but temperamental, is not the most pleasant of people (his name means bully). At 13 he is sent off to a seminary by his long-suffering and pious parents but even though it's a fairly humane regime he doesn't last long. So it's back to the family's tiny, crumbling flat to grow up with his older brother, Manrico (Riccardo Scarmarcio). Rejecting religion, Accio comes into the orbit of the local fascists, though he is more interested in action than ideology. The handsome, charming Manrico becomes a communist, and beds Francesca (Diane Fleri), an attractive middle class girl who has joined the comrades. Naturally Accio gets interested in Francesca as well.

The story covers the period 1962 to 1968 and plenty of reference is made to the turmoil of the times, but basically it is about a textbook case of sibling rivalry. Acco and Manrico cannot keep their hands off each other – in order to fight, that is. Acco however does manage to reach some sort of maturity at the end.

The story moves along at a good pace and there are plenty of funny scenes. The best one is the occupation by the communist students during the 1968 disturbances of the Rome conservatory where they perform Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" with the words changed to communist slogans, and are then invaded by the fascists crying "Don't mess with Beethoven" (actually the original words were from a poem by Schiller). The switch of actors (Vittorio Propizio plays the younger Accio) is accomplished in a particularly neat fashion, using a method I last saw used in "Conan the Barbarian" where the older actor is substituted in mid-scene.

In the background is Mussolini's legacy, an angry, confused and humiliated nation without a clear sense of direction. His 1930's "new towns" like Latina on the Pontine marches, jerry-built and badly designed, were crumbling already by the 1960s. Replacement housing had been built but corrupt local officials were holding up its allocation. There is a very satisfying moment at the end of the film when Accio, no stranger to causing a ruckus, takes remedial action.

Not being Italian I probably missed a lot, but the film held my attention for its full length, despite Accio not being a particularly nice lad (then neither was Genghis Khan and he had an interesting life). The film is bright, fresh and fast-moving though I'm not sure about the climax, which is rather on the melodramatic side. If the Italians can bring themselves to make more movies of this quality, I'll come along to watch.