My Brother Is An Only Child (15)

Dir. Daniele Luchetti, 2007, Italy, 100 mins, Italian with subtitles
Cast: Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio, Diane Fleri

This adaptation of the popular Italian novel Il fasciocomunista, where two brothers come of age in the sixties and seventies in the small Italian town of Latina, a town created by Mussolini, mixes family drama with politics much like Marco Tullio Giordana’s epic mini series, Best of Youth (2003). The young, rebellious Accio (Germano) trades the seminary for the doctrine of the fascist party and becomes the black sheep of a passionately communist working class family. Things worsen when he falls in love with his older brother’s girlfriend.

Germano’s Accio is a furious, angst-ridden performance making Riccardo Scamarcio’s Manrico, (Accio’s brother), seem workmanlike in comparison. If the handsome revolutionary Manrico seems one-dimensional, bordering on a caricature of an activist pinup, Accio in contrast is more complex; angry at the world, he sympathizes with the fascist party’s outsider status. Initially he begins as a man of senseless antagonism; a fascist thug who raids a theatre to beat up middle-class literati. This is contrasted with a scene showing a hint of Accio’s compassion as he attempts to stop his fascist cohorts from burning his brother’s new car, and wonders why they have to resort to vandalism. Later his mentor and inductor to the fascist party tells him he just needs to get “laid”; he eventually goes on to have an affair with the man’s wife. The love triangle between the brothers convincingly adds more tension between the bickering siblings. The beautiful Francesca (Fleri) loves the unreliable but charismatic and handsome Manrico, yet there is an undeniable chemistry between her and the brooding Accio.

But what My Brother Is An Only Child lacks is any sense of risk taking, as director Daniele Luchetti plays it straight and gives us a familiar nostalgic affirmation of the era. There is nothing new to be had in yet another celebration of the idealism of the sixties, which might explain why the films sojourn into seventies is ultimately more rewarding. Though slightly didactic in its “where did it all go wrong” conclusions; a conclusion that illustrates how the extremist politics of the time escalated from petty vandalism to acts of terrorism. That being said, the film is firmly in the left’s corner, even if there is a funny scene in which a communist roundtable discussion where “everyone gets their say” turns into people shouting over each other. The liberal agenda limits the film from investigating more contradictions and ambiguities of sixties, like how naïve Manrico’s support of Communist Russia seems now in retrospect. This black and white logic of the film and the all too tidy closure contribute ultimately to a forgettable experience.

Yet with a soundtrack packed with great sixties and seventies Italian pop music, which avoids the usual overplayed songs of the era, gorgeous sun-drenched cinematography, steady pacing and Germano’s stella performance, My Brother Is An Only Child is an enjoyable ride even if isn’t a memorable one.

David Brooks