Movie · 2015 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 2h 5m · R · IT
Curator score: 6.0/10 (175.8K ratings)
Overview
Two lifelong friends bond whilst vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his loving daughter Lena, Mick is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last important film for his muse Brenda. And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy, an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance?
Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Jane Fonda, Mark Kozelek, Robert Seethaler, Alex Macqueen, Luna Mijović, Tom Lipinski, Chloe Pirrie, Alex Beckett, Nate Dern, Mark Gessner, Paloma Faith, Ed Stoppard, Sonia Gessner, Mădălina Ghenea, Gabriela Belisario, Ian Attard
Curator Review
Verdict
A lush, melancholic, and often funny meditation on aging, art, memory, and friendship, carried by striking visual design and two superb lead performances. It can feel mannered and elliptical, but its emotional crescendos and sensory beauty make it rewarding for viewers open to a big, operatic mood piece.
Best for
Viewers who like reflective films about aging and legacy
Fans of visually extravagant European art cinema
People drawn to bittersweet ensemble conversations and character studies
Audiences who appreciate movies that mix comedy, sadness, and surreal imagery
Skip if
You want a straightforward plot with clear dramatic stakes
You dislike self-conscious or highly stylized filmmaking
You prefer restrained realism over symbolism and digressions
You are impatient with films that prioritize mood and theme over narrative momentum
Overview
Youth is Paolo Sorrentino at his most lavish and wistful, turning a Swiss luxury retreat into a stage for memory, regret, and the absurd theater of old age. The film drifts between comic invention and aching melancholy, finding its center in the friendship between two men who are trying, in very different ways, to make peace with what remains of their lives and careers.
Worth noting
What makes it linger is the combination of formal confidence and emotional vulnerability. The camera glides, the images shimmer, and the film keeps surprising you with jokes, surreal detours, and sudden bursts of feeling. It can be overripe, even indulgent, but that excess is part of its appeal: the movie wants to feel like a symphony of fading time.
Bottom line
The result is less a conventional drama than a mood-rich reflection on art, mortality, and the stories people tell themselves to keep going. If Sorrentino’s style works for you, this is one of his most affecting films; if not, its mannerisms may feel like a barrier rather than a doorway.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Eli Hayes (4.5★) · 1126 likes
This film won't be properly appreciated for at least forty years.
Jim Cummings (5★) · 774 likes
I love Paolo’s movies.
This one made me cry very hard.
It’s just so big and beautiful and sad and lovely and funny and weird and sublime.
Thanks uncle Paolo.
ZaraGwen (4★) · 529 likes
Paul Dano doesn't get beaten up in this movie
Eli Hayes (4.5★) · 409 likes
Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth has the rare power to force recollections of the past as well as anticipations of the future, all the while keeping its viewer completely grounded in the present, grounded in its stunning and symphonic display of human emotion. Indeed, Sorrentino pulls the rug out from under his audience on several occasions throughout the duration of the film’s runtime, dragging them downward into the depths of dejection only to raise them back up, just as quickly, into the… more Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth has the rare power to force recollections of the past as well as anticipations of the future, all the while keeping its viewer completely grounded in the present, grounded in its stunning and symphonic display of human emotion. Indeed, Sorrentino pulls the rug out from under his audience on several occasions throughout the duration of the film’s runtime, dragging them downward into the depths of dejection only to raise them back up, just as quickly, into the… more
calamityhey (0.5★) · 356 likes
I bet Paolo Sorrentino is the sort of dude who won't stop talking about how much he appreciates the female form.
2013 · Drama, Adventure · 1h 55m · R · Curator 8.5/10 (234.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus
A dryly funny, tender road movie about late-life disappointment, family tension, and the dignity of small lives.