LEDE: KPBS film critic Beth Accomando says that believe it or not, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is not the only film opening this weekend. She suggests that if the “Star Wars” lines are too daunting go see “Youth” at Landmark, Arclight or the new Angelika Center. “Youth” is about a conductor and a director, and that pretty much sums up filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino. He doesn’t direct movies so much as he conducts them. He’s less interested in a single note or one musician, and more concerned about how the final product sounds as a whole. In “Youth,” Michael Caine plays a retired conductor and composer who refuses to play his famous composition for the royal family. But he’s happy to conduct a symphony out in a field using cowbells, birds, and nature. CLIP sounds of nature As we watch Caine, we may be glimpsing how Sorrentino the artist works. He’s always aware of the big picture and then brings in smaller details where necessary to support or play off of bigger themes. His previous Italian films, Il Divo and The Great Beauty played more like operas. Youth is less flamboyant but no less intoxicating in terms of its visual style. As with The Great Beauty, Youth gives us older protagonists who are contemplating life, death, relationships, and career choices. The film’s anchored by a pair of wonderful performances from Caine and Harvey Keitel who plays his film director pal. CLIP So let’s toast to the third draft of Life’s Last Day… Youth is an ironically titled and toned film about the perplexing and beguiling nature of life. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
Companion viewing
"Bad Lieutenant" (1992)
"Il Divo" (2008)
"Harry Brown" (2009)
"The Great Beauty" (2013)
Believe it or not, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is not the only film opening this weekend. There's not likely to be lines for “Youth” (opening Dec. 18 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas, Arclight La Jolla and the new Angelika Center) but there should be.
Italy's Paolo Sorrentino is one of the most exciting filmmakers around and his films should be events for cinephiles. But opening against the most wildly hyped film of the year is a challenge for any film. But "Youth" is definitely worth making time for.
"Youth" is a thematic follow up to "The Great Beauty" as Sorrentino returns to aging characters reflecting on their lives. This time around the focus is on two men: Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine), a retired conductor and composer, and Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel), a still very active film director. The two men have been friends since their 20s and are now approaching their 80s. They meet regularly at a luxury spa and resort in the Swiss Alps. Mick is working on the script for his latest film while Fred turns down a request from the royal family to play his famous composition for Prince Phillip.
There is not much of a conventional narrative. Whether or not Fred will change his mind about the Queen's request is the closest the film gets to a conventional dramatic conflict. But that's because Sorrentino does not work within conventional narrative structures. His work is more akin to the cinematic poetry of Terence Malick.
In the press materials, Sorrentino describes his film as “a story about how people of a certain age view the prospect of the future slowly began to take shape. The passing of time, how much time we each have left and what we will do with it fascinates me. The question I asked myself was, how does one look to the future when one is no longer young? That idea consumed me. Young people may find it difficult to imagine that the elderly see any prospects for the future. I tried to take the opposite approach and see what expectations people in their 80s and beyond might still have.”
The fact that "Youth" concerns a conductor and a director is significant for multiple reasons.
“I liked the idea of stepping into a conductor’s world,” Sorrentino explained in the press notes. “For me, making a film is not just an opportunity to entertain other people. It is the university I never attended, a chance to acquire knowledge. So you could say it was my ignorance in conducting that made me opt for this choice.”
Sorrentino may claim ignorance about conducting, but conducting is precisely what he does in his films so having both a conductor and a filmmaker in "Youth" pretty much sums up Sorrentino. He doesn’t direct movies so much as he conducts them. He’s less interested in a single note or one musician, and more concerned about how the final product sounds as a whole. Or in the case of making a film, the images become the music.
Some may mistake the film as being just a series of pretty pictures randomly strung together but that's because they are likely looking for a conventional narrative rather than "listening" to the music these images make and the meaning that comes from how they are cut together.
At one point, Fred, who has adamantly refused to come out of retirement for the Queen, is more than happy to "conduct a symphony out in a field with no one watching. He uses cowbells, birds and the sounds of nature as his instruments. As we watch Fred, we may be glimpsing how Sorrentino the artist works. He’s always aware of the big picture and then brings in smaller details where necessary to support or play off of bigger themes.
Sorrentino's previous Italian films, "Il Divo" and "The Great Beauty" played more like grand operas. "Youth" is less flamboyant (Fred's most popular piece is even titled "Simple Song #3") but the film is no less intoxicating in terms of its visual style. As with "The Great Beauty," "Youth" gives us older protagonists who are contemplating life, death, relationships, and career choices. The film’s anchored by a pair of wonderful performances from Caine and Harvey Keitel. Jane Fonda also gets to make a scene stealing turn as a Hollywood actress flaunting her star power. And Paul Dano, playing another actor, gets to deliver the film's funniest moment, a pay off to a long and slowly developed gag.
But Caine and Keitel are the core of the film and they keep us engaged and entertained. They keep the tone from ever becoming too serious or bitter; there's always an element of humor or biting self-reflection. As with "The Great Beauty," it's a film that seems like it should be more bleak or depressing but it never is. That comes from the energy of these two actors and from the stylistic inventiveness of Sorrentino as a filmmaker. Sorrentino wants to show us how people come to terms with the big and small events in their lives and how everyone processes emotions differently, which makes communication difficult. But we keep trying. Sorrentino ties the notion of youth in with the idea of the future, and it is when you can no longer see a future that you become old.
"Youth" (rated R for graphic nudity, some sexuality, and language) is an ironically titled and toned film about the perplexing and beguiling nature of life. As with his other films, Sorrentino poses a lot of questions but supplies few answers. But perhaps it's the seeking of those answers and looking to the future that can keep us young, or at the very least keep us interested in staying alive.
