Good Morning, Babylon Reviews

The dawn of Hollywood is brought to the screen in this fable about two Italian brothers--Nicola and Andrea Bonnano (Vincent Spano and Joaquim de Almeida)--whose craftsmanship augments D.W. Griffith's 1916 masterpiece INTOLERANCE. The film begins in Tuscany, 1913, as a master restorer of facades (Omero Antonutti) and his sons put the finishing touches on an exquisite old basilica. Afterwards, the patriarch announces that he is selling his unprofitable company. His two favorite sons, Nicola and Andrea, who inherited his "hands of gold," vow to make a fortune in America and then return to buy back the family business. In Hollywood, the fact that they are "the sons of the sons of the sons of Michelangelo and Leonardo" impresses no one--except two pretty extras (Greta Scacchi and Desiree Becker) with whom they fall in love. Finally, however, their design for the gigantic elephants of INTOLERANCE's "Babylon" sequence is spotted by Griffith (Charles Dance), and fortune follows. Brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani have made clear their attempt to create a fable, but, unfortunately, GOOD MORNING BABYLON succeeds on that level only, ignoring logic, history, and solid characterization. Though the film promised to capture the dawn of cinema, it shows as much dimension as a movie set facade. In English and Italian with English subtitles.