The title of the film is La meglio gioventù, which translates to The Best of Youth. It is said that the name comes from the poems of Italian poet-director Pier Paolo Pasolini (Note 1). The film's director Marco Tullio Giordana and screenwriter Sandro Petraglia were both born in Italy in the late 1940s - the director was born in 1950, Libra; the screenwriter was born in 1947, Aries. When the film was made in 2003, he was fifty-three and fifty-six. And the protagonists in this film, brothers Madio and Nicola, are their peers, a generation born after World War II. The era shown in the film is from 1966 to 2003, which is also the period when the director and screenwriter went from youth to middle-aged and old age. Various details of life, political trends, and backgrounds of the times are inextricably linked, and there is a reason for it. This six-hour (Note 2) film spanning more than thirty years (Note 2) tells the story of the two brothers, Madio and Nicola, from ignorant youth to old age who became grandfathers. And these 30 years were the years when Italy experienced severe economic crisis and social unrest, accompanied by a considerable amount of terrorist activities. The individual's path choice is drawn by the chaos of the situation, and the individual's expression is not only diversified, but also extreme and dramatic. Summer 1966 Rome's older brother Nicola, who is studying medicine, and his younger brother, Madio, who is studying literature, have their final exams. They and two other good friends, Calu and Batu, will go to Norway for vacation after the exam. In the interview, Nicola was praised by the examiner for showing generosity and got an A, but Madio contradicted the examiner on the spot because of his views on a certain poet and the examiner, and failed. This is the starting point of the life path of the two brothers, and from the starting point, you can see the different results caused by the two people's characters being rigid and soft. (Note 3) Madio met Zoe who is autistic when he volunteered in a mental hospital after school. She has childlike eyes, long chestnut hair and a pair of confused almond eyes. Madio took her to the park to see flowers, read poems to her in the library, and brought a camera to take pictures of her. When they showed Nikolai pictures, they found signs of electric shock burns on her body, and they learned that the mental hospital was treating Zoe with electric shock therapy. After the summer vacation, Madio secretly took Zozhen out of the mental hospital. The brothers planned to send her back to her father in her hometown before going on vacation. At this moment, although Madio made his own decisions first, Nikolai did not hesitate to support his younger brother. This is the first time the brothers have shown their love, empathy for the weak and their dissatisfaction and resistance to a certain reality of the moment, and they are in complete agreement on this point. When they arrived in Zuozhen's hometown, the priest said that her father had moved out, and the three missed the last long-distance bus and had to spend the night in the barn. Madio and Zoe had a conflict over a diary, but fortunately Nikolai was good at communicating and comforting, and persuaded the two to come back from the rainstorm. When she found her biological father, it was Madio who had a conflict with the other party, blaming him for not fulfilling his father's responsibilities and fighting. Fortunately, Nikolai held both sides, but the plan to send Zoe back to her father Failed, the two young people did not know what to do. After consulting with the prosecutor's sister, they decided to send Zojin to another mental hospital with better conditions. As a result, while waiting for the train at the train station, the police found Zojin who was in a panic and took her away, leaving her dumbfounded. The older brothers were in a daze on the station platform. Here the brothers had a heated argument, with Madio insisting on ending the journey and returning to Rome, leaving Nicholas alone.
(Who can?) She raised her head and stared blankly at Madio, her eyes seemed to have endless questions~~ The failure of Florence to save Zoe in the winter of 1966 made both brothers a little discouraged, and the younger brother, Madio, joined the army. It is also in line with his consistent style - changing the world with power. But in the barracks, his bad temper didn't change at all, and he was often locked up by the superior. The older brother Nikolai grew a beard and traveled north all the way to the Norwegian border near the North Pole, where he made a living by logging. He wrote to his brother saying that he planned to choose psychiatry as his research direction and become a psychiatrist to treat patients like Zoe. In November, the Arno River suffered the largest flood in 400 years, flooding the center of Florence and destroying many precious cultural relics and ancient books. After seeing the news on TV, Nicola immediately rushed back to join a volunteer organization to help with disaster relief. Madio's troops also went to the scene, where the brothers reunited for a short time, and more coincidentally, Nicola also met friends Calu and Batu. While helping the museum move the collections, a girl suddenly played Mozart's Sonata in A minor on the piano. Nicholas walked slowly to the piano. He was deeply attracted by the sound of the piano and the Goldilocks playing the piano. He lifted his chin and smiled provocatively at him. The girl's name is Julia, and she studied mathematics in Turin, so our Nicola went to Turin in the north to study psychiatry in order to soak in MM. Spring 1974 Turin Nicola and Julia lived together here, and the turmoil of the late sixties sparked the union movement and street riots that started in Turin. Madio retired from the military and became a riot police officer, confronting stone-throwing workers and refugees in the streets. In a violent conflict, in order to protect a seriously injured teammate, Madio severely injured a thug, and he was also ordered to be suspended and transferred to Bologna. He came to Nikolai's house, met Julia, who was about to become a mother, and quarreled with the left-leaning radical Julia - Nikolai's comment: two self-righteous people. Daughter Sarah was born soon, and Nicola's parents, Adriana and Angelo, came to visit them in Turin (Note 4), with a baby carriage ordered in the UK. In private, the mother secretly told her son that his father had an incurable disease, and he was still hiding it from his family. The joy of new life growth and the pain of birth, old age, sickness and death are intertwined. At this time, Nicola was initiating the first lawsuit in Italian judicial history in which a mental patient testified against a doctor using electric shocks to harm a patient. He patiently guided dozens of mental patients to court one by one, and finally persuaded the court to accept them. 's testimony, ruling that the use of electric shocks was illegal, won the lawsuit. Father Angelo and mother Adriana were playing cards in the kitchen. The father said, "Adriana, since too few people are getting married (Note 5), I have decided to remarry. I want to marry you." The father helped his son paint into the room, and let Julia play the piano that she hadn't touched in a long time. He said to Nicola: "You have to praise a woman for being beautiful and capable, and say to her, please play for me, play a piece for us." The father made a special trip from Turin to Milan to find his eldest daughter Giovanna and tell her about his illness , and asked her to pay more attention to her little brother Madio, because he is emotionally fragile. Nikolai, who accompanied his father, visited Calu in Milan by the way. He was already a graduate student in Cambridge and was about to show his skills in the financial world, while Nikolai was worried about his father's illness. The father helped his son paint the room and let Julia play the piano, which he hadn't touched in a long time. He said to Nikolai: "You have to praise a woman for being beautiful and capable, and say to her, please play for me, play for us." song. The father made a special trip from Turin to Milan to find the eldest daughter Giovanna, tell her about his condition, and ask her to pay more attention to the younger brother Madio, because he is emotionally fragile. Nicola, who accompanied his father, stopped by to visit the card in Milan. Lu, already a graduate student at Cambridge, was about to make his mark in finance, while Nicola was worried about his father's illness. The father helped his son paint the room and let Julia play the piano, which he hadn't touched in a long time. He said to Nikolai: "You have to praise a woman for being beautiful and capable, and say to her, please play for me, play for us." song. The father made a special trip from Turin to Milan to find the eldest daughter Giovanna, tell her about his condition, and ask her to pay more attention to the younger brother Madio, because he is emotionally fragile. Nicola, who accompanied his father, stopped by to visit the card in Milan. Lu, already a graduate student at Cambridge, was about to make his mark in finance, while Nicola was worried about his father's illness.
In the summer of 1977, Madio, who was unpopular with officials everywhere in Palermo, was 'exiled' to Palermo, a coastal city in Sicily where gangsters were rampant, to investigate murder and other criminal cases. His ideal was to achieve 'discipline'. In an outdoor cafe by the sea, he met Melalie, an amateur photographer who was applying for the exam as a librarian, and instructed her, who was taking portraits, "You should look for your soul." ' The two of them chatted as soon as they met, and he also pointed out that the girl should go to work in the library of Celimontana in Rome. Before leaving, the girl asked his name, he hesitated, and said: 'My name is Nikolai'
Lovely Sarah is four years old, but Nikolai and Julia begin to have a conflict. After her marriage, she was still radical, participating in various mass gatherings, selling pianos, quitting her job and planning a big fight, ignoring her husband and children. She quarrelled with Nicola, blaming him for only caring about her own hospital, and Sarah heard her parents arguing and said to them: 'Man, how can Bobby doll fall asleep when you are so noisy? '
During an inspection of a mental hospital, Nikolai discovers a group of abused patients tied to beds, one of which turns out to be Zoe. He took Zoe back to his hospital, where her condition got worse, and squeezed orange juice from the oranges peeled for her to water the cacti. Nicola said softly: 'You're right, I often forget. I want you to come every day to water my plants. ' Madio was temporarily suspended after clashing with onlookers at the murder scene. It happened that Nikolai wrote to say that he had found Zoe and let him have a look. He went all the way north, and when he was passing through Rome, he visited his former teammates who had been maimed in the nursing home, only to find out that his mother came to help him recover almost every week and read poems to him. The touched Madio drove home and saw his mother, Adriana, walking down the street with his frail father. He didn't know his father's condition, let alone that this aspect was Yongjue. When Madio arrives in Turin, Nicola arranges for him and Zoe to meet alone, and she improves, but she is still reluctant to speak. Madio was sitting beside her bed, recalling the situation by himself, just when he was about to leave in disappointment, Zuozhen called out his name. The brothers went home excitedly, Julia standing sadly on the stairs, and news came from Rome that her father had died. On the road back from the funeral all night, Madio couldn't help crying with his brother, and he deeply regretted that he should not have been in the house. The funeral was over soon, and a large family was rarely gathered together. The youngest daughter Francesca was only ten years old when she first appeared on the stage, and she naively wanted to marry her two older brothers. Now she is an eighteen-year-old girl. His friend Calo, who came to help, has graduated and works at the Bank of Italy. He fell in love with the young and beautiful Francesca at a glance. Julia secretly joined the Red Brigade, a left-wing terrorist organization. While in Rome, she and the organization received a mission and a pistol. That night, she left home with her luggage. Although Nikolai stood up to stop at the door, he couldn't stop Julia, who had never wanted to harm the family. Nicola opened the door for her. After she went out, Nicola's frowning face showed the same puzzlement and pain as when he was thrown on the platform by Madio. In the spring of 1980, sister Francesca and her friend Caro held a wedding. The family reunited again and danced happily. The charming dance and cheerful dance music of Italy made people intoxicated in the spring breeze. There are also discordant notes at the wedding, friend Batu is laid off by Fiat, and the Italian economy is in a slump. Calu knew the inside story of the bank and told them that Fiat owed seven trillion lire and was close to bankruptcy. In the summer of 1982, Julia, who had dyed black hair, found Batu who was working on a construction site. She asked Batu to contact Nikolai and wanted to meet her daughter Sarah. As the Italian team entered the World Cup final, the museum was empty. Nicola took her daughter to visit it. In fact, Julia was also hiding in it, watching the father and daughter from a distance. The Italian team won the championship, and the security guards in the museum cheered, but did not see the three ecstatic families. In the fall of 1983, Madio returned to Rome from Sicily to work as a special police officer in anti-terrorism and anti-smuggling. He saw Julia's photo at a glance in the blacklist at the headquarters. Headquarters' instructions were simple, shoot when you see these people. The Red Brigade organization has come to its end, and after launching a series of assassinations, it has become the target of public criticism. Julia was actually in Rome, and her next assassination target turned out to be Calu, who was already working in the Ministry of Finance. In desperation, she had to make an appointment with Francesca and told her to remind Calu to resign and move abroad, so as not to avoid the situation. become a victim. She also asked Francesca to pass a message to her brother to meet Sarah, because the New Year is approaching, they will come to Rome to celebrate the New Year with everyone. Madio went to the library to borrow books, and met Meralie, who was already a caretaker here. Apparently, she hadn't been able to forget him since the last encounter, and this time, Madio seemed to be in love too. He took Merally to go shopping and bowling, and the two hugged and made love passionately in his car, with the Roman winter rain pouring outside the car window. But Madio still didn't dare to tell Melalie his police identity and real name. He never got out of the shadow brought by Zoe, couldn't face his true self, and even retreated again and again when love came again. He tried to disappear from Melalie's life, but she refused to give up. After trying to find out his real name and identity, he went directly to the police station to find Madio and asked him why he lied, from the beginning. Embarrassed and speechless, Madio used his anger to cover up his weakness, and Melally said calmly: "Don't worry, I will go, I won't bother you. You like books because you can give them up at any time, but life is different, You can't help but decide." On New Year's Eve, Nicola took Sarah to Rome, Calu and Francesca already had two children, and everyone went to their house to reunite. The sister told Nikola about Julia's warning, and Calu also had several bodyguards. Madio also came back to celebrate the New Year with his colleagues after a big quarrel over the interrogation of drug dealers and colleagues in the office. He wished his mother Adriana a happy New Year, and played cards with everyone for a while, but he was always like a piece of ice and could never Enter the joyous atmosphere of the family. Before waiting for the toasting ceremony at midnight, he sneaked back to his dormitory by himself. He called Melally over and over again, trying to explain to her, but she never answered. There are cheerful songs on the TV, and the New Year's fireworks are blooming outside the window. Madio goes to the balcony, waters a row of plants, and then slowly takes off his right shoe, and then slowly takes off his left shoe. The toasting ceremony began. Everyone was wishing each other a happy New Year. Madio murmured, "Happy New Year" and jumped off the balcony. . (Note 6) For Madio's suicide, the one who blamed himself the most was Nicola. In his night talk with his sister, he reflected on his stance of respecting the independent choices of others, saying that he should stop them instead of closing the door. His sister told him she had been keeping a postcard he sent her from Norway in 1966 that said 'Everything is beautiful! ! ! ' said Nikolay, who now agrees with the same sentence, but removes the three exclamation marks. When the siblings parted, Nicola finally made up her mind and told her sister that he was going to meet Julia at the Colosseum at ten o'clock tomorrow morning, and asked her to notify the authorities to arrest her. Although they didn't want her to go to jail, they didn't want to risk losing this relative. When Nikolai returned to the hospital, he poured out the pain in his heart to Zoe, his younger brother committed suicide, and he sent Julia to prison again. He suddenly added a lot of gray hair. At this moment, as if Zuozhen was the doctor and he was the patient to talk to, Zuozhen gently touched his cheek, and a tear fell down his face. Spring 1992 Daughter Sarah is already an eighteen-year-old girl and is going to study in Rome soon. She is independent-minded and has serious discussions with Nicola about his marriage. Tell him that it was irresponsible for Julia to take risks without her family, and that it was cowardly to refuse Nikolai visits, that such people are not worthy of love, and that Nikolai should find another company. The voices of the two of them were getting higher and higher, and Nikolai walked over, put his arms on Sarah's shoulders from behind, and asked, 'Is this a quarrel? ''No, no, we can't be noisy. ''why? ' Sarah turned and hugged her father: 'Because I love you so much. ' (Note 7) Nicola went to Milan to give a psychiatric diagnosis, but unexpectedly saw a promotional poster for a photography exhibition on the street. It turned out to be Madio - it turned out to be a photography exhibition by Meralli, and the Madio picture in it The photo was taken when they first met in Palermo. Nikolai bought a photo of his younger brother and took it back to the hospital to show Zuozhen. Zuozhen immediately told Nicola to go to the photographer, Melalie, because the photographer must know Madio. Nicola said: 'Why do this? ''Because you will do whatever I ask you to do. ' Nikolai quit, she added: 'You are bad, not the same as before. 'In the evening, Zuozhen sneaked out of the hospital with the photo to the train station to get a ride, but was stopped by Nicholas who came. Nicola sent her to the home of volunteers who serve recovered patients, and told her that Madio helped her out of the hospital, and that he must find a photographer. First to Milan, then to Palermo, Nicola finally found Meralli, she took Nicola to the cafe by the sea, told him the story of the year, and told him that she was also in Rome at the time and was dating Madio , What's even more amazing is that she has a son named Anzu, who is eight years old this year. He is in the third grade, and he is as handsome as Madio. After Aiko resigned from her teaching position, she was unhappy at home with no curtains drawn all day long, and she became much older. Nikolai took Adriana to Sicily, where Melalie and Anzu lived. The four of them were enjoying themselves. The grandmother and grandson were not too happy, but Nikolai and Melalie also secretly fell in love. Two weeks later, Melari left Adriana to live on the island, and her grandmother settled in Sicily. the year 1995 In Tuscany in the spring, Calu bought a dilapidated villa in the countryside, and discussed with Batu and Nicolas how to repair it so that everyone could move in. In Rome, too, Julia is out of prison, and she sneaks to see her daughter, Sarah volunteers to repair the frescoes in the church, and she works with her new boyfriend. Julia looked away for a while and left. In Turin, Nikolai was in the hospital role-playing stories for mentally handicapped children, and Melalie wrote, his mother died, pain-free, and left in her sleep. She left her last words, when she passed away, don't trouble anyone, not inform the children until later. Nicholas came to the island and went to the tomb of his mother with Anzu. He told Anzu the story of Madio: 'God sends the best and most loved people to the earth, let them stay on the earth first Mark, so that future generations will not forget him - you are the mark. ' He also told Anzu that when they were young, they wanted to go to the North Pole, the most northerly ocean, and they tried but failed. On the boat that sent Nikolay off the island, Melally hinted that he should stay. The two became more and more tacit, and Nikolai realized that he could not leave her.
Sarah got married in the spring of 2000, she and her mother had reconciled, she told her she was pregnant, and when Julia asked her what she could do for her, Sarah said, please play for me. Julia played the church organ to bless her daughter. In Tuscany, everyone moved to a big house here, and Anzu became a big boy and was pursuing his beloved girl. Nikolai and Merally also crossed the shadow left by Madio and kissed together. At the end of the film, in 2003, Anzu and his girlfriend came to northern Norway along the same road that Nikolai took in those days. The difference is that they took a seaplane and flew to the North Pole. He wrote to Nikolai: I saw the midnight sun set on the sea level, but did not enter the sea, I think of Mom, Dad and you, you always say that everything in the world is beautiful, I think you are absolutely right, Everything is really beautiful.
These six hours are not watching movies, but experiencing life. New life is born, old people pass away, and in this beautiful world, life goes on and on. Pain and joy, tears and joy, are part of a full and rich life. What makes the endless journey of life worthwhile is love. Brothers and sisters, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, close friends, teachers and students - it is these human relationships that comfort every soul who tossed and turn and make the world a better place. Life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge, And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, And all work is empty save when there is love; Life is indeed mediocre and bleak, unless there is passion, all passion is straight and blind, unless there is knowledge, all knowledge is complex and confusing, unless there is practice, all practice is empty and illusory, unless there is love. (Gebrun’s poem, translated by Tong Yuanfang) －－－－－－－－－－Text dividing line－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－Character relationship table: Nicola Nicola Matteo Madio (brothers) Giorgia Zoe (the autistic girl rescued by the brothers) Giulia Julia (living with Nicola and giving birth to Sarah) Sara (Nicolas' daughter) Mirella (with Madio and gave birth to Anzu) Enzo Anzu (Madio's son) Adriana Adriana Angelo Angelo (mother and father) Francesca Francesca Giovanna Giovanna (sister and sister) Carlo Caro (Good friend and sister's husband) Berto Batu (good friend) Note 1: Pier Paolo Pasolini: 1922-1975, a poet, one of the most famous contemporary Italian writers, and the movie "Saro: Sodom 120 Days" 's director. Note 2: This is the length of the version released in the US, which is said to have been cut by 40 minutes. Note 3: Madio is tall and handsome, just like Apollo in Greek mythology, while Nikolai has the charm of Michael, the second-generation godfather played by Al Pacino. They are really a combination of two handsome guys. Note 4: Adriana can be said to be the first heroine of the film. Although there are not many scenes, the characters are full of personality and the dialogue is often a touch of the eye. Note 5: On the way to her son's house, Adriana once warned him not to mention unmarried children in front of her daughter-in-law to avoid her embarrassment. Note 6: Every time I see this, even if I rewatch it, it brings tears to my eyes. Especially after the dialogue between the sister, mother, brother, and sister to the suicide scene. The film reaches its climax, and the next hour and a half are all tears. Note 7: Please remember this sentence: 'We can't be noisy because I love you very much. 'Of course, also remember, when you're done, you must hug TA This is the length of the version released in the United States, which is said to have been cut by 40 minutes. Note 3: Madio is tall and handsome, just like Apollo in Greek mythology, while Nikolai has the charm of Michael, the second-generation godfather played by Al Pacino. They are really a combination of two handsome guys. Note 4: Adriana can be said to be the first heroine of the film. Although there are not many scenes, the characters are full of personality and the dialogue is often a touch of the eye. Note 5: On the way to her son's house, Adriana once warned him not to mention unmarried children in front of her daughter-in-law to avoid her embarrassment. Note 6: Every time I see this, even if I rewatch it, it brings tears to my eyes. Especially after the dialogue between the sister, mother, brother, and sister to the suicide scene. The film reaches its climax, and the next hour and a half are all tears. Note 7: Please remember this sentence: 'We can't be noisy because I love you very much. 'Of course, also remember, when you're done, you must hug TA This is the length of the version released in the United States, which is said to have been cut by 40 minutes. Note 3: Madio is tall and handsome, just like Apollo in Greek mythology, while Nikolai has the charm of Michael, the second-generation godfather played by Al Pacino. They are really a combination of two handsome guys. Note 4: Adriana can be said to be the first heroine of the film. Although there are not many scenes, the characters are full of personality and the dialogue is often a touch of the eye. Note 5: On the way to her son's house, Adriana once warned him not to mention unmarried children in front of her daughter-in-law to avoid her embarrassment. Note 6: Every time I see this, even if I rewatch it, it brings tears to my eyes. Especially after the dialogue between the sister, mother, brother, and sister to the suicide scene. The film reaches its climax, and the next hour and a half are all tears. Note 7: Please remember this sentence: 'We can't be noisy because I love you very much. 'Of course, also remember, when you're done, you must hug TA
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