Youth

Director: Paulo Sorrentino

Starring: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Jane Fonda

Running time: 124 minutes

Country: Italy, Switzerland, France, UK

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n his latest film Youth, Paolo Sorrentino shapes the story of two aging men, two companions who have been through childhood, marriage and prostate problems together.  Inseparable friends, they now have to face the challenges of growing old, a stage in life where time slows down but bodies seem to change in a blink of an eye.

While ex-composer Fred (Michael Caine) has embraced retirement and gradually falls into emotional torpor, Mick (Harvey Keitel) refuses to let go of his career as a Hollywood director and works hard on his last film, his ‘testament to the world’. Both stay in a fancy hotel in Switzerland where they meet a palette of people – a bitter couple who refuses to speak to each other, a studious actor who works on a new character, Miss Universe and Paloma Faith.

Image: Gianni Fiorito

In the hotel, they enjoy quiet and rest, their routine only punctuated by a series of medical treatments, spa care and strange forms of entertainment provided by the hotel in the evenings. In this environment, the characters are left to confront their own fears about aging. Their relationships fall apart, their memories fade. They can only contemplate with bewilderment the youth that surrounds them, this new generation that is completely different to them yet seems to share the same loneliness, stuck in the Swiss hotel.

Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel perfectly capture the general tone of the film, providing the audience with moments of poignant emotion, comical interludes and real reflection. More than just addressing the theme of growing old, Sorrentino portrays how society has evolved through time and how it promotes a new kind of youth. This evolution is particularly articulated through the changing nature of arts – composers like Fred are only remembered by the Queen while pop music stars rise. Actors prosper in television and not in cinema. People don’t dance together anymore, but they dance alone in their living room at a screen that dictates their every move.

the whole film can be read as an ode to beauty, and especially to the beauty of the human body

The film seems to not only portray the aging of people, but also the aging of arts and its values, replaced by flashy entertainment and heavy consumption. Whereas actresses like Brenda Morel see their beauty and their success fade away, Miss Universes parade under artificial spotlights and layers of make-up. Lena (Rachel Weisz), Fred’s daughter, gets dumped by her fiancé for Paloma Faith, a more extravagant version of youth. The daughter of the composer is therefore replaced by the more openly sensual pop-star. Beauty has changed its codes.

Image: Gianni Fiorito

The whole film can be read as an ode to beauty, and especially to the beauty of the human body. Sorrentino’s camera slides down Miss Universe’s (Madalina Diana Ghenea) voluptuous body but also captures the beauty of a braced teenager dancing to Just Dance or massaging the wrinkled bodies of the pensioners. Through the lenses of the director and the gorgeous photography, even the most creased bodies become beautiful. The play with bright lighting particularly reinforces that sense of beauty, with sometimes oversaturated shots. Sorrentino’s camera captures the stillness of old age and the beauty of youth.

Image: Gianni Fiorito

Women are at the centre of Sorrentino’s film. The director presents the audience with a gallery of women. Strong, independent and messengers of truth like Brenda. Fragile, heartbroken and sensitive like Lena. Energetic, young and alive like the girl dancing in her room after work. Artificial and extravagant like Paloma Faith.  Mick sees himself as a ‘director of women’s films’, putting them at the heart of his work, just like Sorrentino.

In one sequence, he is confronted with visions of all the female characters he has ever filmed, different facets of femininity which haunt him. Women that have punctuated his career and reminds him of his own youth. Sorrentino sets up frontiers between women and men, youth and oldness, dreams and reality. Yet, these frontiers blur as time passes and they leave the human being confused and nostalgic. Youth is a beautiful reflection on how to engage with life and accept the fleeting nature of time.