What could have been a complex examination of Italy's political divisions in the 1960s and '70s is reduced to two brothers' ceaseless one-upmanship.

| Feb 10, 2019

A film as incisive as it is delectable about the dreams and disappointments of adolescence, the passion of youth and the surprise of unexpected love. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 23, 2018

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 18, 2011

Actors Germano and Scamarcio turn in magnificent, multilayered acting jobs.

| Apr 28, 2011

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.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 18, 2008

The film, which argues that blood brotherhood is stronger than political brotherhoods, vibrates with their youthful energy and ardor.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 18, 2008

A merry swirl of vital, passionate performances.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 7, 2008

It's an engrossing political love story, with a strong sense of the shadings within the daily lives of these characters.

| Jun 20, 2008

Fast-paced, well-acted and acute about sibling rivalry, the film nonetheless fails to leave a strong impression.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 20, 2008

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 13, 2008

The performances are astonishing, perhaps enabled by the flawless script.

| Jun 12, 2008

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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 12, 2008

"Only Child" is both funny and heartbreaking, and incredibly adept at shifting between lighter and darker tones.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 11, 2008

Although familiarity with Italian politics helps in appreciating this film, anyone can enjoy this energetic tale of a house divided.

| Jun 8, 2008

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.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 6, 2008

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 6, 2008

Sometimes, under a torrent of social pressures, water runs faster, if not thicker, than blood, and even the strongest bonds drown in the flood.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 6, 2008

The film's early affability eventually wears out, and a sharp turn into deadly seriousness feels out of place.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 22, 2008

My Brother Is an Only Child is a buoyant, handsomely crafted film.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 16, 2008

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.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 16, 2008