What Are The Best Quotes From Youth Paolo Sorrentino Film?

There are moments in 'Youth' that feel less like lines and more like small prayers or postcards sent back from some very fancy, melancholic part of life. I love sitting with a cup of bad coffee and rewinding to Fred and Mick’s conversations — the film layers memory, regret, and a sly kind of wisdom. Translations vary, so these are commonly quoted English renderings and a little context from the scenes that made me laugh, wince, or want to call someone I haven’t spoken to in years.

• 'We must stay young until we die.' (Fred) — Simple and stubborn. The way Michael Caine delivers it makes it feel less like denial and more like a commitment. I often whisper this to myself when I catch the urge to stop trying something new.

• 'Life is something you never get used to.' (Mick) — A rueful observation, half bitter, half affectionate toward the mess of living. It’s the kind of line that sits in the chest for a while.

• 'You grow up and you realize time has a taste.' (Fred) — Poetic without trying too hard; it’s one of those lines I scribbled in the margins of a notebook after a late-night viewing.

• 'I miss everything that I didn't do.' (Uncertain speaker in the film’s crowds of memory) — That sentiment lodges like a stone; it’s less about specific regrets and more about the broad ache of choices left unrealized.

• 'Beauty is a terrible thing to waste.' (Various tones across the film) — The movie is obsessed with beauty: how to preserve it, how to exploit it, and whether it betrays you.

• 'Someone can have a perfect technique, but be an unbearable human being.' (Mick, on art and artists) — A frank line that lands sharply in conversations about talent versus character.

• 'We talk about life like critics talk about a film—always a step removed.' (Fred) — I love how Sorrentino makes characters aware of their own performativity; it’s meta, tender, and a little cruel.

• 'There are things you never understand until they’ve passed.' (Lorna/Fred exchanges) — Soft, true, and the sort of line that makes you glance at the people around you.

If you want the exact phrasing, hunt down a few different subtitles or a copy in your preferred language — the movie blossoms slightly differently with each translation. For me, it’s the moods between the lines that stick: the laughter at the pompous, the silence at the small losses, and the odd comfort of watching two old friends keep arguing like teenagers. Sometimes I replay a scene just to hear one of these lines again, then pause the film and stare out the window, like it’s a letter I’m not sure I’m ready to answer.

I’m the kind of viewer who rewatches a line until it clicks in a different way, and 'Youth' has several gems that I keep coming back to. Here are my top picks, quick and a bit messy like real conversation:

• 'We must stay young until we die.' — It’s not about denying age so much as refusing to stop caring about life’s little adventures.

• 'Life is something you never get used to.' — That hits me on Monday mornings when the adulting fatigue sets in.

• 'You grow up and you realize time has a taste.' — Poetic, strange, exactly the kind of whisper I like to chew on.

• 'I miss everything that I didn't do.' — A regret that’s oddly universal; I keep this one tucked in the back of my mind whenever I procrastinate.

• 'Someone can have a perfect technique, but be an unbearable human being.' — A great line for arguing with pretentious artists at parties.

The film layers humor and melancholy so well that any of these lines can feel playful in one scene and devastating in the next. If you haven’t watched 'Youth' in a while, try it with subtitles you haven’t used before—sometimes a fresh translation will spotlight a different phrase and you’ll find a new favorite to quote to friends.