# Youth (2015 film)
**Youth** (Italian: *La giovinezza*) is a 2015 drama film written and directed by [Paolo Sorrentino](https://www.edgepedia.org/paolo-sorrentino), an Italy, France, United Kingdom, and Switzerland co-production starring [Michael Caine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-caine) and [Harvey Keitel](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvey-keitel) as two old friends spending a vacation at a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/) It competed at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, won the European Film Award for Best Film, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/) • [2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Paolo Sorrentino, his second English-language feature after *This Must Be the Place* (2011)[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/) • [2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/) |
| Lead roles | Michael Caine as retired composer and conductor Fred Ballinger; Harvey Keitel as filmmaker Mick Boyle[3](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/youth) |
| Supporting cast | Rachel Weisz (Lena), Paul Dano (Jimmy Tree), Jane Fonda (Brenda Morel)[3](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/youth) |
| Festival and awards | In Competition at Cannes 2015; European Film Award for Best Film, December 2015; Oscar nomination for Best Original Song (David Lang's "Simple Song #3") at the 88th Academy Awards[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/) • [2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Luca Bigazzi; music David Lang; editing Cristiano Travaglioli; production design Ludovica Ferrario[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/) |
| Production | Indigo Film with Medusa Film, Barbary Films, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Number 9 Films, and C-Films; budget approximately €13 million[4](https://www.indigofilm.it/produzione/youth-la-giovinezza/) • [2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/) |
| Critical scores | Metacritic metascore 64 from 41 reviews; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 73% from 212 reviews[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/youth/critic-reviews/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/youth_2015?search=youth) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Fred and Mick, two old friends approaching their eighties, share a spring vacation at an elegant hotel in the foothills of the [Swiss Alps](https://www.edgepedia.org/swiss-alps). Fred, a retired composer and conductor, refuses to return to music, while Mick, a director who has made eleven feature films, hurries to finish the screenplay of what he intends as his final, most significant work.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/) • [4](https://www.indigofilm.it/produzione/youth-la-giovinezza/)
An emissary of Queen Elizabeth asks Fred to conduct a concert of his own music in London, a request he dismisses.[7](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Youth-art-age-and-old-friends-6686851.php) Fred's daughter Lena, married to Mick's son, is abandoned by her husband, who has fallen in love with the singer [Paloma Faith](https://www.edgepedia.org/paloma-faith) (playing herself), a turn that fuels arguments between the two friends.[4](https://www.indigofilm.it/produzione/youth-la-giovinezza/) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/youth-film-review-michael-caine-gives-an-aloof-performance-in-this-wildly-indulgent-film-a6840621.html) Mick works with a team of young screenwriters on an ending for his script; when his preferred actress Brenda Morel arrives and announces she will not make the film, delivering a series of uncomfortable truths, the director later falls from his hotel window. Fred, grieving, visits his wife, who is confined to a care facility in Venice, and finally conducts his music at the [Royal Opera House](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-opera-house) in London before the Queen and Prince Philip.[4](https://www.indigofilm.it/produzione/youth-la-giovinezza/) • [13](https://theartsdesk.com/film/youth)
## Production
The film was shot largely at the Hotel Schatzalp in Davos and the Waldhaus Hotel in Sils Maria, Switzerland.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/) Luca Bigazzi, Sorrentino's regular cinematographer across nearly his entire feature filmography, shot the film in [CinemaScope](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinemascope) on Red Epic Dragon cameras.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3312830/technical/) The score is by the American composer David Lang, known for his [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize)-winning *The Little Match Girl Passion*, and the film also uses substantial extracts from classical repertoire including Stravinsky and Sibelius.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/)
Reported runtimes differ between releases: the Cannes and producer listings give 118 minutes, the US distributor lists 2 hours 3 minutes, and some reviews state 124 minutes, indicating different cuts or measurement methods.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/) • [3](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/youth) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3312830/technical/)
## Reception and awards
**Awards.** At the 28th [European Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-film-awards) in December 2015, *Youth* won Best Film, Sorrentino's second EFA Best Film prize after *The Great Beauty* two years earlier.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/) David Lang's "Simple Song #3" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 88th Academy Awards in February 2016.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/) In Italy the film won Nastro d'Argento awards for best director, cinematography, and editing.[10](https://www.teatronuovo.com/download/archivio_filmforum/FILMFORUM_PIEGH_2015-2016_1.pdf) [Jane Fonda](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-fonda)'s supporting performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/)
**Critical response.** On Metacritic the film scored 64 out of 100 from 41 critics, in the site's "generally favorable" band, with 26 positive, 11 mixed, and 4 negative reviews.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/youth/critic-reviews/) Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 73% Tomatometer from 212 reviews, with a critics consensus calling it gorgeously filmed and beautifully acted.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/youth_2015?search=youth) Reviewers divided over the film's episodic style. Todd McCarthy in *The Hollywood Reporter* called it "a voluptuary's feast, a full-body immersion in the sensory pleasures of the cinema," while Kenneth Turan of the *Los Angeles Times* described it as "quixotic, idiosyncratic, effortlessly moving."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/youth/critic-reviews/) Negative reviews included Joe Morgenstern's in *The Wall Street Journal*, which called it a "horribly pretentious phantasmagoria."[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/youth/) Time Out found the film occasionally dazzling but rambling, judging the screenwriting scenes with Keitel the least successful element.[12](https://www.timeout.com/movies/youth) The film was a substantial commercial success across European territories on its budget of approximately €13 million.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/)
## Place in Sorrentino's career
*Youth* followed *The Great Beauty* (2013), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and critics read the two films together. The *San Francisco Chronicle* called *Youth* nearly as handsome as its predecessor while judging that it does not reach the earlier film's heights.[7](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Youth-art-age-and-old-friends-6686851.php) Reviewers noted Sorrentino's debt to [Federico Fellini](https://www.edgepedia.org/federico-fellini) in the film's episodic, image-driven treatment of aging and art.[7](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Youth-art-age-and-old-friends-6686851.php) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/youth-film-review-michael-caine-gives-an-aloof-performance-in-this-wildly-indulgent-film-a6840621.html) As his second English-language feature, the project consolidated his move to international productions.[2](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/)
## References
1. [YOUTH, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/youth/)
2. [Youth, European Screen](https://europeanscreen.com/titles/youth/)
3. [Youth, 20th Century Studios](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/youth)
4. [Youth – La giovinezza, Indigo Film](https://www.indigofilm.it/produzione/youth-la-giovinezza/)
5. [Youth critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/youth/critic-reviews/)
6. [Youth (2015), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/youth_2015?search=youth)
7. ['Youth': art, age and old friends, SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Youth-art-age-and-old-friends-6686851.php)
8. [Youth film review, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/youth-film-review-michael-caine-gives-an-aloof-performance-in-this-wildly-indulgent-film-a6840621.html)
9. [Youth (2015) technical specifications, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3312830/technical/)
10. [Youth - La giovinezza, Film Forum](https://www.teatronuovo.com/download/archivio_filmforum/FILMFORUM_PIEGH_2015-2016_1.pdf)
11. [Youth Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/youth/)
12. [Youth 2015 review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/youth)
13. [Youth](https://theartsdesk.com/film/youth)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works)*
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