First Light of Dawn

This elegantly shot, sensitive and admirably modest drama concerns a successful engineer torn away from his globetrotting existence to return to Palermo and care for his disabled, clearly disturbed younger brother after their parents are murdered by mafiosi. Mainly, it's the tale of the older man's gradual transition from duty to commitment, from alienation to belonging. For a virtual two-hander it manages to hold the attention pretty well. That said, patience is tested by the overall talkiness and by the fact that the younger brother, for all his problems, still comes across as a petulant, irritating whinger. The maudlin score doesn't help.