About Matt Rox
Location: Dallas, Tx
Occupation: Bookslave (retail), Author (unfinished novel), Artist (forth-coming cartoon)
Bio:
Posts: 3
More from this author
A man experiences the miracles of eternal youth and semi-omniscience, only to come face to face with the political, emotional, and psychological prices that must be paid for them.
The opening of Youth Without Youth is a mish-mash of images and sounds, creating a tense mood that reverberates throughout the rest of the film. The opening credits are reminiscent of movies produced in the 30’s and 40’s where all the credits are presented in front of the story instead of behind it. This came off very charming, especially since the story itself takes place against the backdrop of Europe during and after World War II (1938 – 1969). For those diehard fans of end trailers, don’t worry; they’re available as a special feature.
Professor of linguistics Dominic Matei (played by Tim Roth) is a seventy-year-old Romanian man who comes to the realization that his life’s work – a book about the origins of language – will never be completed. With a dejected heart, he takes one last trip, planning to kill himself with strychnine. When he arrives at Bucharest, Dominic is struck by lightning and taken to a hospital. There, he has dreams in the hospital that give the audience a glimpse into his days as a younger man.
As his skin heals, the doctor’s discover Dominic has the body of a thirty-five year old; and he begins having discussions with a double of himself in mirrors, though if this is reality or a delusion, even he is not sure. Unfortunately, the Gestapo finds out about Dominic and he must flee from the safety of the hospital. Traveling throughout Europe he has many metaphysical talks with his double. Dominic discovers new abilities and hopes they will allow him to complete his book.
As the years pass, he takes on different false identities and dodges spies; all of them offering him a chance to be protected and to save the future of humanity. Dominic’s double (whom only Dominic can see) acts as both devil and angel, keeping him safe while prodding him on. A chance encounter with Veronica, a young woman (Alexandra Maria Lara) who has also been oddly effected by a lightning strike sends Dominic on even more travels. Together, Dominic and Veronica are propelled on a downward spiral of love, fame, intelligence, and sacrifice.
Now I’m not the biggest Francis Ford Coppolla fan around; in fact, I find him to be hit-and-miss. That being said, the camerawork in Youth Without Youth had an experimental film-school-student look that actually worked. It was interesting and effective. In the special feature on the making-of Youth Without Youth, Coppolla explains the way he set up shots by just looking around the locations and determining what the landscape and architecture would allow the camera to do. It was really interesting to watch the director going through all the possibilities for shots as the crew and cast waited expectantly.
The plot elements and themes pay homage to several books/films: Frankenstein (Dominic’s electrocution gives him new life), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Dominic’s double), The Third Man (Gestapo spy intrigue), etc. These in no way detract from the film, instead serving to enhance it.
Another theme – that of language – is used in an innovative way. When a character speaks in anything other than English, there are no subtitles. The audience is left to determine the meaning of what is being said through the facial expressions and inflections in the voices of characters. Along these lines, there is a French subtitle track, but no English one for the dialogue of the movie. There is an English track for Coppolla’s commentary, though. I thought this was a little weird.
The trailers of upcoming films were interesting (although they did seem to focus on WWII a lot, and the one for Bram Stoker’s Dracula was confusing because it didn’t seem like it was some sort of new or enhanced version – just the flick). The music and make-up documentaries made me want to go work on a Coppolla movie set (the atmosphere seemed filled with can-do creative attitudes and the anecdotes were funny and touching).
I’ll admit that the only reason I wanted to see Youth Without Youth was for Tim Roth. I always enjoy his performances, even in the films of his I find disappointing. Here he delivers another astonishing job. The addition of it being in a very enjoyable film was just bonus.
For those who enjoy quirky sci-fi, art-house style films, and metaphysical discussions that continue on for hours after the movie has ended, Youth Without Youth is a must-see.
