Far more than dirty old men looking at naked young women (as the poster seems to imply)

Rating: 8/10 (31 July 2019)

"Youth" (2015) is the second film of Paolo Sorrentino about old age and decay, after "La grande bellezza" (2013). Both films make use of Fellini-esk extravaganza.
"Youth" is an ironic title because the film is about a luxurious spa with a predominantly old clientele. Among the visitors are Mick Boyle, director of films (Harvey Keitel) and Fred Ballinger, composer of classical music (Michael Caine). Both men have different apporaches to the diminishing of their strenght and capabilities. Fred has fallen into apathy and abandons all activities. Mick is in full denial and swears that the best is yet to come. Michael Caine and Harvey Kietel both make the best out of their roles, contributing a lot to the quality of the film.
Around this central duo various secondary characters are circling. In this respect the film has a resemblance with "Magnolia" (1999, Paul Thomas Anderson), although there the central character was a man on his deathbed, a stage that Fred and Mick have not reached yet.
The link between old age and decay and the character of Maradona (Roly Serrano) is obvious, but there are other secondary characters for which this link to the central theme is far from obvious. I am thinking about the silent couple and the masseuse with dental braces. The story line for the central couple is wafer-thin and actually a bit banal. The storyline for the masseuse does not exist at all (despite the fact that she reappears a couple of times in the film). This way these characters are reduced to set pieces and in this respect "Youth" falls short of "Magnolia".