Let me just preface this by saying The Best of Youth is 6 hours long. Yes, that’s 358 minutes of run time, and it puts off a lot of people. But if you’re into unusual movie premises like me and up for the challenge – the reward is tremendous. The Best of Youth tells the story of four friends through a period of 30 years; what they go through how they develop their personalities, their worldviews, etc. And because it spans such an extended period of time, it acts as a highlight reel of moments from the characters’ lives (so the long run-time actually feels short). It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that you’ll probably never know characters of any movie as well as you will in The Best of Youth. A perfect illustration of the genius of Italian cinema that gave us The Great Beauty and other amazing movies.
"The Best of Youth runs, though never dawdles, for an easy six hours, with barely a false note."
— Anthony Lane
"An impassioned epic that sweeps up its characters in nearly 40 years of human drama and social history, intertwining the two with a master seamstress' delicacy."
— Scott Foundas
After a fateful encounter in the summer of 1966, the lifepaths of two brothers from a middle-class Roman family diverge, intersecting with some of the most significant events of postwar Italian history in the following decades.
Definitely the best movie I’ve ever seen. I feel so grateful to this page for showing me such masterpiece.
Although it´s very long, it doesn’t feel slow. I enjoyed every minute I spent watching this movie.
I loved this movie and could have watched another 6 hours !!