Youth

(50th KVIFF) My last film of the fiftieth edition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival should have also been the best. But it wasn’t. It disappointed. A lot. For me, Youth was an artificial and disingenuous bag of kitsch full of visual and audio beauty, poisoned by wannabe deep phrases and soaring but fake truths about life. In short, it has some scenes worthy of praise here and there (especially the less poetic and more humorous conversations between Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel) and others worthy of a punch in the face. There was at least one moment (the scene where actor robot Q is talking with a wise little girl in a shop) when I couldn’t stop my head and hand to spontaneously perform a facepalm. After the pretentious The Great Beauty, which lived up to its name maybe actually in spite of itself and its director, Youth falls flat on its face. The breathtaking craftsmanship of Sorrentino doesn’t deserve less than three stars, but I was tempted. 60 % (07/10/2015)

Youth is an audiovisually opulent and superbly acted reflection on old age and youth that is both comic and tragic, with both opposites always used appropriately and effectively. The story is set in a seemingly ordinary spa, but inhabited by a variety of characters who can both make you laugh and move you with their behaviour and speeches. I really liked the beautifully colourful shots of nature and the overall camera work, which flirted with the people and objects around it. In addition to the captivating imagery, I was carried away on the film's enchanting musical score, which was impossible to ignore and perfectly completed the atmosphere of each scene. Each of the characters had something of their own story to tell, so I could hardly say which one captivated me the most. An artfully made film that could be considered a metaphor for life, as there are moments that make you smile as well as sad. (01/24/2016)

"What are you doing now?" - "They told me I was apathetic. So I do nothing." Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel excel in a pleasantly melancholic drama full of beautiful images and great music. I haven't seen anything by Paolo Sorrentino yet, so you can probably imagine how excited I was by the visuals. Extremely. The only thing I can and must criticize is the excessive length, because somewhere in the third third the film really started to put me to sleep. But that's all.___P.S. The scene with Michael Caine conducting a herd of cows immediately became one of my favorite scenes from all his films. (10/20/2015)

No, Paolo. Once again, it is a cold terrarium full of strangely academized reptiles. And the orchestra just doesn't sound loud, only unglued, as if each section is playing a different song. I was a big fan of it, and after seeing The Great Beauty, I appreciate the greater relaxation of the tone in places and the tendency toward absurdity, but overall it feels similarly weighted and unconvincing. In addition, Sorrentino is increasingly successfully colonizing the hard-to-imagine territory between a folk comedy full of truth and snobbish "art", which in places becomes quite unbearable. Back to the small things, please. (07/10/2015)

Meticulous production design and great actors in a sometimes slightly bizarre reminiscence of a bygone youth. Searching for answers to old questions, asking new ones, coming to terms with the fact that time is bliss and everyone has to leave one day. Of course, there are some family injustices and a slightly troubled past, but Sorrentino handles the thematic impulses with grace and, at times, with a light dose of cynicism and irony, which suits the two ace actors, and as a result the viewer is spared unnecessarily hyped emotions or theatrical performances. But I can't avoid the feeling that this slightly ambient Swiss beauty could have been told a bit more deftly and better by the Americans. (10/26/2018)