BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

PodBill Just what I expected

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Tim Johnson Forgive me for not being one of those cinema buffs who can articulate the many problems that they observe in films but I'm just a viewer who loves sweet films about interesting, human topics rather than the junk shoveled out by the big Hollywood studios. I was enchanted by this film and I love our film industry and the products of that industry.Our films are so believable and human-centred as opposed to the make believe product from across the Pacific. I recently watched "To be and to Have" and was captivated by it's beauty and innocence-a documentary about a rural French teacher and his class of primary kids. I mention this fabulous film because it was a member of a genre of "slice of life" films like "Loves' Brother"-I was as captivated by this beautiful Australian as I had been by the beautiful French film.I loved looking at fifties, rural small town life; I loved watching the difficulties of young foreign born people trying to overcome problems of distance and culture and I, as opposed to others, was completely taken by the huge difficulties of connecting. I know, in the dying years of last century, people who endured not dissimilar marriage situations. I thought the film was exceedingly sensitively worked and I have no complaints about the movie in any way.If you enjoy the genre of human development then this fabulous little film is for you. Take it as it is-don't read your own values into a time and place far removed from today.

naxash This film is so bad - dialogues, story, actors and actresses - everything! - that it's hard to imagine that we'll see a worse movie this year or in the following years. "Love's Brother" (set in Australia among Italian immigrants) has nothing but shallow clichés about Italian culture to offer, and it is quite telling that even the Italians from and in Italy speak ENGLISH in the film. The message of the film - ugly people have to marry ugly people, beautiful people have to marry beautiful people - is truly discomforting. Giovanni Ribisi is quite good in films like 'Suburbia' or 'Lost in Translation', but here his pseudo-Italian accent is hard to bear. See this film at your own risk. Trash as trash can!

mani_ratnam I saw this movie at Cinema Paris at Fox Studios when I was in Sydney, Australia. Although the story has been done several times before, it is set amid a community of Italian immigrants in 1950's Australia, which makes it really unique.Giovanni Ribisi (Angelo) is the only actor I was familiar with before this movie, but I have to say Adam Garcia (Gino) and Amelia Warner (Rosetta) steal the show. And they are both DROP DEAD gorgeous! Performance wise, I liked Sylvia de Santis (Connie) the best!I loved how the characters evolve during the movie. Angelo seems to be weak and troubled emotionally, but turns out to be surprisingly robust. On the other hand, Gino, the more self-assured brother turns out to be quite vulnerable emotionally.The music from Stephen Warbeck is wonderful. I especially liked the background music when Rosetta first sees the mural of Italy in the cafe. Andrew Lesnie's cinematography captures the beauty of both Italy and the Australian wilderness. And if these are the types of movies Jan Sardi continues to make, I want to see more.You have to be a curmudgeon not to like this movie - it is so gentle and warm-hearted.

smoneypenny Saw this film twice at Worldfest, Houston's film festival celebrating 37 years of independent film. It was magical! Had the distinct pleasure of meeting the director, Jan Sardi, and hearing "the inside scoop" of trials to get the film made. It was well worth the wait and effort! Sardi prefaced the screening with something like "there's no sex, drugs, violence, car chases, or profanity in the film...but I hope you'll like it." It's near perfect in my book and I hope it finds a U.S. distributor soon! Sardi's writing and direction is superb, and the casting couldn't be better (Adam Garcia and Amelia Warner are stunning, and Giovanni Ribisi is at his quirky best). Stephen Warbeck's (Oscar winner for Shakespeare in Love) score transports the viewer to Northern Italy and Andrew Lesnie (LOTR Oscar winner) showcases the sun-drenched golden hills of Italy and Oz's lush scenery as only he can.BTW, the film won Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Cinematography at the festival. A must-see...a gentle film for the entire family with enough magic to make you want to see it again and again!