The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
FIND MOVIES
Find a Movie
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies
BMP-portland-results-09

Review: Tetro

Francis Ford Coppola: still lost in a cinematic jungle
By PETER KEOUGH  |  June 16, 2009
2.5 2.5 Stars


VIDEO: The trailer for Tetro

Francis Ford Coppola made one perfect picture, The Conversation, in 1974. Since Apocalypse Now, though, he seems to have lost his way in the narrative jungle. He's still lost in Tetro, but for a while it's worth watching him try to find his way out.

The eponymous American expatriate (Vincent Gallo) is that dreary stereotype, the blocked writer. In flight from his past, he's living in Buenos Aires with Miranda (Maribel Verdú), a woman highly tolerant of his moodiness.

When Tetro's younger brother, Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich in a terrific debut), drops in unexpectedly, it sets off much brooding about Art and Family and flashbacks to an increasingly complicated and operatic story. Shot mostly in a chiaroscuro black and white, with color interludes for the flashbacks and for surreal ballet sequences in the mode of Michael Powell's The Red Shoes, Tetro rewards the eye. But long before Bennie sets fire to the buffet table in a nutty götterdämmerung, the story boggles the mind.

Related: Review: The Girlfriend Experience, Greetings and salutations, Review: Food, Inc., More more >
  Topics: Reviews , films, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Powell,  More more >
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

ARTICLES BY PETER KEOUGH
Share this entry with Delicious

 See all articles by: PETER KEOUGH

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group