Despite Its Length, 'Best of Youth' Is Worth the Time

By Bob Mondello

Published March 4, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST

A six-hour Italian epic with subtitles may not sound like everyone's cup of cafe. But critic Bob Mondello says The Best of Youth's sprawling story of two brothers, and the different paths their lives take over the years, is among the most affecting films you'll see this year.

Bob Mondello

Bob Mondello, who jokes that he was a jinx at the beginning of his critical career — hired to write for every small paper that ever folded in Washington, just as it was about to collapse — saw that jinx broken in 1984 when he came to NPR.

See stories by Bob Mondello

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