''The Best of Youth'' ( it, La meglio gioventù) is a 2003 Italian historical drama film directed by Marco Tullio Giordana and written by

Sandro Petraglia Sandro Petraglia (; born 19 April 1947) is an Italian screenwriter. He began his career in the early 1970s as a film critic, writing for the May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some sev ...

and

Stefano Rulli Stefano Rulli (; born 3 October 1949) is an Italian screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with fellow screenwriter Sandro Petraglia, including '' La piovra'' (1987–1995) and ''The Best of Youth ''The Best of Youth'' ( it, La me ...

. A family saga set in Italy from 1966 through 2003, it chronicles the life of the middle-class Carati family, focusing primarily on brothers Nicola ( Luigi Lo Cascio) and Matteo ( Alessio Boni) 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 The 56th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2003. French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer Patrice Chéreau was the President of the Jury. The Palme d'Or went to the American film ''Elephant'' by G ...

, 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 Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...

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 The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operatio ...

World War II song ''Sul ponte di Perati''; here, Giordana uses it to refer to his generation, which is also the main characters' one, made up of those young people who participated in the '' Sessantotto''.

Plot

Summer 1966

Two brothers go their separate ways after attempting to rescue a young girl, Giorgia (

Jasmine Trinca Jasmine Trinca (; born 24 April 1981) is an Italian people, Italian actress. Trinca was born in Rome, Italy. She began her career in 2001, chosen by Nanni Moretti for his award-winning ''The Son's Room'', receiving the Guglielmo Biraghi prize a ...

), from an abusive sanitarium. The brothers are Matteo and Nicola Carati ( Alessio Boni and Luigi Lo Cascio). Their parents are Angelo (Andrea Tidona) and Adriana ( Adriana Asti), their older sister is Giovanna (Lidia Vitale), and their younger sister is Francesca (Valentina Carnelutti). Their friends, their lovers and others drift through, including Giorgia who struggles with mental issues, but whose life seems to follow in parallel. Matteo walks out of his first exam, while Nicola passes an exam on his way to qualifying as a doctor (and will pursue a career in psychiatry). Matteo takes mental patients for walks to help them begin to feel normal and takes a particular interest in his patient Giorgia. Noticing that Giorgia has been wounded by electroshock therapy, he decides to remove her from the

institution Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

and take her along with him and Nicola—who are about to go on a trip to Norway. Eventually, Giorgia is captured by the police and taken back to the asylum. Matteo, filled with sadness and depression, returns to Rome and joins the army. Nicola continues to Norway and gets a job as a

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

. The brothers meet again in Florence just after the 1966 Arno River flood. Here, Nicola meets a university student, Giulia (

Sonia Bergamasco Sonia Bergamasco (born 16 January 1966) is an Italian actress. Born in Milan, Bergamasco graduated in piano at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory and then enrolled the drama school of the Piccolo Teatro, graduating in 1990.Giorgio Dell’Arti, Mass ...

February 1968

Nicola and Giulia are living together in Turin, but the two do not marry.

1974

Matteo leaves the army and joins the police force. During this time, Matteo shows signs of continuing depression and anger. He accepts an assignment in Sicily, a place corrupted by the Mafia. Meanwhile, Nicola and Giulia conceive and care for Sara, their daughter.

1977

In Sicily, Matteo meets a photographer in a ''caffè'' named Mirella ( Maya Sansa). She wants to be a librarian, and he advises her to work at a beautiful library in Rome. Because of his temper, Matteo is forced to leave Sicily. He decides to reside in Rome but refuses to visit his mother. Meanwhile, Nicola becomes a psychiatrist, and works to eliminate the abuse and maltreatment of patients in mental hospitals. He finds Giorgia in one of these hospitals. She is tied to a bed in inhumane conditions, does not talk, and shows fear of being touched by others. After some time, Giulia gets drawn into a secret Red Brigades cell. One night, she leaves Nicola and Sara and disappears into the terrorist underground.

1983

Years later Matteo walks into that same library and sees Mirella for the second time. They fall in love, and one evening, make love in a car. Eventually he pushes her away.

December 1983

Mirella meets with Matteo with news for him, but he behaves harshly and forces her to leave. On New Year's Eve, Matteo decides to finally visit his mother. Everyone is there to celebrate. Instead of waiting for the traditional toasts, however, Matteo decides to leave early and, at midnight, jumps off the balcony of his apartment and kills himself. The family is devastated by the tragedy. No longer motivated, Nicola's mother quits her teaching job and lives a life in solitude in Rome. Nicola, feeling that he could have saved Matteo and not wanting to make the same mistake again, arranges for the capture of Giulia to prevent her from killing someone else or from getting killed. She is sentenced to 17 years in jail. During her jail term, Nicola visits Giulia and proposes to her but is rejected.

Spring 1992

Nicola finds a photograph of Matteo taken by Mirella. He is encouraged by Giorgia to meet with Mirella which, after some hesitation, he agrees to do. When he meets Mirella, Nicola learns about her son (Andrea) and that Matteo was the father. Nicola breaks this exciting news to his mother and they visit Mirella and the boy on the small island of Stromboli. Inspired by new meaning in her life, Nicola's mother decides to stay with Mirella and her grandson.

Spring 1995

Nicola and his friends acquire and plan the reconstruction of an old villa house in Tuscany. Giulia (out of jail) meets Francesca but chooses not to talk to Sara, watching her from afar. Meanwhile, Sara, now in her early twenties, is still struggling with the poor choices her mother has made. She decides to move to Rome to study art conservation and becomes engaged to Mimmo. During this time, Nicola finds out his mother has died and, as a result, travels to Stromboli to visit Mirella and pay his respects.

Spring 2000

Having finally moved past the death of Matteo, Nicola and Mirella fall in love. Sara, now happy and strong, is encouraged by Nicola to confront her mother and try to patch things up. Giulia, in desperate need of love, embraces Sara, but is not ready to open up completely.

2003

The film ends with Matteo's son, Andrea, visiting Norway, specifically North Cape, which is where his father and Nicola ventured to go at the beginning of the movie, but never completed their journey.

Cast

* Luigi Lo Cascio as Nicola Carati * Alessio Boni as Matteo Carati *

as Giorgia * Adriana Asti as Adriana Carati *

as Giulia Monfalco *

Fabrizio Gifuni Fabrizio Gifuni (born 16 July 1966) is an Italian stage, film and television actor. He won two Silver Ribbons and a David di Donatello Award. Life and career Born in Rome, the son of the politician Gaetano, Gifuni enrolled at the Silvio D'Amic ...

as Carlo Tommasi * Maya Sansa as Mirella Utano *

Valentina Carnelutti Valentina Carnelutti (born 6 February 1973) is an Italian actress. She has appeared in more than 40 films since 1995. Selected filmography References External links * 1973 births Living people Italian film actresses {{Italy- ...

as Francesca Carati **Nila Carnelutti as Francesca Carati at 8 * Andrea Tidona as Angelo Carati *

Lidia Vitale Lidia Vitale (born 12 October 1972) is an Italian actress. She appeared in more than fifty films since 2000. Filmography Films Television References External links * * 1972 births Living people Italian film actresses {{Ital ...

as Giovanna Carati * Claudio Gioè as Vitale Micavi *Paolo Bonanni as Luigino * Giovanni Scifoni as Berto * Riccardo Scamarcio as Andrea Utano **Francesco La Macchia as Andrea Utano at 6 *

Camilla Filippi Camilla Filippi (born 13 October 1979) is an Italian film, stage and television actress. Life and career Born in Brescia, Filippi started her career, when she was a teenager, appearing in a series of Barilla commercials. She made her acting de ...

as Sara Carati **Greta Cavuoti as Sara Carati at 8 **Sara Pavoncello as Sara Carati at 5 *

Mario Schiano Mario Schiano (20 July 1933 in Naples – 10 May 2008 in Rome) was an Italian alto saxophonist and soprano saxophonist associated with avant-garde/free jazz. He was born in Naples. A member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Schiano recorded with ...

as medicine professor *Michele Melega as literature professor *Thérèse Vadem as Therese *

Stefano Abbati Stefano Abbati (born 23 February 1955) is an Italian actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1983. Selected filmography References External links * 1955 births Living people Italian male film actors 20th-century Italia ...

as pusher *Giovanni Martorana as Maghrebi *

Paolo De Vita Paolo De Vita (born 29 June 1957) is an Italian film and television actor. Born in Bari, he debuted on television in 1984 with the TV series ''Aeroporto internazionale'' (International Airport), followed by the 1985 miniseries ''Un siciliano in ...

as Don Vito *Mimmo Mignemi as Giorgia's father *Domenico Centamore as Officer Enzo *Pippo Montalbano as Police Chief in Palermo *Gaspare Cucinella as 'Viddanu *Dario Veca as butcher *Nicola Vigilante as nurse *Marcello Prayer as Second Lieutenant *Walter Da Pozzo as Officer Mario *Krum De Nicola as Brigo *Maurizio Di Carmine as terrorist * Roberto Accornero as President of the Court in Turin *Fabio Camilli as Tangentopoli inmate *Antonello Puglisi as priest in Palermo *Patrizia Punzo as gallery manager *Emilia Marra as doctor

Production

Principal photography began in March 2002, taking place mainly in Florence, Turin and Collegno in the following months. On 26 June 2002, filming moved to

Stromboli Stromboli ( , ; scn, Struògnuli ) is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sici ...

, lasting three days. Filming also took place in Rome and North Cape, Norway.

Release

Originally set for a television broadcast on Rai 2, ''The Best of Youth'' was bought by Rai 1 and then indefinitely shelved from its scheduled air date of fall 2002. Set for February 2003, it was delayed again after TV spots had already aired. Freedom of expression association Articolo 21, liberi di... accused Rai 1 director Agostino Saccà and his successor Fabrizio Del Noce of making a politically charged use of public television in favor of the Berlusconi government (see Editto Bulgaro). In April, the film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 20 May 2003, competing in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. 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. Due to its extensive runtime, ''The Best of Youth'' was divided in two parts for its theatrical release in Italy, premiering on 7 and 8 June 2003 at the Taormina Film Festival: the first part ( it, Atto primo, lit=Act I) was released by

01 Distribution RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...

on 20 June, followed by the second one ( it, Atto secondo, lit=Act II) on 27 June. A four-part version, with an additional 20 minutes of running time, was finally broadcast from 7 to 15 December 2003 on Rai 1 at 8:45 pm:

Reception

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 ''Rocco and His Brothers'' ( it, Rocco e i suoi fratelli) is a 1960 drama film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatori, Katina Paxinou, Roger Hanin, Paolo Stoppa, and Claudia Cardinale in one of her ...

'' and '' The Leopard''.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Best of Youth, The 2003 drama films 2003 films 2000s historical drama films Italian historical drama films Films about schizophrenia Films directed by Marco Tullio Giordana Films set in Florence Films set in Norway Films set in Palermo Films set in Rome Films set in Turin Films set in 1966 Films set in 1968 Films set in 1974 Films set in 1977 Films set in 1983 Films set in 1992 Films set in 2000 Films set in 2003 Films shot in Florence Films shot in Norway Films shot in Rome Films released in separate parts 1968 protests