Francis Coppola scared some of us half to death when he said a few weeks ago that the themes in his latest film, Youth Without Youth, are about “time, consciousness and the dream-like basis of reality,” and that “for me it is indeed a return to the ambitions I had for my work in cinema as a student.” The reality is not so terrifying, apparently, given that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American distrib rights for Coppola√ɬ¢√¢‚Äö¬¨√¢‚Äû¬¢s film — his first in ten years.

The press release doesn’t say when SPC will release Youth Without Youth, but I would figure sometime between late September and mid November. If it doesn’t go to Cannes it’ll certainly go to Toronto.

Coppola wrote, directed, and produced Youth Without Youth, adapting the screenplay from a novella by Romanian author Mircea Eliade.

Pic stars Tim Roth “as Dominic Matei, a professor whose life changes after a cataclysmic incident during the dark years prior to World War II. Becoming a fugitive, he is pursued through far-flung locations including Romania, Switzerland, Malta and India. YWY also stars Alexandra Maria Lara (Downfall), Bruno Ganz (Downfall, The American Friend, Nosferatu), Marcel Lures (Peacemaker, Hart’s War) and Alexandra Pirici. The IMDB page says Matt Damon has a small role of some kind.