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The Best of Youth

Original title: La meglio gioventù
  • 2003
  • R
  • 6h 14m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
25K
YOUR RATING
The Best of Youth (2003)
EpicDramaRomance

An Italian epic that follows the lives of two brothers from the 1960s to the 2000s.An Italian epic that follows the lives of two brothers from the 1960s to the 2000s.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
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.5/10
    25K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Marco Tullio Giordana
    • Writers
      • Sandro Petraglia
      • Stefano Rulli
    • Stars
      • Luigi Lo Cascio
      • Alessio Boni
      • Jasmine Trinca
    • 118User reviews
    • 62Critic reviews
    • 89Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 33 wins & 25 nominations total

    Photos40

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    Top cast91

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    Luigi Lo Cascio
    Luigi Lo Cascio
    • Nicola Carati
    Alessio Boni
    Alessio Boni
    • Matteo Carati
    Jasmine Trinca
    Jasmine Trinca
    • Giorgia Esposti
    Adriana Asti
    Adriana Asti
    • Adriana Carati
    Sonia Bergamasco
    Sonia Bergamasco
    • Giulia Monfalco
    Fabrizio Gifuni
    Fabrizio Gifuni
    • Carlo Tommasi
    Maya Sansa
    Maya Sansa
    • Mirella Utano
    Valentina Carnelutti
    Valentina Carnelutti
    • Francesca Carati
    Andrea Tidona
    • Angelo Carati
    Lidia Vitale
    Lidia Vitale
    • Giovanna Carati
    Claudio Gioè
    Claudio Gioè
    • Vitale Micavi
    Paolo Bonanni
    • Luigino
    Giovanni Scifoni
    • Berto
    Riccardo Scamarcio
    Riccardo Scamarcio
    • Andrea Utano
    Camilla Filippi
    Camilla Filippi
    • Sara Carati
    Mario Schiano
    • Professore di Medicina
    Michele Melega
    Michele Melega
    • Professore di Lettere
    Thérèse Vaddem
    • Thérèse
    • Director
      • Marco Tullio Giordana
    • Writers
      • Sandro Petraglia
      • Stefano Rulli
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews118

    8.525.3K
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    Featured reviews

    flipgirl38

    Six Hours Long, Six Hours Deep

    The Best of Youth is a wonderfully scripted, acted, and visually stunning film that will sweep you off your feet and into the lives of an Italian family as they go through the trials and tribulations of life. The film's main focus is on two brothers, Nicola and Matteo Catiti whose personalities are as different as night and day yet is also immediately apparent that these two love each other very much. Nicola is the younger, free spirited and philosophical brother while Matteo is more outspoken, with a hot temper and closed personality.

    What I admired most throughout this film was the use and passage of time. Events in Italian history are not crammed into 120 minutes but is instead elongated, as Matteo and Nicola react in their own ways to the events that occur in their country. Time is such an important factor in this film, evidents not only by the six hour running time, but how those six hours are treated. Special occasions occur, yet none are given any special attention. The events that occur are important for that moment in time, yet one pass become mere memories such is the case of life.

    With the passage of time, The Best Of Youth became such a moving experience for me. I felt as if I were a part of their family. I could not touch them, or talk to them, yet they seemed to welcome me with open arms as I silently watched their lives unfold before me. I could feel the love this family had for each other as I laughed and cried right beside them. Words just do not seem to be enough to describe the brilliance of this film. It is literally life transferred on screen.

    The Best of Youth is remarkably acted and directed. At no time during this film was I bored, because such attention is made to character development, script, and cinematography. In the first part of the film, Nicola is exploring Norway, and sends a postcard to his brother back home telling him of his travels and experiences, and in three words, seems to sum up the film perfectly: "Life is beautiful." After viewing this film, you will share the same perspective.

    HIGHLY Recommended
    10Peegee-3

    A masterpiece of cinema art!

    Can art transform life? If so, I would elect "The Best of Youth" as a primary candidate for that possibility.

    Almost never in my over 60 years of film viewing have I been as deeply affected, haunted by characterizations, poetic dialog and brilliantly unexpected turns...and breadth of scope. The nuances of relationship between people...in this case the Italian family Carati, their lovers, friends, wards...are so moving, so deeply portrayed and inhabited by the actors that I was not only moved to tears, but inspired. Here is a view of how human beings can live the humanity so desperately needed in this crazed and warring world...also presented as an integral part of plot and interaction...and this done without any sort of didactic or polemic foisting...All achieved through the intimate and profound struggles of the film's characters.

    Imagination and the incredible sensibility of director (Marco Tullio Giordana),writers (Petraglia and Rulli) and actors (most outstanding: Luigi LoCacio, Alessio Boni, Adriana Asti and Jasmine Trinca) combine to offer a film that carried this participant (for that's what I felt) into a realm only experienced by exceptional literature.

    As is obvious...I highly recommend seeing this movie.
    10dr_foreman

    Simply a great drama...

    I waste a lot of time reviewing cute but rubbishy science fiction and horror films on this site. I'm a bit out of practice with watching, and critiquing, actual drama! But of course, I still realize that the key to great drama is the characters - and they make this epic Italian miniseries-turned-movie work, and work beautifully at that.

    "The Best of Youth" focuses on various members of the Carati family and their friends, advancing from the 1960s to the near-present as it chronicles their lives in the context of social turmoil in Italy as a whole. For the most part, the story never drags, and every single character is compelling and sympathetic.

    Many of the character have flaws, but they're not bad people - just complex. Many tragic things happen, but the film never wallows in misery, except on one wholly justified occasion. Moral conflicts are explored not in black-and-white, but in shades of grey. In other words, "The Best of Youth" is rich with the kind of warmth, complexity and subtle nuances that you tend to miss in most American dramas - even the ones that win Oscars.

    I won't spoil the plot, really - I'll just say that both of the main characters, brothers Matteo and Nicola Carati, are charismatic and cool and well worth six hours of screen time. They're also very different, which keeps things interesting.

    Are there any significant flaws here? Nah, not really. My interest waned a bit during some segments, particularly the historical ones that aren't explained that well. There's also a bit of cheesy makeup and blue screen, but that can be excused because this is really a TV production, as I understand it, not a big movie. Besides, I sort of love production flaws. They're fun, aren't they?

    On a totally pointless note, I'd like to mention a strange plus of "The Best of Youth" - much of the cast is totally gorgeous. Guys and gals alike have reason to rejoice here...

    One final random thought. While I'm glad that "The Best of Youth" was distributed and well-received in the U.S., I'm annoyed that it was publicized as being "like the Godfather" or "like the works of Scorcese." It's nothing like the Godfather, it's nothing like Scorcese. The marketers seemed to have believed, unfortunately, that U.S. audiences are only interested in Italian criminals, not normal Italian people. This sort of irritates me. (Note my surname and you'll figure out why!) But such concerns have nothing to do with the actual movie, which is pretty much flawless.
    10Oleg Sidorenko

    A treasure - 6 moving hours of forgetting yourself

    Having just returned at 2 am from a festival showing of the movie that started at 5:30, I still can think of nothing but looking for anything and everything about this exceptional film that I came across more or less by accident. I can only sum up two points: it is an excellent yet easy-going overview of recent Italian history, and a truly moving, in an unbanal and unstereotypical, unpopcorny way, movie about the value of friendship, closeness, family. This film makes you want to live, to cherish the people you love and to be aware of the consequences of your acts. City living makes sour cynics out of teenage optimists (I'd count myself in until now), and this one is a lesson of keeping the best of yourself throughout life. A true inspiration! Bravo.
    Sinnerman

    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.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Originally developed as a miniseries for television. It was then released in cinemas in June 2003 as two three-hour films after the uncut six-hour version had been screened to great acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival. It was eventually aired on Italian TV as originally intended, in 4 parts, in November 2003.
    • 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.
    • 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

    • Connections
      Edited into Colpiti al cuore (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Piano sonata in A minor K 310
      Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performed by Sonia Bergamasco

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 20, 2003 (Italy)
    • Country of origin
      • Italy
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Italy)
    • Languages
      • Italian
      • English
      • Norwegian
    • Also known as
      • Khoảng Khắc Của Tuổi Trẻ
    • Filming locations
      • Florence, Tuscany, Italy
    • Production companies
      • BiBi Film
      • Rai Fiction
      • Film Commission Torino-Piemonte
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $274,024
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,490
      • Mar 6, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,799,773
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      6 hours 14 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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