IFF: Youth

Synopsis

Michael Caine is Fred Ballinger, a retired composer, who joins his film director friend Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) in a Swiss Alpine Spa. Their friendship is touching and hilariously drawn as they discuss love, life, art and their increasingly less active prostates.

An emissary from Buckingham Palace arrives to invite Fred to perform for the Queen, but he refuses.

Director Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) is known for his technical sophistication, and here, every frame is composed with a visual and musical sensibility that elevates him to the very elite of contemporary cinema. It is executed with philosophy, humour, and exquisite craft – a treat for those seeking an English-language film at the Italian Festival.