The greatest movie ever made..!

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I've seen a lot of movies in my life, but I can't recall a single one with so many good actors involved in such a great nonsense: a supposedly adult reflection on life and aging, filled with commonplace phrases and silly remarks of all sorts, with signs and hints leading nowhere and at the same time predictability in the most childish way (from the incomprehensible inclusion of senseless scenes with Diego Maradona, one of the most stupidest men on earth, to the moment Michael Caine tells the buddhist monk something like "You can't fool me, I know you can't levitate", after which you can bet your life you will get a scene with the monk's levitation...) I don't think this awful mess deserves any more words: it's the greatest and saddest waste of money and talented actors I've ever seen.

Gaspingly pretentious portrait of characters at a resort hotel and spa in the Swiss Alps. Michael Caine is a British widower and retired symphony conductor--an annual guest at the spa for some 20 years--who refuses a request from an emissary of the Queen of England to conduct again for Prince Philip's birthday celebration. Caine's grown daughter is temporarily staying with him; she's distraught over her recent breakup with the son of another guest, screenwriter Harvey Keitel, an exercise-friend of Caine's who commiserates with him over their combined years and non-working body parts. Other guests include a rock-climbing instructor, a film actor, assorted child prodigies, a beauty contest winner, et al. Writer-director Paolo Sorrentino has a grandiose visual concept, which he makes clear within the film's first 10 minutes; however, his artistically-composed shots of naked, sagging bodies (usually slumped over in states of depression, inert in the steam rooms or floating aimlessly in the swimming pools) are not especially pointed or amusing. The shots call attention themselves, probably to distract the viewer from the lack of substance in the writing (or interest in the central characters). Caine, pinkish-white like a rabbit, seems to look out at the world with bleary eyes--but is this the character or simply the actor in bad physical shape? Keitel doesn't appear very spry either, but the worst is saved for Jane Fonda (in a bad blonde wig) as a jaded, foulmouthed actress just in from Los Angeles (she asks Keitel expository questions to set the scene: "How long have we known each other, Mick?"). "Youth" flatlines at the one-hour mark--with another 63 minutes on the clock. * from ****

I hope everybody has a good friend with whom he talks only of the lighter things in life and not the troublesome, profound stuff. This film is not that friend, but it is about two men subjectively at the end of their life that are this friend for each other. It is about important relationships with one another (family, friends, strangers) and oneself. These relationships form the outline of a life lived despite its inescapable death. Certainly, not every scene touches everyone the same way, but I rarely saw a movie with so much emotional backlash because of little scenes, like the conversation about riding a bike or the metaphor of the looking glass. I will remember them dearly.

I'd never heard of this movie, but I was quickly drawn into it, and found it quite beautiful. The storyline is simple, the pace is slow, yet it manages to effortlessly entertain. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the score absolutely perfect...each of the actors/actresses does a wonderful job in their roles. The film does well to portray a varying range of life, and especially the journey of growing old. I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this movie - it is a true gem!