Is “humanistic capitalism” an oxymoron? Filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore believes he has found the only person who came from humble beginnings, built a fashion empire, and gave back to his employees and humanity. In Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, that man is Brunello Cucinelli.
Brunello Cucinelli was born in 1953 to a peasant family in Castel Rigone, a small 13th-century hamlet near Perugia. As a boy, Brunello watched his father grind through a hard working life. Poor is the best way to describe his childhood. Poor in money but rich in family and community. He may not have had the modern conveniences of the ’50s, but he worked the land and learned to make do with what he had.
As a young man, he graduated as a surveyor, enrolled in engineering school, and dropped out. At 25, he’d done nothing. He lied to his worried father about attending university, and the money he did have came from playing scopa. He was good at it, too — an excellent strategist whose skills allowed him to see into the hearts of the people across the table — and those he’d meet in real life.
Between hands, his more educated card-playing friends talked about Kant and the moral law, planting ideas that would stick with him for life. Then came his future wife, Federica, the girl he chased on his Vespa alongside her bus. In 1978, he founded a small women’s knitwear company and did something nobody else was doing — he dyed cashmere in colors, at a time when the fabric only came in neutral tones. After marrying Federica, he bought the ruined 14th-century castle of Solomeo and renovated it into his company headquarters.
“A trip to New York changed everything when Barneys bought his pullovers, and as Brunello puts it, ‘the American adventure has begun.'”
A trip to New York changed everything when Barneys bought his pullovers, and as Brunello puts it, “the American adventure has begun.” He couldn’t live on sweaters alone, so the company expanded into men’s jackets and pants and eventually a full lifestyle brand, listing on the Milan Stock Exchange in 2012. Through it all, 20 percent of the profits went right back into Solomeo — a theater, an amphitheater, a library, a school for arts and crafts, and parks where abandoned factories once stood — turning the village into what he calls a slice of paradise. They named his philosophy “humanistic capitalism,” and by 2021, he was presenting it to world leaders at the G20 during the tail end of the pandemic. Not bad for a farmer’s son who once bluffed his way through card games in Umbria.
Brunello: The Gracious Visionary is not your typical documentary. Director Tornatore describes his film as “neither a documentary, a feature film, nor a commercial — it’s all three woven together.” Yes, we have talking-head interviews along with Cucinelli waxing on about his life and career, but then Tornatore goes the extra step and produces a cinematic narrative following Brunello from a young boy to an idealistic and lazy young man to the fashion icon that he is today. Brunello often walks through these recreated moments, giving commentary on how each one shaped his life and his philosophy.
To me, Brunello is an example of a man who became rich not just by producing a product, but also by realizing he had to give back to the people and community that got him there. He became rich in life and not filthy rich on his balance sheet. It’s ironic how many of the wealthy who appear in the film have such great praise for Brunello but have yet to follow his example.
Tornatore has produced an immaculate and inspiring film. The dramatized scenes are just as gorgeous as the town of Solomeo, where Brunello brought beauty and grace. Up until now, I had never heard of Brunello Cucinelli, nor had I enough money to buy his suits. Yet through the power of film, I find myself in admiration of the man. It’s not a political documentary; it’s a human one.
For screening information, visit the Brunello: The Gracious Visionary official website.
"…Is 'humanistic capitalism' an oxymoron?"
