Youth Without Youth (2007)

A love story wrapped in a mystery. Set in World War II Europe, a professor is changed by a cataclysmic event and explores the mysteries of life.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Mircea Eliade (novel), Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay)

Stars:

Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tim Roth	...	Dominic Matei
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Veronica / Laura / Rupini
Bruno Ganz	...	Prof. Roman Stanciulescu
André Hennicke	...	Dr. Josef Rudolf
Marcel Iures	...	Prof. Giuseppe Tucci
Alexandra Pirici	...	Woman in Room 6
Adrian Pintea	...	Pandit
Florin Piersic Jr.	...	Dr. Gavrila
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mircea Albulescu	...	Davidoglu
Dan Astileanu	...	Professor (as Dan Astilean)
Cristian Balint	...	Grenzschutz
Dragos Bucur	...	Bartender
Zoltan Butuc	...	Dr. Chirila
Theodor Danetti	...	Dr. Neculache
Andrei Gheorghe	...	Taxi Driver

Storyline

Christmas Eve, 1937, Piatra Neamt, Romania: Dominic Matei, a 70-year-old professor, contemplates suicide. The love of his life is dead, and he remains unable to complete his life's work on the origins of language. On April 24th 1938, Easter Sunday, he takes a train to Bucharest to kill himself, but suddenly he's struck by lightning. After a slow recovery, he miraculously grows younger and gains superhuman powers. WWII breaks out and Romania's fascist dictator Ion Antonescu cooperates with Adolf Hitler. Matei must escape to Switzerland, because Nazi scientists want to use his powers...Some years later, he meets a woman who has her own passage through a lightning storm. Not only does Dominic find love again, but her new abilities hold the key to his research...Coppola's adaptation of Mircea Eliade's surreal novella is a mysterious, romantic, melancholic and humorous journey to the outer limits of space, time and identity. Dreams become reality and reality feels like a dream...

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Plot Keywords:

dream | surrealism | sheer white nightgown | wellesian | romania | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality, nudity and a brief disturbing image

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics [United States]

Country:

USA Romania France Italy Germany

Language:

English Sanskrit German French Italian Russian Romanian Mandarin Latin Armenian

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (Italy)

Also Known As:

L'homme sans âge

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,550, 16 December 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$244,397, 28 February 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Zoetrope, SRG Atelier, Pricel

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (some shots)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Unlike the other characters, Prof. Giuseppe Tucci (played by Marcel Iures) existed in real-life (5 June 1894 - 5 April 1984): He was an Italian scholar of oriental cultures, specializing in Tibet and the history of Buddhism. He was Italy's foremost scholar of the East, with such diverse research interests ranging from ancient Iranian religion to Chinese philosophy. He taught primarily at the University of Rome but was a visiting scholar at institutions throughout Europe and Asia.

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Goofs

The panoramic x ray shown when the teeth of the main character start to change is obviously from a 12 years old person as are clearly visible temporal molars (that are not present in adults) and their adult successors.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dominic: [voice over] Sometimes... I admit to myself that it's possible... I will never be able to finish my life's work. My one and only book. And that in the end... without her... I will be nothing. And I will die alone.
[cries]

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Connections

References The Exorcist (1973)

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Soundtracks

Yo Sin Ti (Me without You)
Composers: Osvaldo Golijov, Arturo Castro
Artists: Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra, Radu Popa
Kalman Balogh, Cimbalom
Kayhan Kalhor, Kamancheh
Michael Ward-Bergemann, Accordion

User Reviews

Searching the eternal youth in Romania

It's been a while since I have written anything for IMDb. "Youth Without Youth" is not only a very personal approach to a barely known novella by Mircea Eliade, but also a homage to Romanian culture and civilization. I felt really good watching a legendary filmmaker like Coppola before the special screening (in Bucharest), walking on the stage and thanking sincerely to the Romanian cast and crew, and in the end, thanking all of us "for Mircea Eliade". I read Eliade's novella some months ago, and I found it difficult and "anti-cinematic", unlike "La tiganci" or other texts of his. "Youth" is, as I saw it, a meditation on time and the relation between human memory and identity. Eliade has been concerned with the theme of "la vita est sueno" (life is dream) for a long time, and his fiction shows it. Coppola also has been preoccupied with time, dreams and memory in his late films like "Peggy Sue", "Dracula" and "Jack". It might seem strange and paradoxical, but beyond the horror clichés and the gory make-ups, one can see lots of formal similarities in "Dracula" and "Youth...". The Italian American director is definitely bound to European Romanticism, and he tried to infuse a lot of new symbols (the mirror, the moon on the bluish night sky, the skull etc) to an already symbol-heavy-loaded narrative. Tim Roth is the ideal choice for the central character (old Dominic Matei that grows young after a lightning stroke). The rest of the numerous cast is composed mainly of Romanian actors, most of which are famous in our country. Iures is known for the international public also, and handles his role elegantly, as usual. Maria Lara is a Romanian-born German actress, playing the role of Dominic Matei's lady friend and lover. The relationship between Dominic and Laura is beautifully developed by Coppola's rewriting of the initial novella. Near the end of the film, there is a moment (shot in Malta) where Dominic decides to break away from Laura, because of the dreadful effects of his supernatural youth on her physical condition. Both actors are impressive in this delicate scene.

This film was, all in all, a pleasant surprise for me. I was expecting a more Hollywood-ish speculative and commercial-oriented style. Anyway, I personally (still) think the D.P. and the photographic department in general was overwhelmed by the magnitude of this project. Coppola should of thought more deeply about his choice, because Mihai Malaimare Jr. (the D.P.) and digital imagery was simply not enough ! It took over 2 years to complete this film anyway, so why didn't he use film instead of digital mediums? Was money really a problem here? Maybe Roth asked for a big fee, I don't know. This film won't be appreciated by a wide audience, because Eliade's literature is very special and restrictive (you need to fancy Romanian folklore and oriental philosophies in order to get into this). In fact, Eliade's novella was clearly inspired (as the main title shows) by one of the most beautiful and profound fairy-tales ever: "Tinerete fara batranete si viata fara de moarte" (hard to translate into English, but it might sound like "Eternal youth and life without death"). Even if you are not Romanian, you should check it out! It will change the way you feel about time and life, the way Eliade changed Coppola from an old mainstream Hollywood director into an arty European film experimenter.