Synopsis
Two lifelong friends bond whilst vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his loving daughter Lena, Mick is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last important film for his muse Brenda. And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy, an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance?
Director
Cast
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Rachel Weisz
Lena Ballinger
Michael Caine
Fred Ballinger
Jane Fonda
Brenda Morel
Paul Dano
Jimmy Tree
Harvey Keitel
Mick Boyle
Emilia Jones
Pale Teenager
Loredana Cannata
South American's wife
Mădălina Ghenea
Miss Universe
Alex MacQueen
Queen's Emissary
Poppy Corby-Tuech
Spy Girl
Other Reviews
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A walk through intimacy.
In a unique way, Sorrentino conducts the work sensitively, reflecting on past, present and future. Immersive, touching and creative.
shaban
I, very randomly scrolling up and down the internet, came upon the script of this film, and I started reading it. I was surprised by how different, whacky, and even naive in its pretentiousness the whole thing was. 'Youth' is such an easy watch for me. It's one of my favorite films to watch in summer. I was going to watch it regardless, but reading its script urged my viewing of it.
Sorrentino got saved here big time by his carefully picked cast of actors. Having read the script now, I can see how the actors made the impossible possible by turning such a lazily written screenplay into "decent" film language. I'm surprised that they agreed to play these characters in the first place. I don't know what it was, the overall feel of the script because that is poetic, or the opportunity to work with an Oscar winner for 'Best Foreign Language Film' director, or both of those combined. Anyway, they do their best here, although I can point out multiple wrong line deliveries, especially from the supporting actors. But I can't blame them for those because you can salvage so much with such a clumsily written dialogue. It's hard to describe it, but the dialogue almost feels like Tarantino dialogue at times. And there is nothing wrong with Tarantino's writing in his films, but that's because Quentin articulates the whole tone of the film in that style. That doesn't happen in 'Youth.' So here we have these badass, Tarantino-style scenes, and then right after those, you'd get a montage in which a realization from the characters is happening, and that feels so strange, it's irritating. It's baffling tone-wise. Inconsistent - flip-flopping like a fish out of water. But you can notice that if you're paying extra attention to the writing. I think that, for the most part, Sorrentino succeeds in covering well the themes he touches without distracting you too much. That with the help of his actors' titanic efforts.
Brenda's scene is my most favorite. I love that just after Brenda and Mick sit to talk, the camera shows them while placed behind the net of the ping pong table. That's a neat detail because it suggests that after the "Brenda! What a fabulous, marvelous surprise.", things were going to get unpleasant; they'd "fight." That Tarantino-like badassery I was talking about it's fully flashed out here. Fonda and Keitel are excellent in it. I would have liked to watch their characters interact more than that one scene they have together because, much like the visuals in that scene, the performances are golden. Talking about the visuals, the cinematography here is exquisite. 'Youth' is shot beautifully. Sorrentino's camera, like our main protagonists, is slow and bright. It highlights them perfectly. And it does more so when coupled with the marvelous soundtrack, my favorite of it being the song by David Lang, 'Just.' The combination of the soundtrack and the cinematography gives the film this idyllic atmosphere that never fails alluring you.
Despite the severe flaws I noticed in this rewatch - other than the writing, the editing is pretty bad too - 'Youth' remains a comfortable watch. Maybe it has become a personal film now because of so many viewings, but I love it for the calm, meditative vibe you get when watching it and long after.
"But this is cinema, Brenda! That's just television. Television's shit!
afagabbasova
Sorrentino’s beauty :)
104249972426525754443
No friends added this movie to ‘To Watch’ yet
eicezz
A walk through intimacy.
In a unique way, Sorrentino conducts the work sensitively, reflecting on past, present and future. Immersive, touching and creative.
shaban
I, very randomly scrolling up and down the internet, came upon the script of this film, and I started reading it. I was surprised by how different, whacky, and even naive in its pretentiousness the whole thing was. 'Youth' is such an easy watch for me. It's one of my favorite films to watch in summer. I was going to watch it regardless, but reading its script urged my viewing of it.
Sorrentino got saved here big time by his carefully picked cast of actors. Having read the script now, I can see how the actors made the impossible possible by turning such a lazily written screenplay into "decent" film language. I'm surprised that they agreed to play these characters in the first place. I don't know what it was, the overall feel of the script because that is poetic, or the opportunity to work with an Oscar winner for 'Best Foreign Language Film' director, or both of those combined. Anyway, they do their best here, although I can point out multiple wrong line deliveries, especially from the supporting actors. But I can't blame them for those because you can salvage so much with such a clumsily written dialogue. It's hard to describe it, but the dialogue almost feels like Tarantino dialogue at times. And there is nothing wrong with Tarantino's writing in his films, but that's because Quentin articulates the whole tone of the film in that style. That doesn't happen in 'Youth.' So here we have these badass, Tarantino-style scenes, and then right after those, you'd get a montage in which a realization from the characters is happening, and that feels so strange, it's irritating. It's baffling tone-wise. Inconsistent - flip-flopping like a fish out of water. But you can notice that if you're paying extra attention to the writing. I think that, for the most part, Sorrentino succeeds in covering well the themes he touches without distracting you too much. That with the help of his actors' titanic efforts.
Brenda's scene is my most favorite. I love that just after Brenda and Mick sit to talk, the camera shows them while placed behind the net of the ping pong table. That's a neat detail because it suggests that after the "Brenda! What a fabulous, marvelous surprise.", things were going to get unpleasant; they'd "fight." That Tarantino-like badassery I was talking about it's fully flashed out here. Fonda and Keitel are excellent in it. I would have liked to watch their characters interact more than that one scene they have together because, much like the visuals in that scene, the performances are golden. Talking about the visuals, the cinematography here is exquisite. 'Youth' is shot beautifully. Sorrentino's camera, like our main protagonists, is slow and bright. It highlights them perfectly. And it does more so when coupled with the marvelous soundtrack, my favorite of it being the song by David Lang, 'Just.' The combination of the soundtrack and the cinematography gives the film this idyllic atmosphere that never fails alluring you.
Despite the severe flaws I noticed in this rewatch - other than the writing, the editing is pretty bad too - 'Youth' remains a comfortable watch. Maybe it has become a personal film now because of so many viewings, but I love it for the calm, meditative vibe you get when watching it and long after.
"But this is cinema, Brenda! That's just television. Television's shit!
afagabbasova
Sorrentino’s beauty :)
104249972426525754443
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markafs2011
MrNobody
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eicezz
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