La meglio gioventù 

English title: The Best of Youth

Genre: slice-of-life drama

With: Luigi Lo Cascio (Nicola Carati), Alessio Boni (his brother Matteo), Adriana Asti (their mother Adriana), Andrea Tidona (their father Angelo), Lidia Vitale (their sister Giovanna), Valentina Carnelutti (their little sister Francesca), Sonia Bergamasco (Giulia Monfalco), Jasmine Trinca (Giorgia), Fabrizio Gifuni (Carlo Tommasi), Camilla Filippi (Sara), Claudio Gioè (Vitale Micavi), Maya Sansa (Mirella Utano)

Director: Marco Tullio Giordana

Screenplay: Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli

Release: 2003

Studio: BiBi Film, Rai Fiction, Film Commission Torino-Piemonte

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.6/10




“In life, everything is beautiful.”





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Story-line: Rome in the summer of 1966. Once the academic year is over, Matteo Carati, a literature student, and his brother Nicola, who studies medicine, plan to visit Norway with friends Carlo and Berto. Unexpectedly, Matteo’s part-time work with a neurology patient will upend their travel plans… and send them on different paths for the rest of their lives.

Pluses: strong acting by Luigi Lo Cascio and cast, an epic and eventful screenplay combining sympathetic characters, surprising twists and poignant episodes, excellent direction, satisfying production values and a lovely score featuring Cesaria Evora (1941-2011), one of the greatest singers in recent decades. 

Minuses: you may lose interest at some point in the first half – understandably, since the film is 6 hours long and does need time to jell – but the second half is nothing short of enthralling.   

Comments: for more than three decades, LA MEGLIO GIOVENTÙ follows Matteo, Nicola and other members of the Carati family as they cope with private, public and even national events in their native Italy. And they will live through a lot: student protests and career changes, broken relationships and personal challenges, family problems, institutional malfeasance, political issues and even terrorism. Kudos to Marco Tullio Giordana and crew for a film of genuine human value that blesses viewers with a charming, invigorating climax.    





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