The Best Of Youth () is a 2003 Italian epic drama film directed by Marco Tullio Giordana and written by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli. A family saga set in Italy from 1966 through 2003, it chronicles the life of the middle-class Carati family, focusing primarily on brothers Matteo (Alessio Boni) and Nicola (Luigi Lo Cascio) as their life paths separate during youth, encompassing major political and social events in post–World War II Italian history.
Originally conceived as a Rai television miniseries, it premiered at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prize Un Certain Regard. It was then given a theatrical release in Italy as two 3-hour films (titled Act I and Act II), before being aired with broader success on Rai 1 in a slightly longer four-episode television version later that year. In the U.S., the film was released by Miramax in its theatrical version.
The title of the film, an ungrammatical rendition of La Miglior Gioventù ("The Best Youth/Young People"), comes from the title of a 1954 Friulian language poetry collection by Pier Paolo Pasolini, who in turn borrowed it from a line of Alpini World War II song Sul Ponte Di Perati; taking place mainly in Florence, Turin and Collegno in the following months. On 26 June 2002, filming moved to Stromboli, lasting three days. Filming also took place in Rome and North Cape, Norway. Set for February 2003, it was delayed again after TV spots had already aired. Here, it received the Prize Un Certain Regard along with widespread critical acclaim, credited as having rekindled Rai's interest, who decided to give the film a theatrical release before airing it. the first part () was released by 01 Distribution on 20 June, followed by the second one () on 27 June.
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Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94%, with an average rating of 8.40/10, based on 63 reviews, the critic consensus says that the film "earns its 6 hours running time by telling an engrossing story with compelling characters." On Metacritic, the film has a score (using a weighted average) of 89 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".
According to film critic Peter Bradshaw, the film falls within the tradition of several films that cover expansive times of Italian history through the story of one family, such as Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard.
In a four-star review, Roger Ebert wrote, "No good movie is too long, just as no bad movie is short enough. I dropped outside of time and was carried along by the narrative flow; when the film was over, I had no particular desire to leave the theater, and would happily have stayed another three hours. The two-hour limit on most films makes them essentially short stories. “The Best of Youth” is a novel."
Ed Gonzalez, writing for Slant, described the film as an "epic elegy to family and country is a towering work of narrative fiction." The San Francisco Chronicle said it was "so in-depth, so appealing, so easy to sit through and so anomalously grand scale that few who see it will ever forget it", adding it was "a full meal in a world of snacks." The New York Daily News wrote, "After all the observations on heartache, politics, art, commerce, passion, identity, mortality, even mental health, six hours begin to seem downright compact."
Accolades
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Date of ceremony
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! scope="col" | Recipient(s)
! scope="col" | Result
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| Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics
| 12 January 2004
| Grand Prix
| rowspan="4" | The Best of Youth
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| Cannes Film Festival
| 25 May 2003
| Un Certain Regard Award
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| César Awards
| 21 February 2004
| Best Film from the EU
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| rowspan="11"|David di Donatello Awards
| rowspan="11"| 14 April 2004
| Best Film
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| Best Director
| Marco Tullio Giordana
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| Best Actor
| Luigi Lo Cascio
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| Best Supporting Actor
| Fabrizio Gifuni
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| Best Supporting Actress
| Jasmine Trinca
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| Best Producer
| Angelo Barbagallo
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| Best Screenplay
| Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli
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| Best Editing
| Roberto Missiroli
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| Best Production Design
| Franco Ceraolo
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| Best Costumes
| Elisabetta Montaldo
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| Best Sound
| Fulgenzio Ceccon
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| rowspan="3" | European Film Awards
| rowspan="3" | 6 December 2003
| Best Director
| Marco Tullio Giordana
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| Best Actor
| Luigi Lo Cascio
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| Best Screenwriter
| Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli
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| Film Fest Gent
| 18 October 2003
| Grand Prix
| rowspan="2" | The Best of Youth
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| rowspan="6" | Globo d'Oro Awards
| rowspan="6" | 3 July 2004
| Best Film
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| Best Director
| Marco Tullio Giordana
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| Best Actor
| Luigi Lo Cascio
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| Best Actress
| Sonia Bergamasco
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| Best Screenplay
| Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli
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| Special Jury Award
| Adriana Asti
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| rowspan="8" | Nastro d'Argento Awards
| rowspan="8" | 19 June 2004
| Best Director
| Marco Tullio Giordana
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| Best Producer
| Angelo Barbagallo
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| Best Actor
| Alessio Boni<br>Fabrizio Gifuni<br>Luigi Lo Cascio<br>Andrea Tidona
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| Best Actress
| Adriana Asti<br>Sonia Bergamasco<br>Maya Sansa<br>Jasmine Trinca
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| Best Screenplay
| Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli
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| Best Editing
| Roberto Missiroli
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| Best Costume Design
| Elisabetta Montaldo
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| Best Sound
| Fulgenzio Ceccon
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| National Board of Review Awards
| 3 December 2003
| Top Ten Foreign Films
| rowspan="3" | The Best of Youth
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| Palm Springs International Film Festival
| 19 January 2004
| Audience Award<br>
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| Rotterdam International Film Festival
| 1 February 2004
| KPN Audience Award
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| Seattle International Film Festival
| 30 June 2004
| Best Director
| Marco Tullio Giordana
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See also
- List of longest films
References
Further reading
- Sandro Petraglia & Stefano Rulli (2004). , Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana.