The editing of "Youth" is the worst I've ever seen. It seems to me that the whole movie is divided into different parts, and these parts have essentially no relations and express completely disparate themes. The first hour exposes some hypercritical persons in the Military Cultural Troupe, most notably Lin Dingding. The second hour basically states that people still like the Military Cultural Troupe even after they leave it. The most memorable scene is the dance of He Xiaoping after she goes mad. The last part is set in the 1990s and describes the miserable life of Liu Feng.
Moreover, there are just quite a few plot holes and the character development fails to a large extent. For instance, nobody understands why He Xiaoping suddenly goes mad. Some actors are simply not professional, and performed rather awkwardly.
In a nutshell, I think the director may be somehow ambitious, but lack the corresponding storytelling and editing skills to achieve his goals.
