Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) is a world-famous orchestra conductor/composer who has retired and is now enjoying a vacation at a resort in the Swiss Alps. His daughter/assistant Lena (Rachel Weisz) has joined him on the trip. Also staying at the resort is Fred’s longtime friend (and Lena’s father-in-law) Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel), an accomplished filmmaker who is working on a script along with his team of young writers. One day an emissary for the Queen meets with Ballinger, telling him that Her Majesty has requested that he conduct his “Simple Songs” for Prince Philip’s birthday. However, Fred politely refuses.
The resort is filled will all sorts of odd and unusual characters, such as Jimmy Tree (Paul Dano), a young actor who wants to be remembered for his more serious roles, but the only work people want to talk about is when he dressed up as a robot; Diego Maradon (Roly Serrano), a now-overweight, out-of-shape footballer who’s still trying to hold onto his glory days; a shy young masseuse (Luna Mijovic) who rocks out at night to a dance video game; a monk who claims he can float in the air; and Mick’s group of young script writers who are struggling to come up with an elderly character’s dying words. Meanwhile, Fred and Mick spend their days hiking, gawking at the younger women, betting on things like whether or not an elderly couple will finally speak to one another while dining, talking about their inability to pee, and reminiscing about their youth. This is the general theme/question at the heart of the film—What does it mean to grow old, and how do you deal with it?
I was not familiar with Oscar-winning writer/director Paolo Sorrentino before viewing this film. When I saw the opportunity to review this title, I looked at the list of amazing cast members, and the premise of a retired conductor asked to play for the queen sounded interesting, so I was excited to check it out. However, that premise is only a tiny part of the film. Instead the film takes a very artistic approach towards exploring a theme rather than a single plot. The director explores the theme of age by constantly juxtaposing scenes of “youth” with other scenes of “growing old”. Throughout the film there are also these cutaways to random people at the resort doing mundane things—like old people lining up for water aerobics, a woman loudly chomping on a chicken leg, people riding in an elevator, a young girl dancing, or naked old people in a sauna.
The movie itself is visually stunning. The picturesque Swiss Alps setting leads to some incredibly breathtaking shots, and everything is framed beautifully. The picture on this Blu-ray release really captures every amazing detail. The audio track is equally, if not even more impressive, making use of all 7.1 channels to really bring this world to life and add a whole new dimension to what’s on screen. Whether it’s the nature sounds of birds and water that surround you, or the beautiful and orchestral musical performances that fill your room, the audio track is always amazing.
After viewing the film, I found it really difficult to give this movie a star rating because while this artsy style of movies are not really my thing, this is not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. This type of film is only going to appeal to a very specific segment of viewers. However, just as one doesn’t necessarily need to love a particular painting or sculpture to appreciate its artistic merit, the same goes for this film. The cast is excellent—Michael Caine, Rachel Weisz and Harvey Keitel are all amazing, delivering not only emotional performances, but also some very fun, humorous moments. The film is more about exploring the characters and this theme of aging rather than the initial plot of playing for the Queen, but it does ultimately tie everything together by the end.
As I previously stated, the technical presentation of this Blu-ray release is top-notch. The disc also contains about 18 minutes of promotional featurettes with Q&As with the cast and filmmakers, a production photo gallery, and a Digital HD copy of the film.
What’s Included:
Film: (2:03:23)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- Digital HD Copy redeemable via iTunes, Flixster (UV), Google Play, or Vudu (UV)
Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 3/1/2019):
Extras:
These promotional featurettes include clips from the film, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with director/writer Paolo Sorrentino, producer Nicola Giuliano, composer David Lang, soprano Sumi Jo, and actors Michael Caine (“Fred Ballinger”), Rchael Weisz (“Lena Balinger”), Jane Fonda (“Brenda Morel”), Harvey Keitel (“Mick Boyle”) and Paul Dano (“Jimmy Tree”). (There is some repetition among these featurettes.)
- Michael Caine (3:34)
Michael Caine talks about how the project came to him; the actors talk about working with the legendary actor and what the film is about to them. - Paolo Sorrentino (4:11)
The actors and filmmakers talk about working with the Oscar-award-winning director. - Cast (3:56)
The cast talk about what drew them to the film, and about the concept of youth in general. - Music and Sound (3:43)
A discussion of how music is central to main character Fred Ballinger. - The Essence of Youth (2:10)
The cast talk about the film’s impressive visuals, while the director talks about surrounding himself with dedicated folks.
This 24-image still gallery includes a mix of scenes from the film as well as behind-the-scene production shots. Manually advance through the gallery or let it auto advance every 5 seconds.
Play All or select from trailers for “Discover Digital HD”, Demolition, Brooklyn, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Desert Dancer.
Final Thoughts:
With Director
Youth is a visually and aurally stunning film, with excellent performances from Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Rachel Weisz and some extraordinary music. The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, and contains about 18 minutes of supplemental interviews. The film is very artistic in nature, so those who are unfamiliar with director Paolo Sorrentino’s work, and are contemplating a purchase solely based on the cast, may wish to rent the film first to ensure that this style of film appeals to them. However, this Blu-ray is an easy recommendation for those who typically enjoy a more artistic style of film.
