Movie Review: My Brother is an Only Child

Official English movie poster

Just the word “Italy” is enough to conjure images of everything stereotypically Italian: the loud, passionate family disputes, the beautifully romantic language and architecture, and, of course, the food.

Daniele Luchetti’s film combines all of these, using the 1960’s and 70’s in Italy as a backdrop.

While Americans concentrated on making love, not war, Italy was experiencing great political upheaval, the consequences of which were acutely felt by every Italian family.

Two brothers living in Latina, Italy, Accio Benassi (Elio Germano), an impulsive and rebellious young boy, and Manrico (Ricardo Scamarcio), his well-liked, attractive older brother, are constantly at odds over everything from politics to girls.

The actors complement each other well: Scamarcio as the charismatic revolutionary whose piercing eyes you can’t help notice and Germano as the awkward younger brother trying to come into his own.

Despite their differences, the two are really more similar than they appear, and, in the end, it is their differences of personality and similarities in choice of women that bring them together.

Though events represented in the film may be well-known to native Italians, the film’s new American audience may not fully grasp the historical significance of the time period, making the film, at times, hard to follow.

Nevertheless, just as you don’t need to know ever detail of World War II to watch films about that period, this film speaks to deeper issues that transcend history: love, political unrest and the importance of family.