Ever since it was announced that Megalópolis, the new work of Francis Ford Coppola, would compete at the Cannes Film Festival, anticipation was high. But once the prestigious competition started, accompanied by a resurgence of the
The festival directed by Thierry Frémaux has been criticized by critics that not even the journalists – whom Coppola has asked to be called only Francis – wanted to question at the crowded but short press conference held yesterday with the smiling director accompanied by two of his granddaughters, his son Roman and his proud cast of actors and actresses, led by Adam Driver and Giancarlo Esposito. Absolute respect for the master, who has dedicated the film to his wife and documentary maker Eleanor, who died on April 12.
There were a lot of raised hands waiting for their turn, but the questions focused only on his ambitious and baffling film, which has indeed floundered. And in Titanic tone. We will see what the jury of the official section thinks.
It seems that the atmosphere of chaos described by some of the anonymous members of the team has had an effect on the result of an excessive, crazy and overloaded work. At times, vulgar. Nothing to do with the genius of other times. A dream project in which he has invested four decades and 120 million of his own pocket, partly thanks to the sale of his own vineyards because no Hollywood studio was up for the job. little joke That with Apocalypse now he gambled away his savings and it turned out well – including the second Palme d’Or – but with Història d’amor the blow was tremendous. Everything indicates that the same will happen with this story that reflects on the passage of time and the need to achieve a better world through the portrait of a United States that is disintegrating in the style of ancient Rome. And this despite the ten minutes of ovation that the 85-year-old filmmaker received after the gala screening at the Grand Theater Lumière, where, visibly moved, he insisted on “the importance of the most beautiful word in any language: hope”. Very few call it a brilliant work. The vast majority consider it “nonsense”. At the press screening, there were boos and tepid applause.
The truth is that we are dealing with an unconventional and unclassifiable work that presents itself as a fable in which the most outlandish characters swarm. Some think they are reciting Shakespeare and others directly camouflage themselves under the guise of a populist politician, like the one played by a power-hungry Shia Labeouf. “The tendency in today’s world is to go towards a neo-right, even fascist, and that is something that is scary. Therefore, the role of the artist is to illuminate contemporary life, to shed light on what is happening in the world”, Coppola said yesterday in the press room, where he arrived late and supported by a cane.
Through the classic text La conjuració de Catilina, by Gaius Sallust, the first historical monograph of Latin literature, the director traces a dialogue between ancient Rome and the present, set in a New York that calls itself New Rome and where corruption reigns, bacchanals and even gladiators. The story begins right with an Adam Driver who works magic and stops time from the top of the Chrysler building. The actor plays César Catilina, a visionary architect – he functions as the director’s alter ego – who wants to build a city model based on the common good in order to avoid social collapse in a world in absolute decay, a utopia which collides with the political and economic interests of Mayor Cicero (Esposito).
Although the original idea began to develop during the chaotic filming of Apocalypse now, Coppola confesses that “I didn’t know that today’s politics would make it so relevant”. What is clear to him is that “I have always done what I wanted” and that “I have never cared about risking my money, I only care about my friends, who never leave you alone”. Total, what does having or not having 120 million dollars in the account do? Despite his advanced age, he is already thinking of new stories and predicts that “in twenty years I will be here”. If it is with another proposal like this, it will be worth more than not, Francis.
