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Greetings again from the darkness. With a Best Foreign Language Oscar for his previous film The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza), expectations were sky high for this one from writer/director Paolo Sorrentino. Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi is also back and the two create yet another artistic entrée that is a visual extravaganza, worthy of the admission price even if no dialogue existed. Combine the visual artistry with a commentary on age and emotions, and the result is a film that will either enchant or stultify … with probably no middle ground.

Michael Caine stars as Fred Ballinger, a renowned Orchestra conductor, who is vacationing at a stunning Swiss Alps spa with his daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz) and his long-time best friend, screenwriter Mick Boyd (Harvey Keitel). Fred, a self-professed retiree, is being pursued by Queen Elizabeth's representative to perform one last concert. Fred is adamant in his refusal … for personal reasons we later learn are due to his nostalgic belief that his wife (no longer able to sing) is the only one who will sing his "simple" songs as long as he is alive. In the meantime, Mick is working with a group of ambitious young writers in an attempt to leave a legacy with his most important film ever. So you can already see that both men are working through their golden years in different ways.

Lena is devastated when her husband dumps her for a young pop singer (played by the real pop singer, Paloma Faith). Oh, one other detail … Lena's husband is also Mick's son (Ed Stoppard). This makes for some awkward (but entertaining) moments, and also leads to one of the film's best scenes – Lena spilling her emotional guts to Fred while they are both covered in a mud bath. Director Sorrentino is a master at twisting these poignant moments with dashes of levity or irony. Another example is when Miss Universe (Romanian model Madalina Diana Ghenea) puts a condescending movie actor (Paul Dano) in his place with a devastating shift in tone and a comeback for the ages.

Sorrentino executes a couple of bizarre dream or fantasy sequences – one with Fred conducting a cow pasture (replete with cows and other bits of nature), and another with Mick being haunted in a meadow by all the female stars from his films (each in costume of their character). Suffice to say, this is not a conventional look at aging. What's also clear is that Sorrentino believes our emotions drive our actions. The most jarring example is the aftermath when Mick's long-time leading lady Brenda Morel (played by Jane Fonda) declines to appear in his latest film.

Even the most bizarre segments are presented with a visual artistry that forces our brains to process overtime. How about an obese Diego Maradona (played by Roly Serrano) repeatedly kicking tennis balls into the air? Or big time actor Jimmy Tree (Dano) struggling with his decision to sellout by appearing in a popular robot movie instead of pursuing his desire to be taken seriously as an actor? Or Lena bouncing back with a socially awkward mountain man? Or the seemingly minor role of a young masseuse (played by Luna Zimic Mijovic) who has us yearning for more? In addition to how each of these segments is startling to look at, Jane Fonda's role has so many nuances that an entire movie could be made about her.

As with The Great Beauty, the film will have the most profound impact on those of us old enough to be looking through the binoculars and noticing how far away the past looks … and wondering just how long until "Life's Last Day".

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.

* 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.

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.

If there ever was a trailer that could not sell his movie right, then it is the one for ''Youth'' by acclaimed director Paolo Sorrentino, who's previous film was the Oscar-winning ''The Great Beauty''. The trailer made it look like a generic feel-good comedy, but it turned out to be a heart-warming, emotional and beautiful film.

The story takes place in a resort hotel in the Alps, where a retired conductor (Michael Caine) and his friend, a film director (Harvey Keitel) who writes the screenplay for his ''Testament'', are on holiday. Both are confronted with their past, future and momentariness.

Both actors have a great supporting cast on their side, everyone with their own burdens: Rachel Weisz plays Caine's daughter who is also his assistant, who feels neglected by her father and, in an great emotional monologue, expresses her feelings towards him. Paul Dano plays a character actor who is only known for a single insignificant role and wants to be recognized as a versatile actor. Jane Fonda plays a Diva who was a regular collaborator with Keitel's character and also has a great dialogue scene with him. Other characters are a retired Maradonaesque football player and a masseuse who touches than talks and many other great characters.

It would seem that all these ''damaged'' characters would give this film an overly sentimental tone, but drama and humor is so well balanced that the shift between comedy (and there is a lot of it) and drama never seems abrupt and doesn't interrupt the pacing of the film.

From the first minute on one will clearly see what Sorrentinos strength as a director is: Extremely beautiful visuals. Whether it is just the landscape or the daily routine of the people within the hotel: Every frame is just beautifully composed and looks astonishing. Rarely can a film with a run time of 2 hours constantly produce one great looking shot after the other. In combination with the great score by David Lang, ''Youth'' creates a unique and relaxing atmosphere that will ensure a great time at the theater.

As great as this movie may sound so far, it unfortunately is not flawless. As funny and great the dialogue is, at times it ruins the film completely with how unsubtle some of the important character moments are. In one scene, Caine and Dano are in a store and a little girl approaches Dano. She tells him that she knows him from a movie. He immediately assumes that she is referring to his robot role, but then she talks about a little known drama and tells him how it affected her life and instantly after her dialogue is finished she runs away with the camera facing Danos reaction so everybody in the audience knows that it was an important scene for his character. Another examples would be ham fisted lines like: ''What awaits me outside?'' -''Youth'' or the scene with the binocular from the trailer. The problem with these scenes is not that they are bad, on the contrary, they are important for the films' themes and characters. The problem is that they feel disconnected from the narrative and do not feel like they fit naturally within the plot.

I'm not a professional in film reviews, to begin with. I'm just an University student who's got an enormous passion for cinema. It was years since a movie moved my soul in such a profound way. I was stunned when I saw that the movie summed up a 7.5 rating here on IMDb. I thought about this fact for some days, then I kind of make up my answer. "Youth" is the symbol of many struggles in cinema and in people's mind. American movies and many Europeans ones as well are so easy to like, just because they're easy to follow. They show facts, actions, somehow explained by words and some ideas. Ideas are like the salt we put on on our meals to make them tasty. Films like "Youth" are the exact opposite: words and ideas are the "meal", and a few actions are the "salt". Actually all the actions are at the end of the movie, they could be perceived as a climax, but they're more like the conclusion of complex exchanges of ideas throughout the movie. I won't comment about technical features, because I don't have the expertise to do it. I just say that the soundtrack is somewhere near perfection, editing as well and there some beautifully shot scenes. As I said, my concern is not about that. "Youth" make the viewer think about life, old age, ethics, it accompanies us through some beautiful ideas, and this is where all pros and cons stay. This movie doesn't look for easy ways to impress the viewer, to make him/her somehow forcefully interested to what the screen shows, it requests an open mind and what I ironically call "the 51st shade": a fetish to thoughts, not only to material things. Some people don't like Sorrentino because they consider him a "radical chic intellectual". It is a righteous choice to be against "intellectualism" whatsoever, but it is as well righteous to be against ignorance.

Sorrentino's follow up to the masterpiece that is "The Great Beauty" proves he is one of the most interesting, unique, energetic and visually stimulating voices in today's cinema even though it does not quite live up to standard he set himself with his previous film. Now, that is in no way a detraction to the film itself, but it definitely left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

I will get out of the way immediately what I found wrong with the film. Firstly, it simply isn't as organic and fluent as it should be. Even the photography is uneven to itself. Now I don't know if that was intentional or not, but the fact that I didn't understand it proves the point. And I am not talking about the surrealist scenes with I actually and obviously adored, I am talking about the overall tone and storytelling which switches gears a little bit too often, especially in the third act. Up until there it wasn't bugging me that much, but the third act made it sink and to this contributed a very weird end credits sequence, if you'll see the movie you'll know what I'm talking about. Moreover, the movie isn't as clear cut as it needs to be. I am not talking about being direct, actually I enjoyed the fact that it is very open to interpretation in parts and directs your interpretation in others, yet again there is too much switching from one to the other and it made for some murky moments throughout. It is not like I want to be told everything, it's just that the film set itself up for being mentally stimulating and it wasn't as much as I wanted. Actually the parts were it was direct were the best, on the other hand I wasn't given enough space or material to think about the more interpretable parts and this made for a slightly and surprisingly forgettable impact.

Fortunately there is much that can be enjoyed, which compensates for the holes that were left there. Firstly, no one does surrealism as good as Sorrentino. There were a couple of sequences were I was just in total ecstasy. Sorrentino knows how to fill that screen and use it to the best of its potential with imagery and he proves here again he is able of delivering absolutely absorbing and exhilarating experiences, the best part being the fact that they aren't a gimmick they always fit the storytelling perfectly. He also knows very, very well how to use music to the best of his advantages. Also brilliant is Luca Bigazzi's cinematography. I know I said it was uneven before and that is true, but when you stop and look at it scene by scene you just cannot take it all in. The cast is also wonderful. Keitel and Caine are simply fantastic, Dano does perfectly what he is given to do, but it's Weiz that for me stole the show and gave another great performance. There are very few actresses that fill the screen appropriately and as perfectly as she does. This film is also enormously quotable, I lost count of how many times in the theater I wished I had a notepad to write down a sentence a character used. Even better is the fact that they always felt genuine and not showy. This speaks to what I said before: the film is miles better in what it says directly to what it leaves open. Now that is not to say that the open ended stuff is bad or aimless. For that type of pseudo-intellectualism s**t just look at "The Tale of Tales" out this week too. That is the type that is simply vain. In this movie it's just very murky, there are some parts that work others that don't but you always feel that it is coming out genuinely.

Overall I really enjoyed myself and I can't define me disappointed, I am just a little bit let down, but then again I was excepting too much. I am still very torn on my grade and will use a future viewing to settle it. This film is worth your time I don't know if it's an 8 or a 7.5, just know that it is very good.

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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All dressed up and nowhere to go. Paolo Sorrentino's previous film The Great Beauty was among my favourites of 2013. Youth has much of its style, but none of its substance. It certainly looked gorgeous, but left me feeling empty and unfulfilled.

The film talks a lot about emotions but it never creates them, just endlessly philosophises about them. Its characters remain not so subtle metaphors, but never real people.

There's nothing particularly wrong about Youth and at times it is quite enjoyable, its sin is in not achieving greatness which for a drama of this type is an absolute failure. It wants to be a grand statement about life but has nothing meaningful to say. It is still very watchable, specially if you like films of this type. Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel are what makes it so with their fun portrayal of old friends. Beyond that there's not much else that has stuck to my mind about the film. Overall Youth is not a bad film, but there's nothing recommendable about it.

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.

Mediocre is how I would describe this film in one word. The film directed by Paolo Sorrentino is primarily based in a Swiss health spa beneath the Alps. Picturesque yes but quite boring. The film has two old guys as the central characters. Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) and Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel). The best friends bide their slow paced, idyllic lives by having private bets, reminiscing old sexual conquests and comparing prostate issues. Ballinger is a retired orchestra conducter and Boyle is a still active film director. I was attracted to the film by the relatively all-star cast including Rachel Weisz and a cameo by Paloma Faith. However at least half an hour could have been cut to speed up the dreary pace. Ballinger is hounded for want of a better word by HM The Queen to come out of retirement and perform his 'Simple Songs?' The locations do not make up for the shortcomings that I have addressed and I was left disappointed.

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".

Youth was a film done with total artistic expression. Not since I saw The Great Beauty have I seen a movie that was so much like a moving painting, you watch it and you let it move you.

Fitting that the movie is about an artist. A orchestra conductor long retired spends time vacationing in a long in the Swiss alps accompanied by his oldest friend, a filmmaker working on a new picture.

Michael Caine was magnificent in this picture, but I must admit, I was drawn more to Harvey Keitel's character, mostly because his story was easier to follow. It's more of a standard plot than can be followed. Either way Caine and Keitel were great on the screen together.

Also liked Paul Dano in the picture who sports a vastly different look then I seen him in any of his other pictures.

I must admit that I did not really get what was going on all the time, but I think that was what the filmmakers wanted to do. To create a film that did not fit, or rather he created something that acts as total emotion and is hard to describe why you like it or why you don't

With that said, I really did like the performances of all the actors I mention and the performance of Rachel Weisz who is also in the movie.

I found it a beautiful tale of someone who remembers who he was a lot differently than others do.

Retired concert conductor Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) is vacationing at a peaceful Swiss spa with long-time friend Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel). He is asked to perform for the Queen but he refuses for a personal reason. Mick is a filmmaker working on his next script with his troop of young contributors. Fred's daughter and assistant Lena (Rachel Weisz) is married to Mick's son but he has left her for a pop star for the sex. The other hotel clients include actor Jimmy Tree (Paul Dano), an obese Diego Maradona, a bitter silent elderly couple, and a young girl.

The surrealism sometimes work but not all the time. I like the Nazi outfit, the soap bubble girl, but the dream of Mick's female characters don't register. The grassy hill swallows them up. They are better off lined up in a row in emptiness. As for the main roles, I'd like for Fred and Mick to spend more time together. I love the time that Fred spends with Lena. Dano is hit and miss. His best is with the little girl. I would have love to be told that it was Maradona right from the start. I'm not a soccer fan and I wouldn't know him even if he's not obese. This is definitely a movie with its own style. Director Paolo Sorrentino has an unique sense of rhythm and isn't for everybody. This is for the stylish art house fans.

My first comment is among these days when films are fast & supposed to be exciting this film is slow with subtle words and actions. It is so rare to witness that. I should recommend watching more films like this one. Not to mention the performance of the actors who give this feeling. I don't about the crew or producers, but the director Paolo Sorrentino had nailed it - all of it!

Paolo Sorrentino impressed in 2013 with his Fellini soaked The Great Beauty, I didn't think it would win the Oscar, but it did deservedly. That opened doors for Sorrentino to, apparently, make something in the a similar vein but with A-list English language actors. That may not have been the best of choices given potential career paths. While The Great Beauty is a gorgeous sprawling character study with vibrant ambition, Youth stops short of that standard. We have a similar protagonist with Michael Caine, and there's no-one better to sprout off a life's worth of wisdom like Michael Caine, but the spark is lost. The ego is still here but it's coming with a self-satisfied smirk with smug ironies.

For starters, it absolutely should have done away with the cameos and musicians and actors playing versions of themselves. It's a big mish-mash of short stories that dip in and out, and while their individual arcs are solid and easy, it's a short step where film can otherwise leap. It's not always misguided, but it's often lazy. That's not to rob the aspects the film does right. The musings on memory are interesting, especially coming from Caine and Harvey Keitel, though the metaphors are quite heavy-handed. It's relatable in its its glistening cynicism and that's potent where it could have been swinging for universalities. They are however, hollow revelations due to its lack of character work, but no less valid.

Caine is a reliable lead, though he doesn't have much to do until the final act. However, Keitel is a welcome highlight doing what Keitel does best when he doesn't have a gun in his hand. Rachel Weisz however, is very mishandled and it was very difficult to connect to her character when she's dialled at a volume the film doesn't tune into. Jane Fonda has a solid part as a diva, but it's far too on-the-nose, while Paul Dano blends into the background, besides when he puts on a Hitler costume. Visually it is underwhelming compared to The Great Beauty though some of the smooth tracking shots remain. The soundtrack is ultimately the factor that needed the most work. Youth has its hits and misses but it's generally easy-going enough to get by, if not nearly as profound as it thinks it is.

7/10

Paolo Sorrentino's 'Youth' is a reminder of how powerful & affecting Cinema is. In this multiple themed Masterpiece, we explore many people & their journey together as one, left me astonished. This isn't merely a story that needs to be seen, but it also demands to be felt.

'Youth' Synopsis: A retired orchestra conductor is on holiday with his daughter and his film director best friend in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday.

'Youth' is flawless work. Sorrentino's Screenplay is about the eternal struggle between age and youth, the past and the future, life and death, commitment and betrayal. And its all depicted so seamlessly. I was truly blown away. Watching the protagonist & co. explore each other lives as their come under roof, is often saddening, but its so so affecting, as well. The Screenplay flows bravely & the pace remains tight.

Sorrentino's Direction is extraordinary. He's outdone himself here, delivering a story that deals with life & its consequences. Luca Bigazzi's Cinematography is a visual delight. Each & Every Frame has captured the sheer beauty of the nature on display. Editing is crisp. David Lang's Score is incredible. Art & Costume Design are elegant.

Performance-Wise: Sir Michael Caine is at his aging best. Its a masterclass, masterful performance, from this legendary actor! Harvey Keitel is in top-form, complimenting Caine & holding on his own, throughout. Rachel Weisz is magnificent. An Oscar should chase her next year. And The Terrific Paul Dano continues to astonish.

On the whole, 'Youth' cannot be missed. Two Big Thumbs Up!

I'd never heard of this movie, but I was quickly drawn into it, and found it quite beautiful. The storyline is simple, the pace is slow, yet it manages to effortlessly entertain. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the score absolutely perfect...each of the actors/actresses does a wonderful job in their roles. The film does well to portray a varying range of life, and especially the journey of growing old. I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this movie - it is a true gem!

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.

This film tells the story of a retired famous conductor and a movie director past his prime, having a holiday in a resort in the Switzerland. They meet various people and reflect on their current lives.

"Youth" is visually very beautiful. The scenery is beautiful, the resort is beautiful and the sets are beautiful. Every scene is well thought out and beautifully composed. However, that's really the only good thing about it. There is not much of a story present, only characters mumbling away through the film. The four other people I went to the cinema with had no idea what the story was about. There is no central message, no plot to unfold and nothing to engage the viewers. I wish I didn't watch it.

Vacationing in this Swiss Alps with a film director friend, a retired music composer starts to reevaluate his life when asked by a messenger from the Queen of England to orchestrate one of his iconic works once more in this somewhat ironically titled film. Full of dreamy cutaways to the naked bodies of those staying at the same resort, as well as some near surreal nighttime shots, 'Youth' is a stylish film through and through and bits and pieces of the dialogue are pretty good, with an inspiration versus fermentation exchange standing out most. The story at hand is, however, far from encapsulating with the lethargic pacing eliminating any sense of urgency, and then there is the fact that Harvey Keitel's ageing filmmaker character is actually more interesting that Michael Caine's composer, though Paul Dano surprisingly enough trumps them both with a heartfelt turn as a film actor depressed over the fact that has been stereotyped ever since playing a single role in a film that he considers mediocre at best. He has two of the film's best scenes as he unsettles everyone by dressing as Hitler for breakfast one day and as he encounters a young girl who has actually seen one of his lesser known performances. Caine certainly has his own strong scenes (conducting a chorus of cows) but hardly that high an amount for a protagonist. With strong supporting turns from the likes of Rachel Weisz and Paloma Faith, amusingly playing herself, this is a hard film not to recommend, but it is certainly an example of movie that sounds much better on paper.

A lot should be expected of Paolo Sorrentino after "La Grande Bellezza", and there is a lot here. In particular, I should mention first the scenery and cinematography, and the music, all of which are sublime.

The dialogue is provocative, full of memorable lines and strong emotions, so kudos to the writers. The subject matter was heavy, but there is a fair share of lighter moments, and, in particular, irony.

I would not think that the acting was at all improvised, with the possible exception of some of the riffing the "screenwriters" working with Harvey Keitel's character were doing. Still, strong performances in particular from Keitel, Jane Fonda in a small role, the young actress who plays the masseuse, and a dignified Michael Caine.

Sorrentino continues to give homage to Fellini, which I love, while his central characters (Caine in this one, Toni Servillo in LGB) work through the kind of existential issues which Fellini tackled and which Sorrentino, though he is not an old man, seems to be anticipating. Nostalgia, regret, the sweetness and the bitterness that comes from the awareness of the limitations of our short lives.

The one thing that struck me as useless to the story--maybe I just didn't get it--was the turn Paul Dano's character made for a couple of scenes as...well, I shouldn't spoil it. It struck everyone in the scenes as inappropriate, and I guess that was the point, but really, why? For me, that takes it down to a 9 rating--still, a top-notch effort.