The Best of Youth
clocked in at 6 hours 23 minutes. And I enjoyed it. Like the BBC miniseries
Traffik, the picture is a long format multi-character narrative originally
designed for TV. It chronicles 40 years in the
lives of family and friends in Italy – and wasn’t all that different from an
American network miniseries like The 60s, in the sense of weaving
historical events with fictional characters. Unlike American TV this was
portrayed in an adult manner.
Of course, my reaction is based on not being an Italian. Aspects that I thought
were underplayed or well-written might be considered hokey to a native. Whereas
I’m totally naïve, somebody more familiar with the social events depicted might
have problems with inconsistencies or deem certain aspects opportunistic. I’m
not in a position to judge these things.
The Best of Youth is owned by Miramax, but I have no idea what their
plans are. They’re certainly not planning to release a 6-hour movie into
American theaters. I overheard some people suggesting it would work well on HBO
– then they proceeded to bash Miramax for buying tons of films they never bother
to release. Somebody else suggested that they might be planning to remake it.
I think a lot of people avoided this screening based on its length. I almost
did. I’m glad I made the choice to see it.
TOMORROW:
Elephant
-Copyright 2003
Jamie Stuart