Without coherence, 'Youth Without Youth' baffles, irritates

Shame on me for not indulging myself in the works of Francis Ford Coppola, a director of many American touchstones in movies ("The Godfather" or "Apocalypse Now," anyone?), but his first film in 10 years doesn't help his case for any sort of prestigious reputation.

In fact, it reduces it to a level of astonishment that ceases the mind to remember what of his many works were once considered good, or even great.

I can say with confidence that this story of a man who plays with the logics of aging and the inevitability of death is still confusing hours after I've seen it, still as interpretable as a piece of sludge on the side of the road and still removed from even an inkling of feeling.

When 70 year-old linguistics professor Dominic Matte (Tim Roth) crosses the road on a rainy afternoon in spring 1938, he is abruptly struck by lightning, burning his skin, frying his optical nerves and removing his ability to speak. But Dominic does not die.

No, he is wrapped up like a mummy in medical cloth and examined by doctor after doctor, puzzling over the miracle of his survival.

As the days go by, more bandages are removed to show not the decay of his body, but of the re-growth of it. Dominic is producing new layers of skin, having new sets of teeth come in and begins to grow locks of light brown, not white, hair. In ten weeks, he doesn't look a day over 40. Now this is curious, isn't?

You can wonder while watching all of this happen what the catch is and why these superhuman things are so but that would be the equivalent of waiting for the sun to burn out.

As expected, Matte begins to get attention from scientists, professors and namely the Nazi's, who want to use him as a guinea pig in attempt to replicate his strange ordeal on others with a million volts of electricity.

I want to put an asterisk here for a moment to ask a question fully centered in reality, a word that could never be associated with this film, ever.

When you are shocked with electricity at a fatal voltage, you die. Disregarding Dominic Matte and taking the theory these Nazi's are using into account, how can raising the voltage on a person cause them to not only live, but grow younger? Would they not die faster? It simply makes no sense.

The dumbfounding doesn't end there.

Actually, it doesn't end, period. Dominic begins to get a dual personality and by using an opposing perspective, Coppola places the camera at angles to the side, behind and in front of the real Dominic, while inserting a new, albeit more villainous version of him.

Again, please do not think outside of the box on this. Matte changes his name a few times and begins to travel to get away from the attention of the press.

He stumbles upon a woman, Veronica (Alexandra Maria Lara), while hiking who bears a striking resemblance to a girl he once loved when he was in his late 20's.

Another lightning strike later, she is found in a cave in the woods with a terrible case of amnesia.

How she isn't burnt to a crisp, we'll never know. This must be another one of Coppola's tricks that shoot sense to sunshine.

The two fall in love and after all that has happened in "Youth Without Youth," it is to no surprise that the woman is actually aging faster when she is around Dominic.

Somehow she gets a dual personality as well, except this alternative person is within her, an ancient goddess who can speak Egyptian, Babylonian and languages that go back further than history itself.

This woman, Rupini, only comes out at night. So there you have it. Coppola has gone from focusing on Dominic's run in with God to hanging some sort of nocturnal love story on a string to see if it holds.

I haven't the slightest idea what this movie was going for or why it was made but if there is a reason, it's due to self-indulgence on Coppola's part.

The director may have latched onto the short story from which the movie is based, made a personal connection and decided to run with it.

That's fine. Just make sure it's a good story beforehand.

Greg O'Neil is a freshman majoring in journalism. His views do not necessarily reflect those of The Equinox.