''Three Brothers'' () is a 1981 Italian film based on a work by Russian author Andrei Platonov. It was directed by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. His film '' The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, of ...

and stars

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student a ...

Vittorio Mezzogiorno Vittorio Mezzogiorno (16 December 1941 – 7 January 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Mezzogiorno was born in Cercola, the youngest of seven children. His older brother Vincenzo, who wanted to become a director, introduced him to the th ...

Michele Placido Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Belloc ...

and

Charles Vanel Charles-Marie Vanel (21 August 1892 – 15 April 1989) was a French actor and director. During his 65-year film career, which began in 1923, he appeared in more than 200 films and worked with many prominent directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, ...

. The film won the

Boston Society of Film Critics The Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts. History The BSFC was formed in 1981 as a society of film critics in the New England area. It was founded to make “Boston’s unique critic ...

award for Best Foreign Film, and the

Nastro d'Argento for Best Director The ''Nastro d'Argento'' (Silver Ribbon) for Best Director () is a film award bestowed annually as part of the Nastro d'Argento awards since 1946, organized by the Italian National Association of Film Journalists (''Sindacato Nazionale dei Giorna ...

and

Actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. It received a nomination for an

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. It was screened out of competition at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

An elderly woman, the matriarch of an Italian family, dies on a farm in

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. Her husband, Donato, summons their three adult children from the cities where they now reside, bringing them back to the farm where each grapples with challenging personal dilemmas. Raffaele, one of the sons and a judge in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, contemplates presiding over a terrorism trial, exposing himself to the danger of an attack. Another son, Rocco, resides in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, devout and working as an educator in a

youth detention center In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

, driven by his desire to assist troubled youth. Nicola, the third son, lives in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and works as a militant factory worker embroiled in a labor dispute while navigating a troubled marriage. Each man copes with his grief in his unique manner while simultaneously confronting other emotional hurdles. The sons reflect on the past and envision the future; Raffaele grapples with visions of his downfall, Rocco dreams of rescuing Naples' youth from crime, drugs, and corruption, and Nicola seeks solace in the embrace of his estranged wife. As they collectively mourn, Donato and his young granddaughter, Nicola's child, delve into the rhythms of farm life.

Cast

- Raffaele Giuranna *

- Nicola Giuranna *

- Rocco Giuranna and young Donato * Andréa Ferréol - Raffaele's wife * Maddalena Crippa - Giovanna * Rosaria Tafuri - Rosaria * - Marta * Tino Schirinzi - Raffaele's friend *

Simonetta Stefanelli Simonetta Stefanelli (; born 30 November 1954) is an Italian former actress. Internationally, she is best known for her performance as Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone in the 1972 film ''The Godfather'', directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Her other ro ...

- young Donato's wife * Pietro Biondi - first judge *

- Donato Giuranna * - first friend at bar * Luigi Infantino - second friend at bar * Girolamo Marzano - Nicola's friend * Gina Pontrelli - the brothers' mother

Reception

''Three Brothers'' has an approval rating of 100% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 5 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10.

References

External links

* 1981 films 1981 drama films French drama films Italian drama films 1980s Italian-language films Films directed by Francesco Rosi Gaumont (company) films Films about families Films shot in Matera Films shot in Rome 1980s Italian films 1980s French films Italian-language French films Films set in Apulia Films scored by Piero Piccioni Years of Lead (Italy) films {{1980s-France-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links