Youth
Description
Following up his universally heralded The Great Beauty (NIC 2013), Paolo Sorrentino returns again to contemplate life, love, aging and man’s continued search for happiness in this English-language tale starring Michael Caine as retired orchestra conductor Fred Ballinger and Harvey Keitel as film director Mick Boyle. The two play old friends mulling over their pasts and futures at a Swiss health spa while a maelstrom of rich supporting characters and situations that only a master like Sorrentino can set in motion swirls around them. Youth is filled with moments of humor and melancholy and features numerous unforgettable performances, including Rachel Weisz, playing Fred’s fragile daughter Lena, and Jane Fonda as a flinty actress who dresses Mick down in a brilliant harangue about his cinematic pretensions. With Sorrentino’s regular director of photography Luca Bigazzi once more behind the camera, the film is also magnificent to look at, restlessly roaming the nooks and crannies of its resort locale whose guests have come to contemplate beauty in its myriad forms.
Paolo Sorrentino was born in 1970 in Naples. He began directing short films in 1998 and wrote his first produced screenplay, The Dust of Naples, in that same year. He made his English-language debut in 2011 with This Must Be the Place, starring Sean Penn. His most recent film, The Great Beauty (NIC 2013) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among numerous other accolades. Reflecting on his fascination with mortality and older characters, he says, “I hope that when I get old I’m more fascinated by youth.” He is currently preparing an HBO miniseries starring Jude Law called The Young Pope.
Trailer
//www.youtube.com/embed/zJNxQ8Wzr2IFilm Details
Language English
Year 2015
Runtime 118
Country Italy/France/UK/Switzerland
Director Paolo Sorrentino
Producer Carlotta Calori, Francesca Cima, Nicola Giuliano
Writer Paolo Sorrentino
Editor Cristiano Travaglioli
Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi
Music David Lang
Cast Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Jane Fonda
Print Source Fox Searchlight