Francis Ford Coppola returns to directing for the first time since 1997's The Rainmaker with this romantic thriller about an elderly professor (Tim Roth) mysteriously rendered young again. ''Like Vertigo, it's a love story wrapped in a mystery,'' says the director. ''It's about life and how we see time and consciousness.'' With Youth, the five-time Oscar winner is hoping to reinvent himself as a gritty indie filmmaker. ''I'm announcing a new phase where I make more personal films,'' says Coppola, who financed Youth with his winemaking fortune.

You Might Also Like

• Movie Review Youth Without Youth (Dec 14, 2007) | Owen Gleiberman
• Movie Commentary Why wait when we can grade the teasers? (Dec 25, 2007) | Marc Bernardin
• Photo Gallery 11 influential Sundance movies | Christine Spines
• All About Planet of the Apes
• Movie News A Coppola family tree | Adam Markovitz
• Movie News The return of Francis Ford Coppola | Christine Spines