The Best of Youth 2005

As the fabric of their lives begins to unravel, two brothers, Matteo (Alessio Boni) and Nicola Carati (Luigi Lo Cascio), part ways after a failed attempt to rescue Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca), a vulnerable young woman trapped in an abusive sanitarium. The emotional scars left by this experience would have far-reaching consequences for the siblings, who hail from a family with a rich history and complex dynamics - their parents, Angelo (Andrea Tidona) and Adriana (Adriana Asti), are deeply rooted in tradition, while their older sister, Giovanna (Lidia Vitale), and younger sister, Francesca (Valentina Carnelutti), embody the innocence of youth.

As they navigate their separate paths, Matteo’s turmoil takes a toll on his mental health, causing him to abandon his studies and instead find solace in walking mental patients through the streets, including Giorgia, whose life seems inextricably linked to her own personal demons. Nicola, meanwhile, focuses on his academic pursuits, passing an exam that sets him on the path to becoming a doctor with a specialization in psychiatry.

The brothers’ lives continue to intersect, albeit in unexpected ways. Matteo’s compassion for Giorgia, whose experiences have left her battered and bruised, drives him to rescue her from the institution, only to see her subsequently taken back into custody by authorities. Filled with sadness and depression, Matteo turns his back on life, enlisting in the army as a means of escape.

Nicola’s journey takes him to Norway, where he finds work as a lumberjack, but not before meeting Giulia (Sonia Bergamasco), a university student who will become a significant presence in his life. The couple settles in Turin, where they start a family with the arrival of their daughter, Sara.

As Matteo’s time in the army comes to an end, he leaves behind the chaos and returns to Rome, only to find solace in a career as a police officer. However, his struggles with depression and anger continue to simmer just below the surface. Nicola, meanwhile, is busy building a life with Giulia in Turin, but their relationship remains platonic, without the sacrament of marriage.

In Sicily, Matteo’s temper gets the better of him, forcing him to flee the island. He eventually finds himself back in Rome, where he chooses not to visit his mother out of shame and guilt. Meanwhile, Nicola’s professional trajectory takes a dramatic turn as he becomes a psychiatrist, driven by a fierce determination to eradicate the abuses that have plagued mental hospitals.

The threads of their lives begin to converge once more when Nicola tracks down Giorgia, now institutionalized in a hospital where she is being held in inhumane conditions. Her silence and fear of human touch are palpable, a haunting reminder of the trauma she has endured at the hands of those who were supposed to care for her.

As the passage of time unfolds, Giulia’s trajectory takes an unexpected turn when she becomes entangled with a clandestine Red Brigades cell. Under the cover of night, she vanishes from Nicola’s life, leaving behind only whispers of her whereabouts in the terrorist underground. Years later, Matteo stumbles upon Mirella once more in the same library where their paths first converged. A whirlwind romance ensues, culminating in a passionate encounter in a car. However, Matteo’s ardor soon gives way to withdrawal, and he ultimately pushes Mirella away.

Mirella returns to Matteo with news that sends him reeling, but his harsh reaction drives her to depart. As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, Matteo makes a fateful decision: he slips out of the celebration early and leaps from the balcony of his apartment, taking his own life in a tragic finale.

The family is left shattered by Matteo’s untimely demise, leaving Nicola’s mother to abandon her teaching post and drift into a solitary existence in Rome. Nicola himself becomes haunted by the feeling that he could have saved Matteo and is determined not to make the same mistake again. He orchestrates Giulia’s capture, ensuring she spends 17 years behind bars, unable to harm herself or others.

During her incarceration, Nicola visits Giulia, but his proposal of marriage is met with rejection. Meanwhile, a chance discovery sets Nicola on a path of discovery: a photograph taken by Mirella reveals Matteo in all his youthful glory. Giorgia’s encouragement prompts him to reach out to Mirella, and after some hesitation, he agrees to meet her.

Their encounter yields a bombshell revelation: Matteo was the father of Andrea, Mirella’s son. Nicola shares this news with his mother, who, inspired by new purpose in life, decides to join Mirella and her grandson on the picturesque island of Stromboli.

As Giulia’s prison sentence draws to a close, Nicola and his friends embark on an ambitious project: renovating an old villa house in Tuscany. Giulia, now freed from incarceration, meets Francesca but chooses not to engage with Sara, instead observing her from afar. Meanwhile, Sara, now in her early twenties, continues to struggle with the poor choices her mother has made and decides to move to Rome to pursue a degree in art conservation, becoming engaged to Mimmo in the process.

In the wake of Nicola’s mother’s passing, he travels to Stromboli to pay his respects to Mirella and honor his family’s memory.

As the collective grief surrounding Matteo’s passing slowly dissipates, Nicola and Mirella discover a profound sense of connection, their hearts beating in harmony as they navigate the uncharted territories of love. Meanwhile, Sara, now radiant with a newfound inner strength, is gently nudged by Nicola to confront the complexities of her relationship with her mother, seeking to mend the frayed threads of their bond. This courageous endeavor sparks a chain reaction, as Giulia, desperate for emotional sustenance, extends an olive branch to Sara, yet hesitates to fully reveal herself, her vulnerabilities still shrouded in uncertainty.

The cinematic journey concludes with Andrea, Matteo’s son, embarking on a poignant pilgrimage to Norway’s breathtaking North Cape, a location that held immense significance for his father and Nicola at the film’s inception. However, their shared dream of completion was left unrealized, leaving an indelible mark on those who remained behind.