Youth

Sorrentino’s meditation is all the more pleasant for being formally modest. Set in a soothing, slowly flowing atmosphere of nature, recited by a wonderful acting lineup, Youth is a thread of life metaphors, some of which will delight by hitting the bull’s eye, while others ring of empty but playful intellectualism. I felt respect for the age-old wisdom of the two main characters, and I enjoyed my time with them. And the mature, wounded Rachel Weisz has her charms. (10/14/2015)

First and foremost, it's a great performance by the three lead actors, with Rachel being overshadowed somewhat by the two acting legends. It's as if Michael Caine is playing himself a little bit, when even in his 80s he has so much strength and as if he's without a single blemish on his health. Both have the chops to carry the whole film with ease, and Sorrentino adds style and visual beauty. And yes, Switzerland can be credited with a lot of it. (11/13/2015)

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)

"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)

(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)