The Best of Youth (La meglio gioventù)

The Best of Youth

An Italian movie directed by Marco Tullio Giordana, with a running time of 6 hours released in two parts. It is a slow watch for 6 hours but the movie is worth the time spent. In an industry, where movie time is shrunken to 1-2 hours, with unnecessary cuts and edits this is movie is a craft by the director and a great watch to the audience. Kudos to the director and the team for taking the risk and challenge. The movie follows the life of two brothers (Nicola and Matteo) and their family through the years 1966 to 2003. It portrays the aspirations of two brothers and how they end up in two separate pathways  and they falling in love, falling out of love. While telling a believable family saga, the movie also shows the sociopolitical events in Italy during that period. Neither the family saga or the political events come as forced events but feels natural part of the ongoing story.

It touches on the leftist movement in Italy, corruption in the Italian society by both politicians and the society, police brutality, economic recession and corporate layoffs and abuse of psychiatric patients at that time in asylums. But the movie is not judgemental on these issues and let us think on them. The two brothers at one point in the film follow two opposite political ideologies but still have their brotherly affection towards each other.

While excelling in the story and screenplay, the movie also has very good cinematography which brings to life the architecture and buildings of Italy through the years.

When you finish watching the movie, you feel like you have lived with them through those years and end up having a fulfillment of that life.

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