Youth

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a free advance screening of Youth, a film by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino.  Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) and Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) are long time friends vacationing at a luxury spa in the Swiss Alps.  Fred, a well known composer and conductor, is being lured out of retirement by an emissary of Queen Elizabeth to play at Prince Philip's birthday celebration but he repeatedly turns down the offer.  Mick is working with a group of young writers to develop the screenplay for his next film which will only be financed if Brenda Morel (Jane Fonda), an actress he discovered, agrees to star in it.  They share the resort with a group of eccentric characters, including a young actor (Paul Dano) who is trying desperately to be taken seriously after playing a robot, Miss Universe (Madalina Diana Ghenea), an overweight former soccer star (Roly Serrano) who is never named but modeled on Diego Maradona, and Fred's daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz) who has recently been dumped by her husband Julian (Ed Stoppard), who happens to be Mick's son.  The story is told through a series of vignettes, some of which are absolutely hilarious and some profoundly sad, as Fred and Mick reflect on their lives, their regrets, and their uncertain futures.  The theme is developed very slowly but, ultimately, the characters learn that they must live life to the fullest.  There are so many things that I loved in this film: the series of horrible performers at the resort each evening, the cameo of European pop star Paloma Faith (playing herself) as the woman who steals Julian away from Lena, all of the swans made of towels, a couple who never speak to each other until they are surreptitiously observed by Fred and Mick in an intimate moment, the Queen's emissary literally begging Fred to come out of retirement, and the young actor playing Hitler at breakfast.  I laughed and laughed through most of the film but it is quirky and a bit unsettling (think Fellini), particularly the many scenes of bored people mechanically participating in activities at the resort.  There is also a fair amount of nudity which may be off-putting for some.  However, Caine and Keitel give incredibly affecting performances in a beautifully crafted film.  It is most definitely not for everyone but I certainly enjoyed it!