Cronaca Familiare "Family Diary" is an emotional movie that is both beautiful and sad. It deals with the twists and turns in the family life of two brothers who grow up apart and then become close in early adulthood. The brothers are performed by Jacques Perrin and Marcello Mastroianni, outstanding as different men caught in a web of family misfortune. The loss of their mother is a recurring reference point. Her death, after giving birth to the second child, marked the separation of the two sons who grew up in different worlds. The second son is adopted into the household of a wealthy noble with the older one raised by his grandmother in a far more humble life. Later, their fortunes change; the grandmother then became the binding force. The young men visit her in an institution where she has no comfort in her old age. Two children, and the grandmother form a tight family unit bound by misfortune, love and the memory of the deceased mother. The story takes place in Italy between 1918 and 1945 but the sorrow, the shared love, and changing fortunes are themes we all can relate to in life. The photography is stark, in keeping with the sombre mood but very effective. The neo-realist school of cinema, embodied by director Vittoria de Sica and movies such as The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D. etc. influenced this work by director Valerio Zurlini - with people pitted against human and social forces that result in poverty and isolation. Not happy-ending movies, they touch us in a special way. I believe these movies are gifts to the world of cinema and this one is certainly in that league of great movies.Thanks again to TCM for enabling modern audiences to view such gems.
Review of Family Diary
