Youth without Youth
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Movie Reviews of Youth without Youth
Movie Review: Great movie
Summary: 5 Stars
A tremendous movie that arrived in a timely manner wrapped well. A perfect transaction. If you havent seen this movie, you have missed a great one.Movie Review: challenging, spellbinding fantasy
Summary: 4 Stars
****1/2
In "Youth Without Youth," the protagonist, Dominic Matei, quite literally, gets a second lease on life. Dominic is a frail man of seventy when, on Easter morning in 1938, he is struck by lightning while crossing a street in Bucharest. But rather than dying or being forever disfigured, Dominic undergoes an amazing transformation as a result of his experience - sort of his own resurrection into eternal life: for he not only returns to the body he had when he was in his 30s (think of this as a kind of "17 Again" with substance), but he develops the mental acuity and telekinetic powers of a "superman" as well. This is quite a boon for an ambitious writer whose primary goal in life has been to survive long enough to complete a comprehensive and exhaustive work on human language and consciousness. Yet, as his mental faculties increase at an ever-accelerating rate, Dominic's life becomes a dizzying and eventually undifferentiated blur of reality and hallucinations, dreams and memories. Soon, the Nazis have made him an object of "study," determined to use him as a guinea pig in their efforts to create a "master race." But that's only half the story, which extends well into the late 1960s, with Dominic holding onto his eternal youth at virtually every step of the drama.
Impeccably produced, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, "Youth Without Youth" is a fascinating mixture of war time drama, unrequited love story, psychological study, ancient and primordial mysticism and sci-fi fantasy. The screenplay, based on the story by Romanian writer Mircea Eliade, provides plenty of food for thought for those willing to dig into its deeper themes of time and the through-line of human history, and a feast for those who like a challenging story, solidly constructed and solidly told. The structure is admittedly episodic in nature, but it's only because the movie is utterly unafraid of veering off into intriguing and wholly unexpected paths when it feels the need to do so. This keeps the movie perpetually fresh and the audience thoroughly intrigued from first frame to last. It isn't important that the movie make perfect sense at, every moment; what's crucial is that we be willing to put ourselves in the hands of the filmmakers for the time it takes to tell their story - to go where they want to take us. And those places are fascinating.
Tim Roth carries the film with his beautifully understated embodiment of a man trying desperately to understand his place in the world, and Alexandra Maria Lara is heartbreaking as the loving, troubled young woman with similar issues who briefly joins him on his journey.
With its enigmatic storytelling and its refusal to spell everything out in simplistic terms for a spoon-fed audience, "Youth Without Youth" risks alienating a large segment of the ticket-buying public. But for all those with an appreciation for the novel and the unique, "Youth Without Youth" is an unheralded gem to be reveled in and savored.
Movie Review: A master's masterful touch
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't know if you're into metaphysics, mythology, psychology, and Eastern philosophy. If these things interest you, you will probably love this movie.
Based on the book by Mircea Eliade, who has explored many cultures, and religious paths, who has written books on alchemy and about shamanism, and spirituality, Youth without Youth trips through the wires of your higher consciousness.
As you watch, the captivating images that unfold onscreen, immediately make you aware that you are not dealing with an ordinary filmmaker. If you press the subtitles button, what you see is not subtitles but a readable commentary by Francis Ford Coppola, which I found added to my understanding. He explains how the lightning is awakening. He mentions Prometheus, and Frankenstein's monster being created by lightning. I thought about Saul being converted by a lightning strike.
Dominic Matei, old and bitter, is struck by lightning. He regresses in age to become a young man. Nurses notice his virility with pleasure. His intelligence grows. Sinister people want to tap his potentiality. He sees another version of himself in the mirror, a duality, but is it conflicting, or does it open doors. He meets a woman, who looks like the love of his life, but is a totally different woman. They engage. They travel.
Along the way the mind, (I loved the four probabilites) reincarnation, linguistics, bridging the gap between dream and reality, and consciousness are explored through Dominic reexperiencing youth without youth.
I had a great dream after seeing this, that paralelled the movie. I was not struck by lightning, but I did get an electric shock. It seemed significant. I don't know if you will have a dream after seeing this movie. Only one way to find out I suppose.
I bought The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structure of Alchemy after watching this.
I liked this movie a lot, but it's not for everyone. It's not your typical commercial movie. Carl Jung or Joseph Campbell would probably hail this as a masterpiece.
I wonder if you find this helpful, and I think you will love it.
Movie Review: No extended DVD version!
Summary: 4 Stars
The first cut of this was done by Larina Stavila and it was 170 minutes long. The Co-editor is Walter Murch and had 6 weeks of brutal editing to get it down to 124 minutes. I hear W.M. and F.F.C got rid of a sub-plot involving Dominic (Tim Roth) being accussed by the secret police associating him with them. But there must be more, and I really wanted to see the "REDUX" version and more of a directors MO (making of). This DVD really skipped the intimate details. It has a Directors Commentary which was basically off the top of F.F.C. loose mind. It has some wimpy HBO specials-like MO's, nothing that is watchable. The S.E (special Effects) didn't leave me with bewilderment, so I really didn't crave to have a lecture on how they were done. I'm very impressed that F.F.C self financed this film from the profits of his vinyard and I keep that in mind for the small budget in production/marketing/and home release. But with his influencial powers I would have thought any production company would lend him money for a 2-disc "REDUX.
This movie is without question a very self-satisfying movie for F.F.C. I was reminded of this same sort of movie-making by Oliver Stone in AlexanderAlexander, Revisited - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition). O.S's film really defyied what audiances demanded in films. These are legendary men whose body of work has led to this.
This is a highly ambitious film, not in seeking dollars I think, but in communication, in that thing that Dominic was so obsessed with: Getting that message to others in the most idealistic style. Tim Roth is absorbed in his acting and Alexandra Maria Lara is Glowingly Beautiful. She reminded me of the most beautiful Renaissance paintings. She is again working with Bruno Ganz (Untergang, Der 04')Downfall
Movie Review: Philosophical meditation
Summary: 4 Stars
This film by Francis Ford Coppola is based on the short story by Romanian writer Mircea Eliade. Perhaps that is what is the trouble with the movie. Plot of the story is so multi-layered and complex that making a movie was no easy task.
Tim Roth plays an elderly linguistics professor who never managed to finish his one major work regarding the origins of the language. He is old and lonely, his life void of his one true love and his professional life work unfinished. One rainy day, he walks the streets of Bucharest and gets hit by the lightening. Before long, he makes remarkable recovery, starts looking 35 years younger and due to historical circumstances of the time (WWII) gets second chance in life. But even the second chances have their steep price. He must wrestle with his inner self that is trying to take sides between good and evil? Can he stay on the side of good and still acomplish his life's work?
Movie is visually very pleasing. I particlulary liked the part in Malta where now young professor finds his long lost love and wants to protect her at all costs. However, deep philosophical debates about consciousness and subconsciousness, soul reincarnation, power of words and language, legacy we as a human beings leave in the world is something tht really belongs to the written word rather than a film.
Wonderful cast is lead by Tim Roth, to include Bruno Gantz.