[Technically, this is a 2003, but Miramax is supposed to release it this year, but you know how that goes.]
Two brothers in 1966 Italy, during the summer before college, escort a mentally-ill young woman on a train ride to find her family. The film, six hours (!) long, follows how this gesture affects the brothers (and their family) over the next 37 years. Originally made for TV, it’s remarkable in that it manages to avoid soap operatics and remain engrossing from minute to three hundred and sixtieth minute. Although its televised origins pops up on occasion (characters disappear for extended periods of time, and every now and then there’s a “Word processors are the future!” type moment), ultimately, it does work as a movie, even if the best part, cinematically speaking, is the journey during the first hour. Acting is terrific across the board, and the actors do a convincing job of playing everything from 18 to 55, even if the make-up doesn’t always keep up. The emotional climax (which subtly and cleverly breaks the staid realism of the piece) would’ve seemed silly in a shorter movie, but is terribly powerful after getting to know these characters so well over the long haul.
Where we saw it: film | We deign to rate it: outta 100