Family Diary (Italian: Cronaca familiare) is a 1962 Italian film directed by Valerio Zurlini and is based on the novel of the same name by Vasco Pratolini. Enrico, played by Marcello Mastroianni, is a struggling artist in 1945 Rome who recently lost his brother, Lorenzo (played by Jacques Perrin). Enrico recalls their tumultuous relationship and examines grief, existentialism, and the importance of familial ties.[1]
Family Diary is an adaptation of the 1947 semi-autobiographical novel by Vasco Pratolini, Cronaca familiare, or, in English, Two Brothers.
Marcello Mastroianni plays Enrico, a struggling journalist in 1945 Rome. He receives a phone call informing him that his younger brother Lorenzo (Jacques Perrin) has died. Enrico recalls their long and difficult relationship. Enrico was raised by their poor but warm-hearted grandmother (Sylvie), while Lorenzo was raised as a gentleman by a wealthy local aristocrat. Reunited in the Florence of the 1930s, Enrico becomes his spoiled brother's keeper, forever haunted by a sense of guilt and responsibility towards a man he both hates and loves.
