MovieChat Forums > La meglio gioventù (2003) Discussion > The Greatest Film Ever Made.

The Greatest Film Ever Made.

posted 14 years ago by Rayek_
5 replies | jump to latest

It's Intimate, epochal, quietly unforgettable, smart, generous, as subtle as it is expansive, this is storytelling of a rare order. I watched it in the cinema, clocking in at an almost unplayable six hours. Those who see it will, quite frankly, not believe their luck. It is that satisfying, that engrossing, that good.

One of the great virtues of "Youth's" length is its refusal to be rushed into establishing character. We reconnect to its protagonists at a series of crossroads in their lives, as they attempt to find and define themselves against the backdrop of changing times. While they make decisions about love, career, the essential stuff of life, we see how difficult it is to know which choice to make, how simple actions can have unexpected consequences. Everyone we meet becomes over time not only older but more complex than the person we initially encountered.

This is epic filmmaking on a profoundly human scale, directed to perfection and magnificently acted by everyone in sight. Not to be missed by anyone who cares about the joys, sorrows, and challenges of living in the modern world. Like all great popular melodramas, "The Best of Youth" has a pull that is strong enough to be classified as gravitational. Its length enables us to be involved in its characters' lives to a thrilling extent, and its warmth and intimacy, its belief that, as one character says, "What is the purpose of life but to live?" make that involvement worthwhile.

A true friend is one soul in two bodies.
- Aristotle.

[–] alexcapr-665-582803 14 years ago

The only thingh that I must say about Best of Youth is that unless You know the Historic contest of the facvts you are cut out, it is very well what you sAID, BUT i SEE IT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW of the facts happening unless you are Italian or interested imn the Italian politics of the last 50 years .For example do you know who is behind the interview that Nicola does in the prison,there is the downfall of the complete partie's downfall and the establishment of the second repubblic.Also why is the Nicola let him all the patients of the "madhouse"leave.Franco Basaglia a psychitry help a law in the 70's eliminating all the physchiatric hospitals
I can go on for ever.So although a foreing can work on the personal plot to understand all the philosophy of the evnt and the Italian way of interact you must be into Italian History a lot or lived the events in first person .In fact the film was done first as a film in two nights for the Italian TV.

[–] Rayek_ 14 years ago

Deftly, director Giordana and screenwriters weave milestones major and minor in and out of the story, using as background (and sometimes foreground) important national soccer wins and losses, pop songs, the political protests of the 1960s, the so-called "leaden years" of the 1970s, the infamous great flood of Florence, and other evocative elements to tell their story.

Unlike some American films, however, that think they get away with re-creating the flavors of bygone decades by throwing in more fashion and pop-culture touchstones than you can shake a stick at -- Look, Ma! Hula Hoops, Beach Boys music! -- "The Best of Youth" never works in its references gratuitously. The filmmakers know that there's more to history than headlines and hairstyles.

A true friend is one soul in two bodies.
- Aristotle.

[–] Keely 10 years ago

alexcapr - please go on forever! I'm still on the first disk and can pick up the obvious references from similar things that were going on in the U.S., like the student protests in the '60s, reforms in mental institutions and the beginnings of the word processing revolution in the '70s. I know about the floods in Florence but wouldn't have remembered exactly when it happened, and I recall a resurgence of Communism in Italy . . . Actually without these political hints I would have a hard time knowing what era they're in because the characters' clothes and hairstyles don't seem to change very much. I'd be interested to hear about other things that were going on in Italy that might not be obvious to everyone.

[–] subscriptions-67427 8 years ago

If they had filmed this in real time as the actors age (like Boyhood), this would definitely have been the greatest film ever made.

Even otherwise this is definitely in my top 20 all time list.

[–] anianirudha2007 8 years ago

Thats asking for a lot! If that happened then Boyhood wouldnt have been 'Boyhood'!