Youth Without Youth
Encyclopedia
Youth Without Youth is a 2007 mystery
fantasy film
written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola
, based on the novella
of the same name by Romania
n author Mircea Eliade
. It was the first film that Coppola had directed in ten years since 1997's The Rainmaker
. It was distributed through Sony Pictures Classics
in the United States on December 14, 2007 and Pathé
in the UK and France
. The music was composed by Grammy Award
-winning Argentina
n classical composer Osvaldo Golijov
. In an interview, Coppola said that he made the film as a meditation on time and on consciousness, which he considers a "changing tapestry of illusion," but he admitted that the film may also be appreciated as a beautiful love story, or as a mystery. The film is a co-production between the United States, Romania, France, Italy, and Germany.
), a 70-year old professor of linguistics. On the eve of World War II
, Dominic attempts to visit the Café Select but is denied access due to wearing his pyjamas. Dominic realises that he is getting no younger, and has essentially failed his aim in life – to fully discover the origin of human language
. His tireless labours have condemned him to a solitary existence, often spent pining after Laura (Alexandra Maria Lara
), the love of his youth. Intent on committing suicide, Dominic travels to Bucharest
, the city where he and Laura met at university. He is struck by lightning. In hospital, he is initially diagnosed by Professor Stanciulescu (Bruno Ganz
) to be dying of his burns. However, Stanciulescu is startled when his patient regenerates into a much younger man. The Professor helps Dominic out of the hospital so as to continue studying him. Shortly afterwards, Romania is occupied by the Nazis, whose interests are aroused by Stanciulescu’s miracle patient.
While residing at the Professor's home, Dominic realises that he possesses strange capacities. He begins to experience multiple planes of reality, blurring his perception of whether he is awake or asleep. He mistakes the “Woman in Room Six” (Alexandra Pirici) for an erotic fantasy – when in reality, she is a Nazi spy. During his nights together with the Woman, Dominic discovers he has an unnatural talent for languages after they communicate effortlessly in French, German, and even Sanskrit
. As his abilities progress, Dominic becomes aware of an “other” self who speaks to him in mirrors and dreams. This alternate persona serves as the voice of his condition, claiming to exist outside of space and time. When Dominic asks for proof, the “other” obliges by bringing him two roses which materialise out of nowhere. Unbeknownst to Dominic, Stanciulescu has witnessed the event and overhears his friend ask himself “Where do you want me to place the third rose?”. This gives the Professor great concern and understanding for the Nazis’ designs upon Dominic. A Third Reich programme led by Doktor Josef Rudolf (André Hennicke
) has recently confiscated his research and is unsuccessfully attempting to duplicate the lightning. Stanciulescu persuades him to escape from Romania, aided by anti-Nazi sympathisers. While on the run, Dominic discovers he now possesses the knowledge to forge passports and conceal his identity. Thanks to the Nazi confiscation of research, Dominic’s existence has essentially been erased from the records. Later, he is saddened to learn that the Professor has died in a plane crash.
Living like a spy, Dominic eventually arrives in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the Woman in Room Six has managed to pick up his trace, leading to a confrontation between Dominic and Doktor Rudolf in an alleyway. The doctor argues that Dominic’s existence supports the Nazis’ ideal of the superman
, and that the coming nuclear warfare
can only be survived by a superior species of man. In the background, the “other” Dominic confirms this to be the case. However, Dominic himself refuses to cooperate, forcing the doctor to pull a gun on him. The Woman is shot defending Dominic, provoking him to telepathically manipulate Rudolf into shooting himself. The war ends but Rudolf’s fears about nuclear armament are realized. Dominic resumes a normal existence, during which he continues his research. Realising that he has been transformed into a human of the future – thus gifting him with knowledge of the fate of mankind – he develops a secret language for his audio diary, to be deciphered by a supercomputer in the year 2010 – long after the nuclear apocalypse
.
Many years later, Dominic encounters a girl named Veronica (Alexandra Maria Lara
) while hiking in the Alps. The “other” reveals her to be the reincarnation of Laura. When the mountains are hit by a violent storm, Dominic rushes to her rescue. He finds her huddled in a cave, chanting in Sanskrit, which he greets her with to gain her trust. During her stay in hospital, Dominic finds that Veronica now identifies herself as “Rupini”, the daughter of a wealthy family in India who were among the first disciples of the Buddha. While the doctors assume she is suffering from amnesia and delusion from the incident, he suspects that she may now be suffering from a condition similar to his own and calls the Roman College of Oriental Studies for aid. Led by Professor Giuseppe Tucci
(Marcel Iures
), the scholars confirm that Rupini was a real person, who went to a cave many centuries ago to meditate on Enlightenment. Since the cave’s location is unknown, the scholars agree to fund an expedition to find the cave in India, hoping that Veronica’s past self will guide them. Dominic volunteers to accompany them under the alias “Martin Audricourt”. The venture proves a success when a local holy man recognises “Rupini” and directs her to the place of meditation. While investigating the cave, Dominic finds the bones of the original Rupini. After this discovery, Veronica becomes herself again and no longer speaks Sanskrit. Some time passes and she begins to fall for Dominic.
The couple elopes to Malta, where they live happily together – until Dominic tells a sleeping Veronica that he has always loved her. This causes Veronica to writhe on the bed as if possessed and begin chanting in a language even he does not understand. The “other” appears to him and explains that she is speaking in ancient Egyptian, having travelled further back along the path of her past selves. Over the next two weeks, Dominic and the “other” learn how to control this state in Veronica, leading her to regress even further back in time and speak languages such as Babylonian and previously unknown tongues. However, Veronica's health begins to decline from exhaustion, and Dominic declares that he cannot continue these sessions – or even being close to Veronica, since his proximity is accelerating her age. The “other” disagrees and urges him to find the Ur-Language, which would complete his life's work. Dominic tearfully explains everything to Veronica and leaves her weeping, begging for him to stay. In 1969, Veronica departs from a train with two children in France. Without being noticed, Dominic takes a snapshot of her and begins to cry when she passes without recognizing him. Despairing, he returns to the town where he taught as a professor. His alter ego appears to him and reveals the truth about the future – nuclear warfare will unleash an electromagnetic pulse, the birth of a new and more powerful human species, of which Dominic is but the first member. Veronica symbolised the dawn of man, and he stood for the dusk. Dominic is outraged at the idea of sacrificing millions of lives in the name of evolution and shatters the mirror. The “other” is completely taken off guard and slowly vanishes, all the while yelling in an unknown language.
The film comes full circle when Dominic returns to the Café Select to clear his thoughts. While there, he encounters all of his old colleagues, who are long dead. As more friends from his past join him and offer warm greetings, Dominic becomes more agitated and begins to age, complaining that this is a dream of a dream of a dream. He mumbles that should he ever solve the problem “that they all have”, he will share the answer with them. Dominic stumbles out of the room and journeys back into the snowy winter night. In the morning, townsfolk find his aged body, lying dead at the bottom of a staircase. They search his passport, but find only the younger alias of “Martin Audricourt”.
In the final scene, Veronica’s voice is heard echoing “Where do you want me to place the third rose?” – the rose appears in Dominic’s lifeless grasp.
gave it high praise, writing, "In this film Mr. Coppola blurs dreams and everyday life and suggests that through visual and narrative experimentation he has begun the search for new ways of making meaning, new holy places for him and for us.". Variety
, however, was "disappointed" by the "mishmash plotting" and "stilted script". Rex Reed
said that it was not a good film, writing, "You know a movie is doomed when the only star in it is Tim Roth. You know it's pretentious when the ads print the logo backward and upside down. Not one word of this bilge makes one lick of sense, and it is two hours and six minutes long. The only way to survive Youth Without Youth is dead drunk. The least Mr. Coppola could do is provide free Cabernet Sauvignon
from his own vineyards. One bottle going in, another bottle staggering out."
The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, based on the novella
Youth Without Youth (novella)
Youth Without Youth is a 1976 novella by Romanian author Mircea Eliade. It follows the life of Dominic Matei, an elderly Romanian intellectual who experiences a cataclysmic event that allows him to live a new life with startling intellectual capacity. In 2007, it was adapted into a film by Francis...
of the same name by Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n author Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
. It was the first film that Coppola had directed in ten years since 1997's The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker (1997 film)
The Rainmaker is a 1997 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon. Coppola wrote the script, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham....
. It was distributed through Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics is an art-house film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in December 1991 that distributes, produces and acquires specialty films from the United States and around the world. Its co-presidents are Michael Barker and Tom Bernard...
in the United States on December 14, 2007 and Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
in the UK and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The music was composed by Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
n classical composer Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov is a Grammy award–winning composer of classical music.-Biography:Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family that had emigrated to Argentina in the 1920s from Romania and Russia.Golijov has developed a rich musical language, the result of...
. In an interview, Coppola said that he made the film as a meditation on time and on consciousness, which he considers a "changing tapestry of illusion," but he admitted that the film may also be appreciated as a beautiful love story, or as a mystery. The film is a co-production between the United States, Romania, France, Italy, and Germany.
Plot
The film opens in 1938, introducing Dominic Matei (Tim RothTim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
), a 70-year old professor of linguistics. On the eve of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Dominic attempts to visit the Café Select but is denied access due to wearing his pyjamas. Dominic realises that he is getting no younger, and has essentially failed his aim in life – to fully discover the origin of human language
Human language
A human language is a language primarily intended for communication among humans. The two major categories of human languages are natural languages and constructed languages...
. His tireless labours have condemned him to a solitary existence, often spent pining after Laura (Alexandra Maria Lara
Alexandra Maria Lara
Alexandra Maria Lara is a Romanian-born German actress. She performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of historical and crime films...
), the love of his youth. Intent on committing suicide, Dominic travels to Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, the city where he and Laura met at university. He is struck by lightning. In hospital, he is initially diagnosed by Professor Stanciulescu (Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz is a Swiss actor, known for his roles as Damiel in Wings of Desire and Adolf Hitler in Downfall.- Early life :Bruno Ganz was born in Zürich to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He had decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university...
) to be dying of his burns. However, Stanciulescu is startled when his patient regenerates into a much younger man. The Professor helps Dominic out of the hospital so as to continue studying him. Shortly afterwards, Romania is occupied by the Nazis, whose interests are aroused by Stanciulescu’s miracle patient.
While residing at the Professor's home, Dominic realises that he possesses strange capacities. He begins to experience multiple planes of reality, blurring his perception of whether he is awake or asleep. He mistakes the “Woman in Room Six” (Alexandra Pirici) for an erotic fantasy – when in reality, she is a Nazi spy. During his nights together with the Woman, Dominic discovers he has an unnatural talent for languages after they communicate effortlessly in French, German, and even Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. As his abilities progress, Dominic becomes aware of an “other” self who speaks to him in mirrors and dreams. This alternate persona serves as the voice of his condition, claiming to exist outside of space and time. When Dominic asks for proof, the “other” obliges by bringing him two roses which materialise out of nowhere. Unbeknownst to Dominic, Stanciulescu has witnessed the event and overhears his friend ask himself “Where do you want me to place the third rose?”. This gives the Professor great concern and understanding for the Nazis’ designs upon Dominic. A Third Reich programme led by Doktor Josef Rudolf (André Hennicke
André Hennicke
André Hennicke is a German actor.Hennicke was born in Johanngeorgenstadt in Saxony. He was awarded a German television award for his work in Toter Mann in 2002...
) has recently confiscated his research and is unsuccessfully attempting to duplicate the lightning. Stanciulescu persuades him to escape from Romania, aided by anti-Nazi sympathisers. While on the run, Dominic discovers he now possesses the knowledge to forge passports and conceal his identity. Thanks to the Nazi confiscation of research, Dominic’s existence has essentially been erased from the records. Later, he is saddened to learn that the Professor has died in a plane crash.
Living like a spy, Dominic eventually arrives in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the Woman in Room Six has managed to pick up his trace, leading to a confrontation between Dominic and Doktor Rudolf in an alleyway. The doctor argues that Dominic’s existence supports the Nazis’ ideal of the superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, and that the coming nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
can only be survived by a superior species of man. In the background, the “other” Dominic confirms this to be the case. However, Dominic himself refuses to cooperate, forcing the doctor to pull a gun on him. The Woman is shot defending Dominic, provoking him to telepathically manipulate Rudolf into shooting himself. The war ends but Rudolf’s fears about nuclear armament are realized. Dominic resumes a normal existence, during which he continues his research. Realising that he has been transformed into a human of the future – thus gifting him with knowledge of the fate of mankind – he develops a secret language for his audio diary, to be deciphered by a supercomputer in the year 2010 – long after the nuclear apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
.
Many years later, Dominic encounters a girl named Veronica (Alexandra Maria Lara
Alexandra Maria Lara
Alexandra Maria Lara is a Romanian-born German actress. She performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of historical and crime films...
) while hiking in the Alps. The “other” reveals her to be the reincarnation of Laura. When the mountains are hit by a violent storm, Dominic rushes to her rescue. He finds her huddled in a cave, chanting in Sanskrit, which he greets her with to gain her trust. During her stay in hospital, Dominic finds that Veronica now identifies herself as “Rupini”, the daughter of a wealthy family in India who were among the first disciples of the Buddha. While the doctors assume she is suffering from amnesia and delusion from the incident, he suspects that she may now be suffering from a condition similar to his own and calls the Roman College of Oriental Studies for aid. Led by Professor Giuseppe Tucci
Giuseppe Tucci
Giuseppe Tucci was an Italian scholar of oriental cultures, specialising in Tibet and history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian Fascism, and he used idealized portrayals of Asian traditions to support Italian ideological campaigns...
(Marcel Iures
Marcel Iures
Marcel Iureş is a Romanian stage and screen actor.Iureş was born 2 August 1951 in Băileşti, Romania and is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and film actors. Iureş entered the Institutul de Arta Teatrala si Cinematografica in Bucharest in 1974 and graduated in 1978...
), the scholars confirm that Rupini was a real person, who went to a cave many centuries ago to meditate on Enlightenment. Since the cave’s location is unknown, the scholars agree to fund an expedition to find the cave in India, hoping that Veronica’s past self will guide them. Dominic volunteers to accompany them under the alias “Martin Audricourt”. The venture proves a success when a local holy man recognises “Rupini” and directs her to the place of meditation. While investigating the cave, Dominic finds the bones of the original Rupini. After this discovery, Veronica becomes herself again and no longer speaks Sanskrit. Some time passes and she begins to fall for Dominic.
The couple elopes to Malta, where they live happily together – until Dominic tells a sleeping Veronica that he has always loved her. This causes Veronica to writhe on the bed as if possessed and begin chanting in a language even he does not understand. The “other” appears to him and explains that she is speaking in ancient Egyptian, having travelled further back along the path of her past selves. Over the next two weeks, Dominic and the “other” learn how to control this state in Veronica, leading her to regress even further back in time and speak languages such as Babylonian and previously unknown tongues. However, Veronica's health begins to decline from exhaustion, and Dominic declares that he cannot continue these sessions – or even being close to Veronica, since his proximity is accelerating her age. The “other” disagrees and urges him to find the Ur-Language, which would complete his life's work. Dominic tearfully explains everything to Veronica and leaves her weeping, begging for him to stay. In 1969, Veronica departs from a train with two children in France. Without being noticed, Dominic takes a snapshot of her and begins to cry when she passes without recognizing him. Despairing, he returns to the town where he taught as a professor. His alter ego appears to him and reveals the truth about the future – nuclear warfare will unleash an electromagnetic pulse, the birth of a new and more powerful human species, of which Dominic is but the first member. Veronica symbolised the dawn of man, and he stood for the dusk. Dominic is outraged at the idea of sacrificing millions of lives in the name of evolution and shatters the mirror. The “other” is completely taken off guard and slowly vanishes, all the while yelling in an unknown language.
The film comes full circle when Dominic returns to the Café Select to clear his thoughts. While there, he encounters all of his old colleagues, who are long dead. As more friends from his past join him and offer warm greetings, Dominic becomes more agitated and begins to age, complaining that this is a dream of a dream of a dream. He mumbles that should he ever solve the problem “that they all have”, he will share the answer with them. Dominic stumbles out of the room and journeys back into the snowy winter night. In the morning, townsfolk find his aged body, lying dead at the bottom of a staircase. They search his passport, but find only the younger alias of “Martin Audricourt”.
In the final scene, Veronica’s voice is heard echoing “Where do you want me to place the third rose?” – the rose appears in Dominic’s lifeless grasp.
Cast
- Tim RothTim RothSimon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
- Dominic Matei - Alexandra Maria LaraAlexandra Maria LaraAlexandra Maria Lara is a Romanian-born German actress. She performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of historical and crime films...
- Laura, Veronica - Bruno GanzBruno GanzBruno Ganz is a Swiss actor, known for his roles as Damiel in Wings of Desire and Adolf Hitler in Downfall.- Early life :Bruno Ganz was born in Zürich to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He had decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university...
- Professor Stanciulescu - André HennickeAndré HennickeAndré Hennicke is a German actor.Hennicke was born in Johanngeorgenstadt in Saxony. He was awarded a German television award for his work in Toter Mann in 2002...
- Josef Rudolf - Marcel IureşMarcel IuresMarcel Iureş is a Romanian stage and screen actor.Iureş was born 2 August 1951 in Băileşti, Romania and is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and film actors. Iureş entered the Institutul de Arta Teatrala si Cinematografica in Bucharest in 1974 and graduated in 1978...
- Professor Giuseppe TucciGiuseppe TucciGiuseppe Tucci was an Italian scholar of oriental cultures, specialising in Tibet and history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian Fascism, and he used idealized portrayals of Asian traditions to support Italian ideological campaigns... - Adrian PinteaAdrian PinteaAdrian Virgil Pintea was a Romanian actor.-Career:Pintea graduated from the Theatrical and Cinematographical Arts Institute in Romania . He appeared in the 2005 Romanian film Femeia visurilor directed by Dan Piţa. Pintea made his last appearance in Francis Ford Coppola's 2007 film Youth Without...
- Pandit - Matt DamonMatt DamonMatthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
(uncredited) - Ted Jones, a reporter for Life magazine - Alexandra Pirici - Woman in Room 6
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from American critics. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave it high praise, writing, "In this film Mr. Coppola blurs dreams and everyday life and suggests that through visual and narrative experimentation he has begun the search for new ways of making meaning, new holy places for him and for us.". Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, however, was "disappointed" by the "mishmash plotting" and "stilted script". Rex Reed
Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.-Life and career:...
said that it was not a good film, writing, "You know a movie is doomed when the only star in it is Tim Roth. You know it's pretentious when the ads print the logo backward and upside down. Not one word of this bilge makes one lick of sense, and it is two hours and six minutes long. The only way to survive Youth Without Youth is dead drunk. The least Mr. Coppola could do is provide free Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
from his own vineyards. One bottle going in, another bottle staggering out."
The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.