"A sweet film, cinematic honey in both its tone and its glowing images, Love's Brother is an undemanding romantic comedy with sublime cinematography from Andrew Lesnie - his lighting and framing in every shot are mesmerising - and meticulous production design. ...Giovanni Ribisi (almost single handedly) rescues the film from ultra-light wispiness with a performance of great subtlety and technical brilliance - not that you notice the workings. His Angelo is a haunting, melancholy character, the one that gives the story ballast; complex and endearing by its pathos." Andrew L Urban OPTUS MOVIE REVIEWS "Jan Sardi's gentle romantic comedy, notionally set among the Italian community in a small town outside Melbourne in the 1950s. I say notionally because it proudly displays its antecedents - Moonstruck, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino and all the other films dedicated to the theory that to be Italian is to be innately romantic." Sandra Hall SYDNEY MORNING HERALD "On a positive note the girls are lovely, Amelia Warner glows on camera but the real find is Silvia de Santis as Connie who's terrific." Margaret Pomeranz SBS MOVIE SHOW "In extolling the virtues of all things Italian, this film far exceeds other recent attempts. Commencing with the first cup of coffee from the first espresso machine in Australia, we are hooked on the sun drenched little piece of Italy that is a small town outside Melbourne in the 50s. Love’s Brother has a hot pedigree of talent behind it: it’s from the Academy Award nominated writer and producer of Shine and the film is beguilingly shot by Lord of the Rings’ Academy Award winner Andrew Lesnie. It works on various levels: as love story, character study, drama and comedy. It’s pleasingly unpredictable, original and downright delightful." Emily Lawrence Gazal FILMINK

"Love's Brother takes us away to another time and place and if you don't expect any great suprises you should enjoy the ride." Bruce Redman 612 MOVIE REVIEWS "Sardi strings out the emotional suspense until the very last minute, as the seesaw of love rises and falls. Anyone who has heard that sound of a ships departure horn, or held the curly, colourful streamers until they break, will know the feeling of the impending finality. With its satisfying conclusion that goes beyond the superficial, Love's Brother is a gentle and sweet film to savour." Louis Keller OPTUS MOVIE REVIEWS The strength of "Love's Brother" is less in the unfolding of events than it is in the beauty of the setting. Jan Sardi, director and screenwriter of the international phenomenon "Shine", instills the space of this film with nostalgia and affection that is not drowned in teary or self-obsessed dramatic exchanges. Mark Teasdale OUR BRISBANE "THOSE with long enough teeth may recall the early 1980s TV series Home Sweet Home, in which veteran actor John Bluthal hammed it up as an Italian migrant cabbie, all wild gesticulations and silly accents. Bluthal's resurrected that persona in "Love's Brother", a modest romantic-drama set in Menzies-era rural Victoria, where he has a bit-part as an Italian migrant, all wild gesticulations and silly accents." Chris Bartlett QUEENSLAND SUNDAY MAIL

At A Glance "A simple love story. Totally unpretencious and unassuming. A delight to watch. Expresso magic." Richard Surfield THE MOVIE PAGES There's no doubt that in a world that rushes around at a frantic pace, that thrives on films which feature huge special effects, excessive violence, sexual themes and strong language, many people would struggle with a film like "Love's Brother". I mean, how often do you get the chance to see a 'G' rated film these days. Not to often I can tell you. And considering that 'G' rated usually means films for the kids, who would ever expect they could make a film with a theme centred around two Italian brothers and a beautiful bride-to- be and still keep it so delightfully simple. Well believe me they have. So where did the story, the ideas come from for this little charmer that will bring back wonderous memories for those of us who experienced the Italian explosion of the 50's and 60's, an era that heralded in the pizza, the expresso coffee, salami, garlic and the cappuccino? The answer to that lies with Jan Sardi, the man who penned the script for "Shine" and who just happens to make his directorial debut with this film. He recalls it quite well. "In 1985," he says, "I was researching various stories about Italians and heard an anecdote about a man who’d sent his brother’s photo to Italy in place of his own to entice a potential bride. It struck me as a wonderful idea for a film. At the same time I’d always been fascinated by Melbourne’s café society which sprang up in Carlton in the 1940’s and 1950’s and is now such a distinctive part of that city. Nowadays just about every city in every country has its own ‘little Italy’ and I wanted to explore the beginnings of that in Australia. When I realized I could put that idea and that of the brothers together, that’s when Love’s Brother really took off in my imagination." And there is a coffee connection in this, isn't there? "In the broadest sense," he said, "Love’s Brother is about the two things in Life we can’t live without: love and coffee! But it’s also about loyalty and the different types of love, in this case brotherly love, as opposed to romantic love, and which, if either, is stronger. It’s the clash of both which brings about the imbroglio, the mix-up at the heart of the story." And yes, Sardi does have the italian connection. "Although both my parents came here when they were very young," Sardi explained, “our household was totally Italian, so I had all those wonderful influences from an early age. We lived in Carlton and the incredible Italian passion for life is something that I just grew up with. Also my father was in the restaurant business and I spent a lot of time in kitchens and restaurants and vividly recall the very first espresso machines coming to Australia when I was about three years old. I even have dim memories of having my first cappuccino!" And it was through a "Shine" connection with producer Jane Scott that you ended up directing the film. I believe you were discussing the film back in 1996. What happened when she read the final script for "Loves Brother"? "Jane read it and God bless her, said, ‘I think you should direct.’ In a way that’s what I’d been hoping she’d say, not because I was harbouring a great ambition to be a director or felt nobody else would be able to do it justice, but because the story and characters were such a part of me. Whilst it’s not autobiographical, the life that it represents is very much about who I am and about the sort of upbringing that I had as an Italian." Scott says it was a natural progression. "He knew the script inside out," Scott says, "and exactly what he wanted to do with it, and I felt we understood each other very well, so to have brought somebody else in was, I thought, quite unnecessary." The next hurdle to overcome was financing the film. Being an independent production always makes it a little harder to get the cash needed. One thing both Sardi and Scott did agree on was that there would be no compromising their production standards. Scott put the script to friend and London based producer Sarah Radclyffe who explained, “I’ve known Jane for as long as I can remember. We first tried working together on Shine, but that fell through, so I was doubly thrilled when she asked me to look at Jan’s new script. I read it overnight and loved it. But although Jane had done a great job generating interest for the project at Cannes, she felt that given the time difference between Australia and Europe somebody was needed on this side of the world to follow things up. We relentlessly pursued absolutely anyone who showed the slightest interest. Jane’s persistence was awesome, and in the end I think we could have wallpapered an entire office with our business plans." The next question was, how did they get hold of the three lead actors?. "I’d met with Giovanni Ribisi probably three years before we even shot a frame," Sardi explains. "He read the script, loved it and said he wanted to do it. From there onwards he stuck with us, although at one stage I thought we’d lost him as another project clashed, but fortunately we worked through that. Now I can’t imagine anyone else in the role. He’s such a wonderful, inventive actor and had all the right qualities to capture the heart and soul of Angelo, as well as the talent to illuminate the wonderful humour that comes not from just playing comedy, but from playing the drama and the emotion of the story." And his screen brother Gino? "Jane and I were in London looking for someone to play Gino," he said. 'We met with a casting agent who asked for a brief on the role, and I said, ‘well he’s like John Travolta, but as he was twenty years ago.’ She replied, ‘what about Adam Garcia? He’s just finished playing the John Travolta role in Saturday Night Fever in the West End.’ So we met with Adam and thought he’d be as perfect for Gino as Giovanni would be for Angelo. But the discovery of the bride-to-be Rosetta was a surprise wasn't it? "She’s a character who brings an enormous amount of magic to their community," explained Sardi, "and I had this strong image of what she’d be like. So when Amelia Warner walked through the door, I went, ‘my God, she’s Rosetta!’ and then my next question was, ‘can she act?’ so we did an audition and Amelia had all the right, mesmerising qualities to portray this young girl from Italy who puts everyone into a tailspin. On meeting her, I was transfixed, and that’s the quality which she brings to the film." That sums up the defining quality of the film too. It is a joy to watch and certainly mesmerising. If you're looking for a simple film with what many would define as good old fashioned standards then "Love's Brother" will make for a pleasant, rewarding diversion. Cast & Crew Bytes "Love's Brother" was directed and written by Jan Sardi [the writer of the acclaimed "Shine" making his directorial debut], produce by Jane Scott ["The Adventures of Barry McKenzie", "Shine" and "Head On"] and Sarah Radclyffe ["My Beautiful Laundrette", "Wish You Were Here", "A World Apart", "Caravaggio" and "Fools of Fortune"], under the Director of Photography Andrew Leslie ["The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Doing Time for Patsy Cline" and "Babe"], the film was edited by Veronika Jenet ["Rabbit Proof Fence", "Sweetie", "An Angel at My Table" and "The Piano"], while the costumes were designed by Anna Borghesi ["Ned Kelly", "Pitch Black", "Head On", "Love Serenade", "Body Melt" and "Romper Stomper"].
"Love's Brother" stars Giovanni Ribisi ["The Boiler Room", "Gone In Sixty Seconds", "Saving Private Ryan" & "Cold Mountain"], Adam Garcia ["Bootmen", "Coyote Ugly", "Riding In Cars With Boys" and "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen"], Silvia De Santis ["Artemesia", "Alexandria" and "No Deposit, No Return"], Barry Otto ["Bliss", "Strictly Ballroom", "Oscar & Lucinda" and "Dead Letter Office"], Joe Petruzzi ["Citizen Cohn", "Mambo Kings", "Dingo", "Paws" and "The Real Macaw"], Dina Panozza ["Just Desserts", "Bedevil" and "The Man Who Sued God"] and Amelia Warner, well known for her roles in the BBC's productions of "Lorna Doone", "The Aristocrats", "Waking The Dead" and "Take A Girl Like You" ["Mansfield Park", "Nine Lives", "Quills" and "Winter's Passing"] as Rosetta. The Story "A simple and sweet movie that will leave you misty eyed." Don R Lewis FILM THREAT This is the story of two brothers. Two Italian brothers. Living in Australia, in a small rural town in the 1950's. Gino is typically good looking, a young man who has no trouble meeting women and is willing to embrace everything about the new country. Well, everything that is except for marriage. There is no way Gino wants to be tied down. He plans to remain footloose and fancy free as long as he can. On the other hand his older brother Angelo still clings to the past. He is lonely, sometimes withdrawn and has no luck at all in finding the one thing that matters most, that can fill the aching hole in his heart, a wife. Angelo's attempts to attract one from the old country have failed dismally. Finally in a desperate effort to find the right woman, someone to share the new country with, he substitutes Gino's photo for his in a letter to a young Italian woman named Rosetta. She falls in love with the man in the photo and when her family approves the marriage, Rosetta travels the 12,000 miles to meet her love. The deception is about to be uncovered. It will sorely test both brothers, the bride to be, and Connie, who is in love with Gino. The Verdict "A simple love story. Totally unpretencious and unassuming, "Love's Brother" will delight those who love a love story. There are many magical moments which will bring back memories [for the 'baby boomers'] of those wonderful years when we discovered pizza, spaghetti bolognese, tartufo and the joys of an expresso coffee. One for the romantics. Good old fashioned 'G' rated fun." The Cast

Giovanni Ribisi Adam Garcia Joe Petruzzi Rodney Afif Bruno Lucia Mario Di Ienno Marco Sellitto Dina Panozzo John Bluthal Silvia de Santis Barry Otto Reg Mombassa Osvaldo Maione Eleanor Bron Anna Burgess Giacomo Laurenti Amelia Warner Fiametta Mammanco Paride Blasi

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Angelo Donnini Gino Donnini Zio Luigi Guido Paolo Cafe Latino #1 Cafe Latino #2 Zia Norma Pepe Connie Father Alfredo Gypsy Artist Franco Signora Carmellina Dancing Blonde Rosetta's Brother Rosetta Rosetta's Mother Rosetta's Father

The Crew Directed & Written by Jan Sardi Produced by Jane Scott and Sarah Radclyffe Director of Photography Andrew Lesnie A.C.S Production Designer Paul Heath Edited By Veronika Jenet A.S.E Costume Designer Anna Borghesi Original Music Stephen Warbeck Prdoction Manager Lorelle Adamson Sound Recordist Gary Wilkins Script Supervisor Jo Weeks Dialect Coach Victoria Mielewska Run Time 106 minutes Rated G [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Palace Films - All Rights Reserved ENDURING © - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All TM Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights Reserved