''Youth Without Youth'' is a 2007

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written, directed, and produced by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

, based on the novella of the same name by

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n author Mircea Eliade. The film is a co-production between the United States, Romania, France, Italy and Germany. It was the first film that Coppola had directed in ten years, since 1997's '' The Rainmaker''. The film opens in 1938, with an elderly Romanian professor contemplating suicide. He is struck by

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

, and consequently finds himself rejuvenated. He subsequently develops psychic powers, which attract the attention of Nazi agents. He flees to Switzerland, where he meets a

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

of his past lover. He discovers information both about her various past incarnations, and about the evolutionary potential of humanity. The film premiered at the 2007

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

. It was distributed through Sony Pictures Classics in the United States (where it was released on December 14, 2007) and by

Pathé Distribution Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

in France. The music was composed by Argentinian classical composer Osvaldo Golijov. In an interview, Coppola said that he made the film as a meditation on time and on consciousness, which he considers a "changing tapestry of illusion", but he stated that the film may also be appreciated as a beautiful love story, or as a mystery.

Plot

In 1938, Dominic Matei, a 70-year-old professor of linguistics in Piatra Neamț, travels to Bucharest, where he met the love of his youth, Laura. Feeling that his fruitless search for the origin of human language has condemned him to a solitary, wasted life, Dominic wants to commit suicide. In Bucharest, he is struck by lightning. Dominic subsequently regenerates into a younger man and gains psychic capacities. As Romania is invaded by Nazi Germany, Doktor Josef Rudolf begins to show an interest in Dominic, who is residing at the home of Professor Stanciulescu and has developed a talent for speaking in tongues. Since Dominic's budding powers blurred his perception of reality, he is bamboozled into mistaking a Nazi spy for an erotic fantasy. They spend their nights together. Meanwhile, invisible to human eyes, an alternate persona presents itself to Dominic as his "Other" from outside space and time. When Dominic asks for proof, the "Other" brings him two roses out of nowhere. Stanciulescu secretly witnesses the event and overhears Dominic ask, "Where do you want me to put the third rose?" Stanciulescu persuades Dominic to escape from Romania and the Nazis. Living like a spy, Dominic winds up in Switzerland towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. There, he is confronted by Rudolf at gunpoint in an alleyway. Rudolf argues that Dominic's existence supports the Nazis' ideal of the superman, and that the coming nuclear conflicts can only be survived by a superior species of man. The "Other" confirms this to be the case. In refusing to cooperate, Dominic manifests telekinetic powers which manipulate Rudolf into shooting himself. Dominic returns to a normal existence and resumes his linguistic research. Having realised that the lightning strike partially lent him the capacities and knowledge of future humanity, he develops a secret language for his audio diary, to be deciphered long after the nuclear apocalypse. Years later, Dominic encounters a woman named Veronica while hiking in the Alps. The "Other" reveals her to be the reincarnation of Laura. When the mountains are hit by a thunderstorm, Dominic rushes to her rescue and finds Veronica chanting in Sanskrit. He greets Veronica in Sanskrit to gain her trust. During her stay in hospital, Veronica now identifies herself as "Rupini", one of the first disciples of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. Rupini's last act in life was to retire into a cave for meditation on enlightenment. Suspecting that Veronica may now be afflicted with a condition similar to his own, Dominic calls the Roman College of Oriental Studies for aid. Since the location of Rupini's cave is unknown, the scholars, led by Professor Giuseppe Tucci, agree to fund an expedition to find it in India. They hope that Veronica's past self will guide them. A Boddhisatva eventually recognises "Rupini" and directs her to the place of meditation. Following this discovery, Veronica becomes herself again and falls for Dominic. The couple elope to Malta, where Dominic eventually tells Veronica in her sleep that he has always loved her. This causes Veronica to travell further back along the path of her past selves. She begins chanting in the ancient

Egyptian language The Egyptian language, or Ancient Egyptian (; ), is an extinct branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts, which were made accessible to the modern world ...

, which Dominic does not understand. For the next two weeks, he learns how to control this state in Veronica. Dominic leads her to regress ever further in time and to speak previously unknown tongues. However, Veronica's health begins to decline from exhaustion. Dominic declares that he cannot continue these sessions, or even remain close to Veronica, as his proximity to her is accelerating her age. Over the objections of both Veronica and the "Other", he leaves. Despairing, Dominic returns to Piatra Neamț. The "Other" appears to him in a mirror and reveals the future of mankind. Nuclear warfare will unleash an electromagnetic pulse, giving birth to a new and powerful human species. Dominic is this species' first member. Veronica symbolised the dawn of man, and he stood for the dusk. Outraged at the idea of sacrificing millions of lives in the name of evolution, Dominic shatters the mirror. The "Other" subsequently vanishes, yelling in an unfamiliar language. In the morning, townsfolk find Dominic's body, lying dead at the bottom of a staircase. The third rose appears in Dominic's lifeless grasp.

Cast

* Tim Roth as Dominic Matei * Alexandra Maria Lara as Laura, Veronica * Bruno Ganz as Professor Stanciulescu * André Hennicke as Josef Rudolf * Marcel Iureș as Professor Giuseppe Tucci * Adrian Pintea as Pandit *

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...

as Ted Jones, a reporter for ''Life'' magazine *Alexandra Pirici as the woman in Room 6

Production

came across Mircea Eliade's original '' Youth Without Youth'' novella (1976) while doing research for his long-gestating passion project ''

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

'' (2024). While debating on whether to finance ''Megalopolis'' with his own money from his winery and resort company, Coppola was given by his close friend Wendy Doniger, a

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

professor, some books she deemed relevant for his dream project's themes, including Eliade's novella. Identifying with the novella's plot of a 70 year old man struggling to complete an ambitious project of his own, Coppola opted to temporarily shelve ''Megalopolis'' to "rest a bit" and self-finance a film adaptation of ''Youth Without Youth'' with the intent of making it "the opposite of ''Megalopolis'' and "feel empowered" with 1$ million cash he had available. To do so, Coppola optioned the script on the sly, didn't inform his wife

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...

and went to

for filming, financing the production with financial incentives from movies Coppola had made in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with some "scrappy" filmmaking. Coppola proceeded to set up a production office at the

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

pharmaceutical company of a friend of his, holding auditions for actors and cinematographers amid different stores. He went as far hiring a 28 year old cinematographer, who had just gotten out of film school, to shoot the film in less expensive high-definition digital video. With help of his friend

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

, Coppola equipped a Dodge Sprinter cargo van for all his camera gear, a technique he learned from his collaboration with Lucas in '' The Rain People'' (1969). Making ''Youth Without Youth'' made Coppola feel creatively fulfilled for the first time since ''

Rumble Fish ''Rumble Fish'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1975 novel '' Rumble Fish'' by S. E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. The film stars Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Vince ...

'' (1983): "You lose your confidence. People in the arts — they've got that, maybe, imbalance. Now I know I can make a movie without having to ask anyone's permission". The film's soundtrack was composed by Osvaldo Golijov.

Release

The film was released on October 26, 2007 in Italy. The original runtime was 210 minutes, then cut down to 170, then cut down to 140 minutes,

Walter Murch Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. His work includes '' THX 1138'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Godfather I'', '' II'', and '' III'', '' American Graffiti'', '' The Conversation ...

then cut it down to the desired 124 minutes. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 13, 2008.

Reception

Box office

''Youth Without Youth'' grossed $244,397 in North America and $2.4 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $2.6 million.

Critical response

, the film holds a 33% approval rating on the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 107 reviews with an average rating of 4.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Although visually appealing, Coppola's latest film mixes too many genres with a very confusing plot". On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' gave it high praise, writing: "In this film Mr. Coppola blurs dreams and everyday life and suggests that through visual and narrative experimentation he has begun the search for new ways of making meaning, new holy places for him and for us." '' Variety'', however, was "disappointed" by the "mishmash plotting" and "stilted script". Rex Reed panned the film, writing: "You know a movie is doomed when the only star in it is Tim Roth. You know it's pretentious when the ads print the logo backward and upside down. Not one word of this bilge makes one lick of sense, and it is two hours and six minutes long. The only way to survive ''Youth Without Youth'' is dead drunk."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, stating that " ere is such a thing as a complex film that rewards additional viewing and study, but ''Youth Without Youth'', I am afraid, is no more than it seems: a confusing slog through metaphysical murkiness." In 2016, Scout Tafoya of '' RogerEbert.com'' included the film in his video series "The Unloved", where he highlights films which received mixed to negative reviews that he believes to have artistic value. He stated that Coppola "made a film he would have wanted to see, with energy borrowed from his heroes. But this film is all him, really. What other major American director would throw out studio money just to scamper around Europe re-living the years of his father's prime? ... I saw the human struggling to change the world through his work, and the ways in which he failed himself, and I felt for him." In 2024, Francis Ford Coppola revealed during an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' that ''Youth Without Youth'' wasn't meant to be successful but a "test" for himself to teach him what really means making a movie, as he had "sort of retired" from being a professional director since '' The Rainmaker'' (1997) and instead be a student who could discover what making movies consisted by self-financing "very small, low-budget" films and even organizing unusual rehearsals during which he learned a lot about acting. This was in order for Coppola to prepare himself for the development of his longtime passion project ''

'' (2024).

Accolades

The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 23rd Independent Spirit Awards.

References

External links

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