''Family Diary'' ( it, Cronaca familiare) is a 1962 Italian film directed by Valerio Zurlini and based on the novel by

Vasco Pratolini Vasco Pratolini (19 October 1913 – 12 January 1991) was an Italian writer of the 20th century. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times. Biography Born in Florence, Pratolini worked at various jobs before entering the l ...

. It tells the story of two brothers (played by Marcello Mastroianni and

Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...

) who are brought up apart from each other at their mother's death, then brought together by difficult family circumstances. Described by Elliot Stein in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' as "the classiest 'male weepie' ever filmed",Stein, Elliot
"Valerio Zurlini’s Autumn Tales"
''

'', 22 August 2000. Retrieved on 5 August 2016. ''Family Diary'' is an exemplary adaptation of the semi-autobiographical

novel ''Two Brothers'', and won Zurlini a shared Golden Lion at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

. Marcello Mastroianni gives a sensitive, finely judged performance as Enrico, a struggling journalist in the Rome of 1945. He receives a phone call informing him that his younger brother Lorenzo (

) has died. Enrico recalls their long and difficult relationship; he was brought up by their poor but warm-hearted grandmother (Sylvie), while Lorenzo was raised as a gentleman by a wealthy local aristocrat. Reunited in the

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

of the 1930s, Enrico becomes his spoiled brother's keeper, forever haunted by a sense of guilt and responsibility towards a man he both hates and loves. Beautifully photographed by

Giuseppe Rotunno Giuseppe Rotunno (19 March 1923 – 7 February 2021) was an Italian cinematographer. Biography Sometimes credited as Peppino Rotunno, he was director of photography on eight films by Federico Fellini. He collaborated with several celebrated Ita ...

, this austere, deeply felt masterwork has been acclaimed as one of Zurlini's greatest achievements.

Cast

* Marcello Mastroianni - Enrico *

- Lorenzo * Sylvie - Grandmother *

Salvo Randone Salvatore "Salvo" Randone (25 September 1906 – 6 March 1991) was an Italian theatrical, television and film actor. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, Randone debuted on stage in mid-1920s and, after some years in which he played roles of little w ...

- Salocchi * Valeria Ciangottini - Enzina *

Serena Vergano Serena Vergano born Adalgisa Serena Maggiora Vergano (25 August 1943 in Milan, Italy), is an Italian actress. She was the muse of the Barcelona School of Film, acting in many of the films of this movement. Career Daughter of the director Aldo ...

- Hospital Nun *

Marco Guglielmi Marco Guglielmi (6 October 1926 – 28 December 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and author. Life and career Born Augusto Guglielmi in Sanremo, he graduated from ragioneria, then he enrolled at the university in the faculty of economi ...

* Franca Pasut *

Miranda Campa Miranda Campa (31 January 1914 – 7 May 1989) was a Swiss-born Italian actress and voice actress. Life and career Born Liliana Campa Capodaglio in Geneva, the nephew of actors Pio Campa and Wanda Capodaglio, Campa studied acting at the ...

* Nino Fuscagni * Marcella Valeri

References

External links

* *

Martha King's English translation of ''Cronaca familiare'' as ''Family Chronicle.'' 1962 films Italian drama films 1960s Italian-language films 1962 drama films Golden Lion winners Titanus films Films directed by Valerio Zurlini Films set in Florence 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub