Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

As Good As It Gets

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Best movie I've seen in last few years. Characters are unique and extremely individualistic. Maintains a good sexual tension throughout the film. Loved the Swiss setting very restful. The whole film is exquisite and tastefully directed..

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!

The film "Youth" (La giovinezza) by the Italian director Paolo Sorrentino is a reflection of the deep crisis in Italian cinema. After the golden age of Italian cinema in the 1960s the crisis started and became inescapable.Director Sorrentino tells the story of two close friends vacationing in a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps. One is a composer played by Michael Caine another is a filmmaker played by Harvey Keitel. Michael Caine plays his role well as usual and is the only reason why the film is remotely watchable.Otherwise the film is dull, pretentious and lacks any new or interesting ideas. The cinematography was bland and unoriginal. The music was surprisingly awful considering this is a film about a famous and beloved composer.The product placement for Microsoft Kinect was shameless, annoying and resembled a parody. The film had a positive critical response, however it is not a masterpiece, just utterly forgettable.The film is just another imitation of Fellini in the same way as "The Great Beauty" (La grande bellezza) but "The Great Beauty" at least was not so flat out boring and monotonous.It is time for the directors to stop stealing from the great masters and to their find own unique style and to produce new ideas and the film jurors should not encourage plagiarism either."Youth" can only be recommended as a sleeping aid.See more reviews at: http://indie-cinema.com/

I do not think it is possible I could have liked this film any more than I did. I was watching it for the second time. The first time I loved it. But, I did not understand what a masterpiece it was. It is absolutely pitch perfect. The direction of the film is stunning. Hollywood should take notice. Few films come out of Hollywood like this lovely gem. This was entirely directed and produced by Italians. It has a magical realist quality to it, and some of the cinematography was positively mind boggling. If you look at some of my other reviews, I am often tearing films apart. Most of the stuff that comes out of Hollywood these days leave me cold and unsatisfied. However, this film was written and shot for adults. I do not think the current crop of kids, that is fueling the boom in nonsensical action films, and comic reboots would get this film at all. Way, way too refined. Too much character development. Not enough action for the kiddies.There are some great scenes of the writers on Kietel's film, where they are brainstorming the script of the film they are writing. It is a wonderful irony, as the script of this film is a thing of beauty. This film centers around the characters of Michael Caine, and Harvey Kietel. Both very successful men. Caine a retired composer, and Kietel a movie director, nearing the end of his career. Wryly observing them closely, and striking up a friendship with Fred, is a movie star played by Paul Dano. The younger man is debating whether to escape his burdensome identification with a robot character in a sci-fi franchise with a drastic change of pace by playing Adolf Hitler in a movie. There is a wonderful scene where Miss Universe shows up and pays her respect to the Dano character. The dialogue is not at all what one would expect. Then Fred gets a visit from his disaffected daughter and personal assistant (Rachel Weisz). She's here to announce that her husband, Mick's feckless son (Ed Stoppard), has just dumped her for real-life rock star Paloma Faith, playing a parody of herself that stars like Mylie Cyrus, Brittany Spears, and many others would never be capable of. As in Sorrentino's 2013 foreign-language Oscar winner "The Great Beauty," the plot is less important than the characters and the opulent settings, which are populated with eccentric, magical characters in the background. This is a movie for adults. And this movie is a masterpiece. A simply stunning bit of filmmaking. Watch it with patience. Watch it with adoration. Watch it with respect. Watch it and yearn for the days when films of this caliber were more common.