Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘Youth’ Soundtrack Features Sun Kil Moon, Bill Callahan, David Byrne & More

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino knows his contemporary indie music, and even in a movie like “The Great Beauty,” filled with sonorous opera, vocal ensemble, and classical music, he still manages to sneak in some ESG, Damien Jurado, Decoder Ring, and Gui Boratto’s Kompact Records version of “Take My Breath Away.” The director also clearly has affection for classic post-punk influenced music. His 2011 film, “This Must Be the Place” (named after a Talking Heads song), featured Sean Penn in a role that appeared to be a thin disguise for The Cure’s Robert Smith, and its soundtrack featured artists like David Byrne, Will Oldham, Jonsi from Sigur Ros, Iggy Pop, and more. His latest film, “Youth,” which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (read our review here), has its own hip score.

The film features Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, and Paul Dano and centers on two aging friends, a composer and a film director, who grapple with time, mortality,...