Youth Without Youth - Francis Ford Coppola (2007)

In recent years, Francis Ford Coppola has seemingly dedicated his time to guiding daughter Sofia’s directorial efforts and tending his vineyards.  The man who brought us The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, spent the latter part of the 20th century as a Director-for-hire.  Back after a 10 year hiatus and now free of studio constraints, he has returned with Youth Without Youth, a period love story wrapped in a mystery, its biggest mystery being why it ever got made.

Set during World War Two and based on a short story, Youth Without Youth stars Tim Roth as Dominic Matei.  Dominic is an aging professor of linguistics who, having been struck by lightening, finds his youth restored. Dominic's rejuvenation also sees an increase in intellect, helping him to master ancient languages he never knew and, subsequently, attracting the attention of Nazi scientists. On the run, he meets lost love Laura (Alexandra Maria Lara), who is also struck by lightening and undergoes an equally alarming transition and a similar ability to speak in ancient tongues. When his work threatens her well being, Dominic is forced to choose between his life's work and his life’s love.

Filmed on location in Romania, Youth Without Youth aims for magic realism but reaches the heights of a 1940’s B movie. The largely foreign supporting cast struggle to deliver their lines with any conviction, presumably the reason behind why the film has subsequently been re-dubbed. The screenplay only serves to make matters worse with the cast delivering lines that are unintentionally funny. Scenes that would benefit from subtlety lack any (Mein Kampf-reading spies with Swastika stocking-tops do battle with mad scientists), whilst those of alarming complexity play out with little explanation.

Given that Francis Ford Coppola has struggled for years as a Director-for-hire, Youth Without Youth feels like wish-fulfilment, as the film’s lead character, Dominic, regains both his youth and creative verve. Whilst Dominic battles with his new found abilities, Coppola also battles to distil all his ideas into something remotely cohesive and approaching a story. To call Youth Without Youth complex and challenging would be polite understatement, to call it nonsensical and indulgent would be closer to the truth.