La meglio gioventù (2003)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Marco Tullio Giordana

Writers:

Sandro Petraglia (writer)
Stefano Rulli (writer)

Release Date:

22 June 2003 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The possibilities were endless...

Plot:

Nicola and Matteo Carati are two brothers of Rome, who live the years from 1966 to 2000 and all the events which have signed this period...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Photographer | Flood | Norway | Mental Illness

Awards:

19 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Luigi Lo Cascio	...	Nicola Carati
Alessio Boni	...	Matteo Carati
Adriana Asti	...	Adriana Carati
Sonia Bergamasco	...	Giulia Monfalco
Fabrizio Gifuni	...	Carlo Tommasi
Maya Sansa	...	Mirella Utano
Valentina Carnelutti	...	Francesca Carati
Jasmine Trinca	...	Giorgia
Andrea Tidona	...	Angelo Carati
Lidia Vitale	...	Giovanna Carati
Claudio Gioè	...	Vitale Micavi
Paolo Bonanni	...	Luigino
Mario Schiano	...	Medicine Professor
Giovanni Scifoni	...	Berto
Michele Melega	...	Literature Professor

Also Known As:

The Best of Youth (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief nudity. (parts 1 & 2)

Runtime:

Canada:366 min (Montréal World Film Festival) | Canada:383 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | France:358 min (Cannes Film Festival) | USA:366 min (theatrical version) | Italy:383 min (2 parts) | Argentina:180 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Italy:T | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R (part 1) | USA:R (part 2) | Ireland:15 | Australia:M | Hong Kong:IIA

Filming Locations:

Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

BiBi Film

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Right at the start, after a caption has shown that the film is set in 1966 at the beginning and the main characters are getting into a car, a radio is heard playing the song "Might just take your life" by Deep Purple. This song was released in 1974.

Quotes:

Sara Carati, adult: What should I do?
Nicola Carati: I don't know, it depends on how strong you feel... Are you happy now?
Sara Carati, adult: Of course I am!
Nicola Carati: Then, it's time to be generous

Movie Connections:

References La boum (1980)

Soundtrack:

Aria

The span of a lifetime in mere 360 minutes. Nice.

Man, this 6 hour Italian drama gives soap opera a very good name. Saw the film at this year's Singapore International Film Festival, whose organisers were thankfully intuitive enough to endeavour such challenging programming.

Best of youth's sprawling, epic scale depiction of love, familial ties and the strength which friendship binds, were assuredly interspersed into those 6 hours. The sweeping grandeur of its scope never overshadows the intimacy of its finely detailed characterisation. The subtle shifting of focus between characters (before unveiling the true lead character in the end) also proved to be intriguingly fruitful for the attentive audience.

The screening time hence becomes a non-issue, for it genuinely felt like a sumptuous breeze. In fact, I'm pretty sure the captivated audience on that fateful night of screening could go on for another 3 hours. Such is the allure of good story telling.

In summation, Best of youth boasts of good story, excellent performances, well placed "Godfather" references and beautiful people for the restless(if any) to ogle at. What more can a film geek (erm, me) ask for?

Fantastic movie. Go hunt for it.