 Starring Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio
Directed by Daniele Luchetti
Accio is a fast-mouthed, hot-headed youngster whose indoctrination into
Italy’s fascist party puts him at odds with his entire family.
A little because they’re a tight-knit group of communists, mostly
because they think he’s done it to piss them off. Beneath this lively
joust of political conviction lies the warm and endlessly witty story
of a family learning to love itself.
Despite Accio’s cantankerous bravado he remains seductively
charismatic, just as the fiery relationship with his brother Manrico, a
successful party activist, grows in interesting and unexpected ways.
Most notably when Accio reveals that it is more than fondness he feels
for his brother’s girlfriend.
“A fascist in the family is always handy,” she counters. The clash of
ideology that swept Europe in the late ‘60s is effortlessly caught in
this delightful, engergetic tale.
Marred by technical lapses, My Brother is an Only Child soars
on story and performance, and in both these regards it triumphs. As the
story navigates toward a captivating if inevitable climax, and the
pendulum of fate, fortune and circumstance swings back, Luchetti gives
pause to reflect on some of life’s greater ironies.
Add a ferociously politicised Beethoven and you’ve got one the better films to be released this year.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
