If nothing else, Youth Without Youth proves even great directors should know it's better to burn out than to fade away. Aging auteur Francis Ford Coppola's first film in a decade is beautifully shot, but it basically serves as a sad reminder that the only thing worse than an "old man's movie" (that is, one devoid of energy and focus) is a pretentious old man's movie.
Tim Roth stars as a 70-year-old Romanian professor who is struck by lightning and awakens to discover himself mysteriously young and with various strange powers that might just help him complete that magnum opus he's been struggling with for decades. As if the parallels between Roth's character and Coppola weren't already painfully obvious, the director lets his story play out with crushing solemnity and at a glacial pace, draining every ounce of fun inherent in the vaguely sci-fi-ish premise. The movie becomes even more problematic during its second half, when the dialogue becomes even more leaden and the focus shifts to Roth's lover, a woman who seems to be the transmigrated soul of a 14th-century Indian.
It's tempting to call Youth Without Youth Coppola's Little Buddha meets The Man Who Fell to Earth, but that would only make the whole thing sound a lot more interesting or entertaining than it is. The director seems blissfully unaware of how silly and pompous he's being here, and his unintentionally absurd "think piece" winds up feeling like Mel Brooks' big-screen adaptation of a first-year philosophy student's rambling attempt at a thesis. Definitely one of the most ridiculous films ever made by a great filmmaker.
Youth Without Youth (R) Stars Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz and Andre Hennicke. Opens March 17 at Beach Theatre. 1.5 stars
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2008.