Youth

When it comes to Paolo Sorrentino I don't know what to expect. On one hand I loved his first English work "This Must Be The Place" starring a wonderful Sean Penn; on the other hand I didn't quite enjoy his Oscar Winner "The Great Beauty". I was actually afraid this one was going to be another attempt at being Fellini. But Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Paul Dano and Rachel Weisz gave me the push to watch it. I'm glad I didn't wait, because this is Sorrentino's greatest beauty.

Youth is a brilliant, intense, philosophical, and moving film about life and death, youth and oldness, loneliness and friendship.

As I watched the film I thought the title was deceiving. I thought it was only about being old, and I couldn't find the real meaning of it. But as I'm writing this, has passed almost a week since I saw it, and I've got enough time to think about it. Now, I do realize it is about the importance of youth, because it praises old age as that moment in life when you think about your past.

Masterfully directed and written by Paolo Sorrentino, the film is enhanced by a deep, witty, and provocative dialogue, a wonderful and breathtaking photography by Luca Bigazzi, spectacular scenography, and sublime music.

The acting is first class. Michael Caine shines in the leading role, delivering an intense performance as Fred Ballinger. The supporting cast does a wonderful job as well. Old, but young inside Harvey Keitel, and young, but old inside Paul Dano are perfect in portraying the contrast between youth and oldness. Rachel Weisz delivers another great performance. Jane Fonda's cameo is great too. The one that surprised me the most is Luna Zimic Mijovic, who plays the masseuse.

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* 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.

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.

There is a sense of nostalgia in the films of Paolo Sorrentino. The nostalgia often comes across as a sense of regret for the loss of innocent love experienced by the central characters during their youth. Such a regret can easily fills one's heart with melancholy but Sorrentino seems to have mastered the art of mixing gravity with levity. His films can be both serious and farcical at the same time and that's why they are more complex than what they prima facie appear. Youth‬ is no different.

Here is a film about larger-than-life oldies pining for their long past golden years of youth. We have a retired conductor (Michael Caine), a self-indulgent filmmaker well past his prime (Harvey Keitel), an insecure actor (Paul Dano), a mountaineer, a Miss Universe with brains, and an overweight footballer (most probably based on Maradona). There is a lively cameo from Jane Fonda who plays a legendary actress from Hollywood and then there is Rachel Weisz who plays the conductor's daughter.

Among other things (which certainly include Sorrentino's brilliant direction), it is the performances of Caine and Keitel that makes it a treat to watch. While Keitel steals every scene that he is a part of, Caine delivers a deeply nuanced performance around which the entire movie revolves. Youth is nowhere near being Sorrentino's best but it is certainly one of the best films of the year.

For more on the world of cinema, please visit my film blog "A Potpourri of Vestiges".

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.