best of youth

[ironymaiden]

i watched Best of Youth this weekend. (C secretly watched most of it from behind the laptop and through doorways.) i had it on my netflix queue over a year ago and had nearly forgotten about it. it was nice. i'm glad i watched it. it has restored my faith in the people of Italy.

it's also a resounding disappointment. a friend saw it at SIFF 2004 and raved about it from the moment he walked out of the theater and never stopped pushing it. time has passed; we liked to see films together and i found his taste to be quite reliable, but we don't get along anymore and the evil part of me wanted this beloved piece to be one of the rare extreme misses (see my response to Madeline is Sleeping). instead of getting reinforcement for happy fuzzy memories or a dollop of extra tasty spite, i got what is best described by the review at three imaginary girls..."An enormous achievement that's good, but not life-altering: like watching an entire season's worth of entertaining TV episodes in one butt-numbing sitting. Oh wait, that's pretty much what it is."

Comments

[pixxelpuss.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel better, I watched Orlando and it made my month. I LOVED it. Except the weird angel thingy at the end. Everything else about it was utterly brilliant.

[ironymaiden]

yay! i don't get the end either. you may also enjoy the novel.

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

He and I *don't* have the same taste in films. I've found this repeatedly, as with Look at Me, which I thought was okay, with moments. Books are hit-and-miss.

[ironymaiden]

well, either you like what he likes or you don't. there's a knack to recommending things that involves a nominal understanding of the other person, and he doesn't have it. from knowing him i've learned that it is wisest and most rewarding to talk about why *i* liked something without insisting that *you* must like it too.

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

That is a good approach. Blanket recommendations are kind of like unwanted gifts.

[buhrger]

i'm planning on picking up BoY at some point on dvd - i'd like to watch it again, and i'd like to be able to pass it along to others as well. i enjoyed much, although as you say, it wasn't life-changing.

[mimerki.livejournal.com]

I'm deeply grateful that he thinks my tastes are notably lowbrow. ;)

I've learned that I shouldn't recommend something if I will be hurt when you don't like it. It's as simple as that. (And once I ask myself if I'll be hurt by same, I probably won't be.)