http://sundaytimes.com.au Love to order Movie Review by SHANNON HARVEY 04 April 2004 Love's Brother (PG) Stars: Adam Garcia, Giovanni Ribisi, Amelia Warner and Silvia de Santis Showing: In cinemas now Rating: Three stars BASED on stories writer-director Jan Sardi (Shine) heard about Italian men who were sent proxy brides from Italy after migrating to Australia in the 1950s, Love's Brother is a sweet, innocent take on the old Cyrano de Bergerac love triangle. And what a pickle these three get themselves into. Gino (Adam Garcia) is a handsome, vivacious womaniser. Angelo (Giovanni Ribisi) is his insular, odd-looking, shut-in brother. Put up by a sponsor family, the brothers work in the fields by day and a coffee shop at night that serves as the hub of the local Italian community. It's also where the brothers install the first espresso machine in Australia, which is said to have kick-started the cafe culture Down Under. The love triangle starts when Angelo agrees to be set up with a bride in Italy he has never met. Trouble is, Angelo writes letters to his future wife, Rosetta (Amelia Warner), but sends her Gino's photo instead. It causes chaos when Rosetta arrives. She's already been married to Angelo in a process called procura– (where husband and wife are married in a wedding ceremony despite being 19,000km apart), but she is in love with Gino. Love's Brother is made to look as sumptuous and as dreamy as a rural Queensland town can get, and asks which type of love is stronger – romantic or brotherly. It's as easy on the eyes as the resolution is predictable. Garcia is good in his most challenging role, one that doesn't let him rely on his trademark flashdance routines as he did in Coyote Ugly or Bootmen. He doesn't even get his shirt off here. Ribisi is brilliant as the lonely brother and British newcomer Amelia Warner is picture-perfect as the Italian beauty. Love's Brother is a refreshing romantic movie that proves we can turn out finely crafted films, not just crass larrikin comedies.