Disillusioned with the Church, Accio quits the seminary at an early age. But he finds no favour at home either, made to sleep in the hall while his older brother Manrico and sister Violetta get comfy beds.

The only person who has any time for him is Mario, a seller of tablecloths and dedicated follower of fascism. With the wisdom of Mussolini filling his head, Accio drifts to the right wing.

Years later, he is still cluttering up the hallway as a student whose only friends are his trouble-causing party cronies.

Meanwhile, the charismatic Manrico (Jude Law lookalike Scamarcio) is an upwardly mobile Communist, bringing power to the people and enjoying vigorous, um, discussions with pretty comrades like Francesca (Diane Fleri).

Nationalism, it seems, isn’t much of an aphrodisiac. But Accio’s romantic luck changes when Mario unwittingly does him another favour by getting arrested, leaving his wife with an enticingly empty bed.

Affairs of the heart and the head lead to frequent confrontations, but the overarching message of Antonio Pennacchi’s source novel is that blood will always be thicker than water.

Consequently, director Luchetti is more interested in character than context. In this, he's rewarded with committed performances from Scamarchio and Fleri, and especially Elio Germano as the adult Accio.

But Italy’s volatile political landscape in the 1960s is painted in broad strokes, depicting Communists as a bunch of cuddly hippies and every fascist as a rabid hooligan.

It’s all rather obvious - and occasionally absurd. “Leave Beethoven alone or we’ll bust your ass!” is the cry as right-wing thugs crash a Communist concert.

More intentional humour is exemplified by one scene whereby comrade Violetta hypocritically leans on brother Accio to duff up an errant boyfriend. “A fascist in the family always comes in handy”, he narrates.

The levity is obviously welcome, but makes it difficult to take matters seriously as the tone darkens.

Accessible and sincere but dramatically soft, this falls between the camps of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.

Elliott Noble