Youth

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. (24/01/2016)

(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 % (10/07/2015)

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. (10/07/2015)

I wouldn’t say that, from a philosophical standpoint, the movie Youth is worse than The Great Beauty. But its great advantages are the locations in the Swiss Alps, where there is a hotel in one valley for retired Western world stars from any industry. In the movie, you meet the standard professions. A fat soccer player, a miserable actor who starred in a role that is constantly being talked about by the public, a director who has his head full of thoughts about how to make his masterpiece, Miss Universe, who is of course very beautiful, or a composer who is tired by the fact that he composed something unique. All of them are here willingly, like on a vacation, to get some rest. They are all talking here, thinking, philosophizing, and they can, but don’t have to, be joined by their loved ones. And the nicest thing about it is that this movie was done by probably the most interesting European director of the modern era – Paolo Sorrentino, who appears to have learned those spectacular scenes from Stanley Kubrick himself. I am not giving it a full score only because there were so many ideas that I wasn’t able to get it all in those two hours. Nevertheless, it is still an unbelievable, not only movie experience with a finale that is exactly the sort of thing that makes movies so unique. (08/11/2015)

First and foremost, it is a fantastic performance by the three actors in the main roles, although Rachel is slightly overshadowed by the two acting legends. It's as if Michael Caine is playing himself a little, with so much strength even in his eighties, and as if he has no health flaws at all. Both of them are capable of carrying the whole film with ease, and Sorrentino adds style and visual beauty to it. And yes, Switzerland plays a big part as well. (13/11/2015)