Sorrentino's perspective on youth

Two friends over 70, Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) and Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel), spend the long days of their summer holidays in a luxury resort on the Alps, together with the odd and diverse other guests of the resort.

Paolo Sorrentino deals with the theme of youth in his own, recognizable way, a language not everybody appreciates (or has to). He does not offer a portrayal of what youth is, but he provides us with a perspective on it. It is Fred's and Mick's perspective on their own youth, full of confused memories that are out of control, and on the youth of others, the people around them.

Madalina Diana Ghenea as Miss Universe, with Michael Caine as Fred Ballinger and Harvey Keitel as Mick Boyle © 2015 - Fox Searchlight

Above: still of Michael Caine © 2015 - Fox Searchlight

Speaking about perspectives, there is an interesting line, which Mick (Harvey Keitel) addresses to his young protégé, while looking though a telescope on the Alps: "You see that mountain over there? Everything seems really close. That's the future. And now... (flipping the lens around) everything seems really far away. That's the past."

However, Sorrentino has no intention of imposing a message or a unique meaning. Alienating shots are scattered throughout the film, and they are like fleeting ideas that set the pace and diverge from the story. Therefore we find several scenes with a strong visual impact, so strong that they are able to shock, even when they have no purpose and build up to nothing. Sometimes they are dreams, as the fascinating scene in a flooded Piazza San Marco, sometimes, they are real.

A show for the guests of the resort © 2015 - Fox Searchlight

Such accumulation leads to the viewer's disorientation, which, in the end, is still an aesthetic result, as it was in The Great Beauty.

In comparison with Sorrentino's previous success, Youth's plot is more interesting and personal. Fred's character, for whom music is all he understands, must face his own limits and overcome his apathy. Sorrentino gives us a chance to perceive music as Fred does: it is everywhere, in a candy wrapper, in the sound of the forest and in a cow's bell, which can be elevated and become a symphony, and therefore art. In the same way, the awkward bodies of the resort guests become the subjects of marvelously composed shots, thanks to Luca Bigazzi's photography.

Guests of the resort © 2015 - Fox Searchlight

Director: Paolo Sorrentino Writer: Paolo Sorrentino

Cast: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Alex Macqueen, Jane Fonda, Madalina Diana Ghenea, Gabriella Belisario, Roly Serrano

Year: 2015

#cersosimo #pieces #Youth #PaoloSorrentino #films #Italiancinema