A retired orchestra conductor is on holiday with his daughter and his film director best friend in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday.
An Alpine study of ageing and creativity that’s as fresh and bracing as the mountain air, although occasionally just as chilly.
Youth is an elegant, wan exercise from Sorrentino, but brilliant and passionate movies such as The Great Beauty and The Consequences of Love show he is capable of more than this.
Verdict: Melancholic and eccentric.
The film is far too flighty to allow its actors to bring much depth or pathos to their characters.
Paolo Sorrentino, Oscar-winning director of The Great Beauty, continues to stake his claim as the Federico Fellini of the 21st century with another relentlessly stylish, operatic parade of grotesque characters and wistful regret.
Enjoyable stuff.
Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel bring the benefit of age and experience to a misfiring tragi-comedy.
Unfortunately, attempts at comedy misfire and the insights and pronouncements are less than profound.
Paolo Sorrentino's Youth and the hotel as a character
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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