Customer Reviews

Youth Without Youth

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beautiful as poetry. This is the original soundtrack of the latest and most defining film of Francis Ford Coppola, Award-winning Director of the "Godfather" fame. Written, produced and directed by Coppola, this is his first feature film in almost ten years. The film which is based on Mircea Eliade's novella, sets in the pre World War II era and tells the story of an ageing professor coming to the end of the line, whose mysterious regeneration and rejuvenation make him a target for hunting down by the Nazis. This fine production is a thriller, love story and Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu)'s philosophy of "Butterfly Dream"- the dream-like nature of reality - all wrapped into one.

The richness of music as the story moves through different countries and cultures from Romania, Switzerland, Malta to India comes through as hauntingly beautiful and nostalgic. The outstanding score which is composed by Osvaldo Golijov and recorded in Bucharest by the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra and conducted by Radu Popa, creates the perfect mood for an exquisite film which is second to none. Don't miss it!

An absolutely beautiful score. It feels as if it were composed in another time. Haunting, melancholic and at times, other-worldly, this score is a must for anyone looking to experience something both refreshingly new and classically beautiful. Highly recommended for the film score enthusiast or as a gift for anyone with an appreciation for music.

When I heard that a story by Mircea Eliade (whose work on religion once influenced me decisively: see my rather-too-gushing review of Patterns in Comparative Religion) was being made into a movie by Francis Ford Coppola (whose work I consider generally underrated, despite his fame; for instance, his "Bram Stoker's Dracula" taught me almost everything I needed to know about intertextuality) with a soundtrack by Osvaldo Golijov, well, my money was all but spent.

The film was ok. The soundtrack is very good.

Golijov became known to me, fortunately, through The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, which, frankly, I have come to love. To me, it far outshines his evidently more famous work, such as Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar. And the Kronos Quartet have never played a finer piece of music, though I have plenty of respect for the likes of Gorecki and Glass.

Different kinds of music - I suppose this should be obvious - have different ends and means. In my opinion, the first duty of a soundtrack is to create moods. Still, there is plenty of room for creativity. The music need not reduce itself to something that Richard Strauss would've been ashamed of. And Golijov, I believe, has not done so. Some tracks, especially "Dominic's Nightmare," are rather interesting rhythmically, and there are some interesting harmonies throughout. That said, this won't rewrite the history of contemporary music, but it is worth listening to closely, especially if you are the kind of "romantic listener" who cares far more about the feeling of music than its forms.

I will continue to follow Golijov's work with enthusiasm, and I see that the most recent recording of his work is another soundtrack: Tetro, which I haven't heard. I understand that he's got to make a living; however, I hope he returns to absolute music, and in particular to explorations based on traditional/folk musical forms such as tango and klezmer, for I feel that is his true genius, Ainadamar's success notwithstanding.

As a Golijov fan, I'm very happy to own and repeatedly hear this music, and I think anyone interested in soundtracks, or music typical of the ECM or Nonesuch albums, or even new-age music, would be. But if you're new to Golijov I'd steer you toward Dreams and Prayers, or perhaps Osvaldo Golijov: Ayre, which includes some very approachable work by the much-neglected Berio.

I was blown away by the originality and versatility of this soundtrack. Composer Osvaldo Golijov's score highlights this unusual, beautifully directed and photographed film. I don't think I've heard anything so dynamic in a long time. It's one of those soundtracks that gets better and more appreciated with each hearing. I hope Golijov will be writing for more movies in the future. I look forward to it. We are fortunate to have him on the scene.

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH is one of the most creative and genuinely intelligent and beautiful films to be released in some time. It is a mesmerizing, quasi-hallucinatory exploration of the fine book by the Romanian writer Mircea Eliade. The musical score is by the great contemporary composer Osvaldo Golijov who has taken every element of Romania mysticism and culture and translated them into a miraculous musical brocade. The tone of the film is operatic and with the majority of the cast drawn from some of Romania's finest actors, the quality of performances is uniformly outstanding. But it is the indelible impact of Osvaldo Golijov's score that binds this little treasure of a film together. This is a soundtrack very much worth owning. Grady Harp, April 10

This is a proto-Mahler 10th adapted into a picture. And that is no complaining! The rest are mere interludes that will make more sense to whoever watched the movie. All in all, worth it. Mazel Tov, Osvaldo.

I enjoyed the soundtrack to this movie more than the movie itself. A gorgeous album, filled with haunting and exotic themes. I like the cimbalom (hammered dulcimer) in particular - it gives the score a unique feel. It appears on the tracks "Youth without Youth", "Malta", "Farewell", and others. Lush and memorable.