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Three men face their mother’s death.
Like many foreign films, Francesco Rosi’s “Three Brothers” does not follow a traditional three-act structure. The film is structured around small moments. One of the earliest examples is when the film takes several minutes to depict the old farmer, Donato Giuranna (Charles Vanel), walking down a country road who witnesses a rabbit running across the street. Donato and his wife discussing letting the rabbit live versus eating the animal. Like many scenes in “Three Brothers,” I’m not exactly sure what it means or what its place in the film is or why we spend several minutes on this point but there’s something about that type of focus in the film that becomes acceptable.
It turns out that Donato is en route to the local post office to send out a message that the mother of the titular three brothers is dead. By prompting each of the three brothers to return to the family’s small village, this Telegraph becomes the pivotal point of the film. The structure works so well that I can think of several other films and even novels that have used similar devices including Peter Taylor’s wonderfully moving novel, ‘A Summons to Memphis.’ The comparison to a novel is apt because Rosi is a very intelligent director who has created a massive film out of a small series of actual events.
The brothers in “Three Brothers” represent a cross array of people living in Italy during the early 1980s. Raffaele (Philippe Noiret) is a successful judge in Rome who is involved in a case concerning a political assassination of a co-worker. Rocco (Vittorio Mezzogiorno) is a poor teacher at a home for boys and Nicola (Michele Placido) is a factory worker and political activist.
While you almost never hear about “Three Brothers,” it was a best picture Academy Award nomination in 1981, which is best remembered as the year that “Chariots of Fire” won best picture. This film flourishes in its monologs and small moments like a story about when a wedding ring got lost in the sand. Rather than plot, the film is a guided by tone and asks us to consider the various perspectives that the brothers have on death and continued existence. “Three Brothers” does not offer us many comedic moments, either. The film is very earnest but also grim in nature. If you can accept these plot and tone elements, you will love this film. You will need much more patience to watch this film than many movies today ask, but if you like poignant moments and don’t mind watching a foreign film, I’d recommend this picture. Arrow has done it again in presenting a love restoration of this film, which is certainly the version to watch.
Now available in a 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray + DVD
