Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

gavin6942 In a farmhouse in southern Italy, an old woman dies. Her husband summons their sons: from Rome, Raffaele, a judge facing a political case for which he risks assassination; from Naples, the religious and ideological Rocco, a counselor at a correctional institute for boys; from Turin, Nicola, a factory worker involved in labor disputes."Three Brothers" is based on a work by Soviet playwright Andrei Platonov and adapted by prolific screenwriter Tonino Guerra ("Blow-Up"). Assisting with the adaptation was director Francesco Rosi, who never seems to have quite achieved the world renown of other Italian directors, despite his highly-praised "The Mattei Affair". Joining Rosi at the helm is two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Pasqualino DeSantis, who provides a higher quality look than your average Italian film.As a writer myself, what is most striking about the film for me is the adaptation. The original story is set in Russia in the early 20th century, and the new story is set in Italy in the second half of the century. That may not seem like a big deal, but the particulars are certainly quite different. Soviet Russia is in no way the same culturally as Naples or Rome. And yet, the story is flawlessly ported over.Arrow Video brings us an excellent Blu-ray. We have a brand new 2K restoration from original film materials. The key special feature is an archival audio interview with Francesco Rosi from 1987. Any scholar of Rosi will appreciate this conversation that runs over an hour. We also get a booklet featuring an essay by Millicent Marcus, a 1981 interview with Rosi and a selection of contemporary reviews. Unfortunately, there is no commentary, nor any interview with star Michele Placido, but this is still a fine release nonetheless for an otherwise neglected film.

orbanei Rossi touches the spectator with a movie that is part the modern Italy, being the way of living of the three brothers, and the old and more rural Italy, the lifestyle of Donato, the father. "Tre fratelli" is a melancolic piece of art, the way Donato remembers his wife and how Marta can remember him of his wife. The relationship between the three brothers is seemed to be tense due to the differences between them until Raffaele asks Rocco about his sexual life...something that always seem to break tension between brothers or friends. It is very interesting how all the adults have a dream or a memory and therefore we are told part of the story that way, such as the real fear of Nicola to be killed or the willingnes of Rocco to help the problematic kids.Another Rossi piece of art in a simple and poetic way.

RayPacia "Tre fratelli" is a most evocative film that poses to the viewer fundamental questions of life, relationships, and how both can unknowingly be lost.Raffaele, Nicola, and Rocco, the three brothers, had emigrated from their hometown in Puglia. Raffaele, the judge, although outwardly sedate, is consumed by paranoiac fear for his life. That fear puts a strain on his marital life. While Raffaele lives in fear, Nicola dwells over his poor marriage. His pain is so terrible not only because he still has feelings for his wife, but also because of Marta, his daughter. As Marta and her father were driving in the car back to Puglia, there was an intense chemistry between the two. The love he felt for his daughter was genuine and pronounced. Rocco, the third brother, is somewhat of a radical. That's almost expected; he runs a reform school, a very tiring job. He clashes with his brother, Raffaele, who fears that he is one of the terrorists that would kill him. "Tre fratelli" is a very ironic title. The brothers are not at all similar. They do, however, have on thing in common. They're all unhappy people.Donato, the father, is in a world completely different from that of his sons. He's not the most loquacious person. However, he is a man of tremendous faith. He has no part of the Northern/Southern Italian class conflicts. By remaining at home, has retained his values. That's not to say that anyone who moves away loses his values. But, in the brothers' case, they had truly forgotten the "paese" that they had left.In the film, there was an underlying theme of cultural change. As the boundaries between the North and South became less defined, so would the bucolic life of the South that could so easily impart values upon its people. Marta and Donato's relationship grows out of that nostalgic reflection on days gone by. Marta's presence is crucial. She brings out her grandfather's character, so representative of traditional familial values, which otherwise would have been drowned by the bickering of the brothers. With Donato's flashbacks, it becomes evident that Marta reminds him so much of his deceased wife; both could live their life in a simplistic, yet joyful way. The technique of flashback clearly enriches the message of director Francesco Rosi. Sadly, the viewer becomes predisposed to the feeling that those traditional values will die with time. In one of the more important instances of flashback, Donato recalls the time when he was at the beach with his wife, and they found her ring. In its unadulterated form, that scene conveyed pure joy. The final scene in which Donato held the ring was incredibly symbolic. As he held it, he came to the bittersweet understanding that he had lived his life in search of happiness, had found it. No matter how much longer he had to live, he would know that he had lived a good life. Regional and class conflicts obviously manifest themselves in the relationships of the three brothers. Before they even realized it, they were deprived of the values and maturing experiences that their father treasured so dearly. When they went home to Puglia, they truly didn't go home. That small town had ceased to be their home a long time ago. But, Rome, Turin, and Naples were no longer true homes to the brothers, either. To truly be home, one must first know what he truly desires.At the end of the mother's funeral, while mourning their mother, it seems as if the brothers understand the essence of their family, as envisioned by their father and mother. Paradoxically, it takes the death of their mother to catalyze a rebirth in the lives of the three brothers."Tre fratelli" is obviously not acclaimed because of a climactic plot. It is Francesco Rosi's masterful portrayal of two conflicting perceptions of life that are so very clear to the viewer. By juxtaposing the relationships between the three brothers and that of Donato and Marta, Rosi's theme is magnified, reminding the viewer that we should all have an idea of the life we wish to lead. Let's note, however, that Donato does not live in a world of ignorant bliss; he is not naive. He merely had a clear perception of his true, human desires. The end of "Tre fratelli" is quite hopeful. It shows the viewer that no matter how much we isolate ourselves, we can always return. The brothers returned home as strangers, but it's obvious that in Puglia, their memories of the past were ignited, beseeching them to return to way that beatifies the fundamental joy in life, a joy that is not excluseive to southern Italy. We can live happily anywhere. As "Tre fratelli" so heart-wrenchingly reminds us, our lives can slip by quickly, yet without meaning. However, by looking inside of ourselves, we can always regain that which we have lost.

two-rivers An old man goes to the telegraph office and transmits the news of the decease of their mother to his three sons, who live scattered all over Italy. So much for the initial situation, which Rosi has taken from a Platonov story.The sons, who then arrive one by one in the South Italian village of the father, are far apart from each other, not only concerning their age. They have also taken completely different roads in their professional careers and in their spiritual developments. The first one, a judge, has to deal with terrorist cases and every day has to reckon with being killed cold-bloodedly by the mafia. The second one could almost be one of the terrorists himself, at least he strives for societal changes, being a worker and a trade union member. The third one has dedicated his life completely to the fulfilment of utopian educational targets and looks after maladjusted juvenile delinquents in a boarding school.The Italy presented by Rosi is as disunited as the chosen family. It is not only geographically split into two incompatible halves, the North and the South, but also sociologically into different classes that stand facing each other irreconcilably. But "Tre fratelli" has more to offer than just regional or social conflicts. Life itself becomes the center of attention, apart from the three brothers, who represent middle age, also the old father and his eight-year-old grand-daughter are dominating protagonists. These two are able to form a curious alliance of old age and youth, whereas the brothers are just talking at cross purposes in senseless discussions and only reach a sentiment of unison through the mourning at their mother's funeral.The little girl wants to know a lot about the past, and the old man is willing to remember. He finally recalls the perhaps most blissful moment of his life: Shortly after his wedding he accompanies his wife to the beach, where they both enjoy a short spell of light-heartedness, just before the hard struggle of earning one's living will demand all their forces. There the woman is playing in the sand, lost in thought, but then she suddenly rouses from her daydream and calls out the name of her husband: She can't find her wedding ring, which she has removed accidentally, and now it seems to be lost in the sand. Everything is at stake, but tragedy can be averted for the man keeps his cool, rushes to the next house and comes back with a sieve. A little later he holds the recovered ring in his hands triumphantly.This event seems to have been meaningful for the further living together of the couple, only the late arrival of Death intervenes in this apparently undisturbed harmony. The feelings of the old man are now marked by sorrow and grief because of the loss, but not by bewilderment or anger. These are the laws of Nature, which he has to obey. In the last take he therefore just slips on that ring again, the ring that signifies one thing in particular to this man who is about to reach the end of his journey. It shows him the reality of his life, that short spell of time that has slipped away so incredibly fast but of which at least he has the comforting certainty of having used it well.