The Best of Youth (2003)

An Italian epic that follows the lives of two brothers, from the 1960s to the 2000s.

Director:

Marco Tullio Giordana

Writers:

Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli

Stars:

Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Jasmine Trinca

33 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Esposti
Andrea Tidona	...	Angelo Carati
Lidia Vitale	...	Giovanna Carati
Claudio Gioè	...	Vitale Micavi
Paolo Bonanni	...	Luigino
Giovanni Scifoni	...	Berto
Riccardo Scamarcio	...	Andrea Utano
Camilla Filippi	...	Sara Carati

Storyline

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. They begin their adventure, helping Giorgia, a young girl confined in an asylum. Then, after the flood of Florence, Nicola meets Giulia a talented piano player with a dangerous sympathy for the BR. Matteo, a rebel spirit entered in the police, will find the optimistic photographer Mirella. These four characters and many others will cross the years of terrorism and Tangentopoli.

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Plot Keywords:

watching tv | years of lead | brother | police | 2000s | 

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Taglines:

The possibilities were endless...

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English Norwegian

Release Date:

20 June 2003 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Best of Youth

Filming Locations:

Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

€44,759 (Italy), 22 June 2003, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,490, 6 March 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$254,224, 4 July 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

BiBi Film,Rai Fiction,Film Commission Torino-Piemonte

Technical Specs

Runtime:

366 min (two parts) 95 min (4 episodes) (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

(at around 27 mins) 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.

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Quotes

Sicilian Commissario: What were you looking for, joining the Police?
Matteo Carati: I wanted some rules.
Sicilian Commissario: And what do you do, with these rules?
Matteo Carati: I apply them

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Connections

Features The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

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Soundtracks

House of the Rising Sun
Traditional, arranged by Alan Price
Performed by The Animals

User Reviews

When Italy offers something to be proud of!

As I was about to write my review, I was very positively surprised at seeing the wide, and I would say worldwide success of this awesome Italian "movie": reviewers from all over Europe and across the ocean prove that when a product is intelligently-crafted it is able to cross borders, even though it's deeply rooted in Italian history and could sound a little unfamiliar to a foreign audience. Most comments consist, indeed, of positive words of praise in favour of this movie: emotionally engaging, never boring, despite the long time-run, authentic, genuine, poetic, finely characterised, wonderfully acted, sober, delicate, sensitive, intelligent, never banal, captivating, enjoyable at every age: simply great.

I agree with all the qualities outlined by the users' reviews, and just add a great merit: the total lack of any political line-up, in a movie where great political events and dramas of Italian history are displayed. Faults and merits are just to be seen, everyone may form his/her opinion, but Giordana never falls into the temptation to make any propaganda or engage any political controversy. As an Italian, and living in a country where nowadays every aspect of one's life is object of political assessment, as if politics were the only criterion of one's behaviour, I appreciate this political non-commitment (not in the sense of indifference, of course, but of sterile factiousness) as a comforting and rare quality. Everything, even tragic events with deep social wounds, is displayed with such delicacy, everything gets such an intimate and human dimension, that the movie can really reach a universal impact.

For me, The Best of Youth is one of those movies you can never leave, I bought the DVD, which I keep jealously and lend only to deserving true friends. It's a sort of sweet companion, which never disappoints, it's so loaded with sound feelings and humanity that it is a sort of drug I take when I feel down, and recovering is granted!