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Portrait
of a generation
A
worthy return by one of contemporary Italian cinema's
leading directors, Marco Tullio Giordana, who
continues to put his talent to the test, revealing a
rare aptitude for historiography. From “Pasolini –
An Italian crime (Pasolini: Un delitto italiano)” to
the huge success of “The hundred steps (I cento
passi)”, the strong-willed filmmaker has shown an
ability to plunge himself and indeed viewers into the
climate of the years that were to influence his
political and intellectual persuasion so strongly: the
Sixties and Seventies, told through long narrative
meanderings that interweave in the one picture both
the crimes and virtues of his generation, without ever
giving into the temptation to surrender to manneristic
moralism.
“La meglio gioventů” (the title virtually a
tribute to Pasolini), is no exception: it is a sharp,
disenchanted portrait of a family over a forty year
period in Italian history. The impressive six-hour
film follows the troubled affairs of brothers Nicola
and Matteo Carati, united by the dreams they share
until one day when, both disappointed by the outcome
of a personal battle, one brother seeks his purpose in
life in the fervour of youth movements, while the
other, cultured but in pursuit of order, enters the
police force.
From this point, their journeys through life are
enriched by an array of faces and characters, by
images of a woman teetering between fragility and
obstinacy, as each character is portrayed against the
context of the social backdrop, until this backdrop
actually becomes the focus.
One stage after another, this stylistic direction
becomes Giordana's primary objective, as he
meticulously examines the most significant events of
Italian post-war history – from the great flood of
Florence to Tangentopoli (Bribesville), taking in the
revolutionary movements of ’68 and the kidnapping of
Aldo Moro – with a terse, explicit register,
emancipated but prudent in choosing not to ignore the
structural limitations fundamental for a film destined
for television.
Looking beyond the confusion of historical
representations that follow in quick succession
throughout the film, one is left with an intricately
woven tapestry of emotions: a choir of voices and
experiences of life that is the seal of a remarkable
artist who deserves to be acknowledged as the most
committed fresco painter of his age.
Note:
the film will be shown in two 3-hour parts, the second
part a week after the first.
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La
meglio gioventů
by
Marco Tullio Giordana
with Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Adriana Asti,
Sonia Bergamasco
Links
Official
website of 01 Distribution
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