Three Brothers [1981] was the first DVD I spotted in the Foreign Films section of my DVD library. The DVD cover was a subtle, squeaky-clean white, while the others were loud-colored, as if screaming for attention. I took it off the shelf and went through the story synopsis and the cast/crew. I immediately rented it.
Reasons I wanted to watch it:
It was about three brothers re-uniting at their mother?s funeral and their re-bonding.
Philippe Noiret, an actor whose performance I loved in Cinema Paradiso, was playing a brother.
It was directed by Francesco Rosi, a director I?ve heard about a lot but haven?t seen a single movie of.
I went home and watched the movie. I loved it. It was simple, yet profound. Clear, yet complex. It contained a lot of silence, yet very effectively conveyed what the director wanted to express.
The Story:
Donato, a farmer in Puglia, telegrams his sons Raffaele, Nicola and Rocco with the news of their mother?s death. The three brothers re-unite after a long time, re-connect with each other, revisit their pasts and ponder about their futures.
The story sounds pretty simple and uncomplicated, but woven intricately within this simple story is the political situation of Italy of those days.
The Brothers:
Raffaele, the eldest of the brothers, is a judge in Rome. Of late, terrorists have started assassinating important government officials. Raffaele is currently involved in a terrorist assassination case and has started receiving death threats. Though outwardly cool and composed, he is in constant fear of being killed by terrorists.
Nicola is a factory worker in Turin. He is part of a militant factory union that often strikes for better working conditions and roughs up department heads so that their demands are met. His marriage has broken up, and he is miserable because he still loves his wife and their daughter, who stays with her mom.
Rocco, who lives in Naples, is the Director at the Institution for the Correction of Minors. This institute, as the name says, is aimed at reforming young criminals. Rocco is peace-loving and dreams of a crime-free world.
These three brothers, who are diverse individuals, re-unite after a long time and hence take quite a while to bond together. Raffaele and Nicola often have difference of opinions and Rocco ends up being the peacemaker.
The Political Context:
The three brothers represent three different societal strata of Italy during the late 1970s. As mentioned earlier, Raffaele is a man who is paranoid about being killed by terrorists and Nicola is part of a militant factory union that intimidates the management to get their way. Now, Raffaele does not like Nicola?s violent ways, because, in a way, Nicola, to Raffaele, is a vague representation of the terrorists whom he is threatened by. Nicola doesn?t agree with Raffaele?s points of view because Raffaele looks at Nicola?s problems from an administrative level, whereas Nicola looks at them from the grassroots level.
The interaction between the brothers is more a meeting of three classes of society than a re-union of brothers. There are arguments between Raffaele and Nicola, where each one tries to justify the actions of their class to the other. This is, in a sense, a confrontation between the classes that are so against each other. Rocco, the silent spectator, douses out the arguments between the brothers, much like the role he often plays in his career.
The arguments are a little sedate, owing to the fact that they are brothers and that deep inside, each one holds the others in good regard.
Marta and Donato:
The very adorable Marta, Nicola?s eight-year-oldish daughter, accompanies him to Puglia. She takes to the countryside immediately. Wandering freely around the house and the barns, and swimming in a mound of grain is something she hasn?t done before. She gels instantly with Donato, her grandfather, and hangs around with him, always at his side, innocently questioning him about the countryside. It is quite heart-warming to see them walking side by side, Marta?s dainty little hand holding Donato?s old, wrinkled one.
Donato is a man who has lived his entire life in the countryside. He has retained traditional values and leads a simple and uncluttered life. Donato?s world revolved around his wife, who is now dead. There now is a void in his heart, and the only solace he gets is from past memories. Flashbacks of the couple during their younger days show us the beautiful relationship they shared and the simplicity of their lifestyle.
The movie frequently alternates focus between the brothers and the relationship between Marta and Donato. The brothers always are in conflict; Marta and Donato co-exist peacefully. The brothers represent the world we are in: confused, cluttered and complex; Marta and Donato show us what the world could be: clear, simple and uncomplicated. This regular shift of focus between stark contrasts is instrumental in driving home the message well.
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The main reason why I rented this movie was Philippe Noiret. As mentioned earlier, I simply loved him in Cinema Paradiso, in which he plays a movie projectionist, and I wanted to see his performance in this one. Well, I wasn?t disappointed. He plays Raffaele with finesse. He alternates between the cool and calm Raffaele to the nervous and edgy Raffaele very deftly.
Michele Placido plays Nicola with much maturity. He possesses a certain raw, brute energy which radiates even when he?s silent or in a corner of the frame.
Vittorio Mezzogiorno, who plays Rocco as well as the young Donato during the flashback sequences, has done a good job. He does not have many dialogues in this film since Rocco is more of a listener than a talker, but he does convey a lot of emotions through silence. There is a very intense scene towards the end of the movie, where Rocco gets up in the morning, goes to the kitchen to make coffee, slowly drifts towards the window, sees his brothers pace up and down the yard, and breaks down. He simply excels in that scene.
Charles Vanel plays Donato, the father. He too does not have many dialogues in the movie, but he plays the character with depth, thanks to his body language.
The very adorable Marta Zoffoli plays Marta, Nicola?s daughter. She turns in a good performance too. The scene where she wakes up her grandfather at night and cries to him is a very beautifully executed scene.
This complex subject has been handled very subtly and maturely by director Francesco Rosi. He uses a lot of silence to convey messages, and it is mainly because of this silence that the movie shines.
To sum it up, Three Brothers is a movie worth watching once. The one thing that this movie lacks is a repeat value. It is not the kind of movie you?d want to watch repeatedly, owing to it?s political nature and the slightly depressing mood present throughout the movie. This movie isn?t for the entertainment-seeking film-goer, for he/she would find it boring. But if you are a serious movie-buff, do check it out sometime.