Youth

Once again, Paolo Sorrentino proves to be a master of cinema and doesn't disappoint. The story is set in an apparently isolated place: a luxury hotel in the mountains of Switzerland inhabited mainly by artists and people from the show business (curious the reference to Maradona, thanked by Sorrentino during his Oscar acceptance speech).

Youth is a tender film in both the characters and the themes: growing old and the fears related to it are common to all men. Fred (Michael Caine) is an old man who still has a lot going on in his life: he has to deal with friendship, love, family and his career. The only thing that makes him different from the younger people surrounding him is that he is aware of memory. It is through memory that he has lost and that he tries to regain his identity. Everyone in the film is in search for identity: the contrast between how people see them and what they want to be seen as.

The screenplay is complex and intense and for this reason sometimes hard to follow. I loved the irony Sorrentino always puts in his movies: through surrealism he is capable of expressing humanity in a simple but yet beautiful way. All the cast delivers great performances and cinematography is absorbing as always. Sorrentino is a director of places: no matter if it is the Eternal City of Rome or an hotel immersed in nature - he is able to capture all the beauty of it.

What the film teaches us, in the end, is that we are what we do - so, I'd add, it's better if we do what we are - but we are nothing without love, which is the driving force of humanity.

Reviewers Notes, humbly submitted:

1. One of those must-see films that contains images, performances, set pieces and snippets of dialog that will haunt you long after you have left the theatre. My favorite is a throwaway line by Harvey Keitel's character casually explaining why for 60 years he has been gullible in his relationship with Caine's character: "I invent stories ... I have to believe everything in order to make things up." (Keitel) That is what reviewers like to call dialog within dialog.

2. Caine is superb, but then again he is always superb.

3. This is an affectation that this reviewer wants to add: since Sorrentino is very direct about wanting this film to be about age, the experience would be enhanced if you watch 1966's Alfie before seeing Youth. To see Caine (at the time) portraying one of the sexiest men alive will take you to a new level of appreciation for what age is about.

4. Some of the images, clearly surreal, could well set the standard for the medium for years to come. They are not only extraordinary but plentiful. Contrast these for example to TV's American Horror Story which pretends to be leading edge in this regard but in fact is merely recycling stuff from 1970s horror films. This is the real deal.

5. Weisz comes full circle. She started her career doing serious roles in indies, temporarily became a saucy sex goddess, and is now a serious actress once again.

6. Only criticism is a problem I have noticed with other films by strong directors like Woody Allen -- the director, doing double duty as the writer, is virtually God in this production and subconsciously the viewer understands that he or she may as well be watching a film made on Mars, because the energy and the characters are so far removed from reality.

As a younger man, I probably wouldn't have cared much for this movie, because as a younger man, I wasn't preoccupied with getting older, and the consequences of reaching the September of my life.

However, as a musician, photographer, and a baby boomer, I absolutely loved it. I would have given it 10 stars except for a poorly written character trait implied in Michael Cain's "Fred Ballinger" to appeal to the gay community for God knows what reason. It doesn't fit into the character's personality or lifestyle at all, and so it made no sense and was purely gratuitous.

Aside from that issue, and the fact that the movie begins with a female singer (Maria Letizia Gorga) who is so talent-less, I have to mute the remote until she is finished, I found this movie to be a "masterpiece", combining sights, sounds and thoughts in a totally original fashion, and takes place in a setting I can't recall ever seeing in any other motion picture. In contrast to the opening singer, the last singer (Sumi Jo) is "extremely" talented.

The acting is flawless from all involved, as is the casting, sets, editing, and most of all: 'the music'. I have since purchased the blu-ray of this film, and have watched it more times than I'd care to admit, and I've never been able to control my emotions at the very end with the voice of an angel soprano singing her heart out to a song that not only should have been nominated for an Oscar (it was), but should have won it hands down. 'Simple Song #3'

If you're an action addict, this film isn't for you. However, if you like beautiful scenery, music, and talent from all involved, you may like this film as much as I did: One of my top ten favorites.

What a Beautiful Film, i Think it's too late to say This one it's a must See, Don't Mind The Negative Reviews.

* The parade of weird characters in the Alpine luxury resort where the entire film is set - from an obese football player with a tattoo of Karl Marx on his back to a masseuse with braces who declares she likes touching more than talking, and imitates dancing cartoon characters in her spare time.

* The way Jane Fonda's character is introduced - initially filmed from the back, then showing her smile in the reflection of a mirror, and finally facing the camera, radiating maximum diva charisma.

* The abundance of funny dialogue. Here's just one example: - 'Im great in bed'. - 'I know' - 'How do you know?' - 'Because you're my daughter'.

* The lush cinematography, making the film a feast for the eyes.

* The fact that this film is funny, dramatic and melancholic at the same time, and also surprising, entertaining, beautiful, philosophical and versatile.

* Michael Caine, at 82, playing one of the best parts of his career.

* The completely over-the-top video clip by Paloma Faith, which is integrated in the film as a dream sequence.

* The end of the dramatic conversation between Jane Fonda and Harvey Keitel, with both faces filmed sideways in close-up, on both sides of the screen, and finally Fonda's hand on Keitel's cheek.

* The overall sense of watching an extraordinary film.