YOUTH, Italian director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino’s most recent production (following his Oscar winner THE GREAT BEAUTY) is a decadent representation of how, in the frantic run towards the future, it is easy to forget to actually live in the present and savour every moment: because in the end, all that will be left are the fading memories of these experiences, and the regret of not having lived them fully.

The film follows the story of two old friends spending their time in a health resort in Switzerland. While Harvey Keitel’s character Mick is working on his testament movie with a group of young writers, his long time friend, and protagonist of the story, Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) is enjoying his retirement from his role as composer and orchestra leader. However, while Mick is struggling to find the perfect ending for his screenplay, Fred is always receiving calls and visitors asking him for a final biography or a final concert for the Queen of England.

YOUTH is a classic Sorrentino movie and it follows all the techniques that the director employs in all his films. The pace is slow, contemplative and pays attention to every detail. The music is poignant and it harmonises elegantly with the scenes. However, what renders YOUTH particularly interesting is that it works on binary oppositions. Throughout the movie there is an eternal comparison between Youth and Old age. The title is ironic enough, since the film is a strong analysis on how life and the past changes when a person gets old and cannot look at the future anymore.

in telling the story of the passing of time, it physically stops it…

In the film the characters are in fact trying to remember their memories, slowly realising that they are fading away quickly, and recognising that, while they were living through their experiences, they did not stop to savour, appreciate and learn from them. Throughout the movie the contrast between old and young is ever present, each scene is masterfully used to make the audience visualise them as each the antithesis of the other. All the main actors outdo themselves with their performances. Rachel Weisz’s enraged monologue is powerful and touching, and it is complementary to Michael Caine’s own monologue regarding how young and old people remember their past.

The location is breathtaking – particularly interesting is Sorrentino’s desire to make the audience stop and notice every small aspect of a scene. Exceptionally beautiful and meaningful are the scenes in which Fred is directing nature’s organic and spontaneous music as if it was his orchestra, while sitting by himself. The end leaves us with a bittersweet taste in our mouths, as it also did with THIS MUST BE THE PLACE.

What Sorrentino is stating, through Mick and Fred, is how it is important to really live and make the most of life while one is still young without running towards the future, focusing only on the finish line instead of the journey that leads there, because when one gets older, the only thing that is left is the past, and if no one savours every moment and pays attention to what really is important, in the end, even the memories will fade away.

All in all, YOUTH is a heavy and reflective movie, therefore not everyone will find it enjoyable. However, it can also be considered as a work of art that in telling the story of the passing of time, it physically stops it.

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