Youth Without Youth (2007)

Francis Ford Coppola directs this! That too after a hiatus of about 10 years after his court case drama, Rainmaker (1997). And that itself raises expectations! Alas...they all fall down..when this monumental mess of a film unfolds in front of your tired eyes! Set around World War II, precisely the late 30s or early 40s, when an aged professor (precisely aged 70) named Dominic Matei (Tim Roth) who has become rather aloof, trying to finish his "life's work" which is a book based on the origins of human language! He is so lost in his world, but certainly tired, that he visits his favourite bar, the Select Cafe in his Pajamas and slippers on a snowy Christmas eve! Terribly bored of his existence, he decides to end his life in a place where no one knows him, somewhere in Bucharest. But fate has its own plans and Dominic gets struck by a deadly bolt of lightning somewhere in the streets of Bucharest! He miraculously survives this cataclysmic event and seems to have been transformed into a supernatural being who seems to have become younger and healthier...and everyone around him is intrigued about how it could be possible.....including Adolf Hitler! While the concept, based on the novella of the same name by Romanian author Mircea Elia, is extremely interesting, Coppola manages to turn this fantastic premise into a an almost terrible hodge-podge of a motion picture! The first hour is absolutely spellbinding when the story picks up momentum and you readily become interested in the fate of the miraculous Dominic Matei who is being treated by a Doctor, Professor Stanciulescu (Bruno Ganz in an unfairly wasted role). The plot takes some interesting turns in the first hour but things start to go horribly wrong in the next one hour upon the introduction of the supposed reincarnation of Laura (Alexandra Maria Lara), Dominic's ex, as Veronica! Further on, it seemed liked Coppola was missing making movies so much, he decided to blend a really fucked up cocktail of all genres that seemed to have made it big during the decade gone by when he was busy hibernating! So we have a psychological thriller mixed with a supernatural drama mixed with an eternal love story, garnished with a reincarnation angle with a spiritual Indian touch to the story!! He also seems to have seen Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain" in the midst of all this and decided to add a little bit of topping of that to his ambitious canvas! If only he paid a little more attention to the script and kept it more focussed....! Because as far as film-making is concerned, Coppola still has the touch, no doubt about it. Mihai Malaimare Jr.'s cinematography is beautiful...there are some great visual effects and spectacular imagery which surely make you sit up and take notice of what could've been! But the unfortunate silliness of this project in the second half hardly makes you care for all of the decoration! There is some painfully cheesy dialog between the two leads, and some awkwardly enacted scenes, which the actors seem to be clearly embarrassed to perform! Tim Roth does his level best with an immensely memorable performance as Dominic, to save this empty venture from drowning into nothingness, but no such luck! The first one hour and an interesting premise are all that remain of this doomed return to directing for Coppola! Hardcore Coppola fans will still give it a shot...others wouldn't really bother..and shouldn't!