Tetro

Francis Ford Coppola is an amazing director. There are few people that can be linked to such magnificent movies as Coppola. The Godfathers, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, and Dracula are just a few of the popular standout pictures he has under his belt. He holds 15 Academy awards and a countless number of nominations. This guys daughter is a legit director. He produced George Lucas’s first 2 films. Respect. Everyone needs to see at least one of these classic Coppola movies start to finish.

While Tetro may not go down as a “classic” it is an interesting movie worth a view. Tetro is the story of a family torn apart. It stars Vincent Gallo (Singer, painter, writer, director, actor…Buffalo 66 and Brown Bunny) as Tetro and the combination of Gallo and Coppola together was enough to get my butt in a seat. The family saga unfolds as Bennie, Tetro’s younger brother arrives in Buenos Aires while the cruise ship he works on gets repaired. Tetro, not himself because of a broken leg is not happy to see his brother.

Bennie is curious about his family and heartbroken by Tetro not returning from his writing sabbatical as promised. Beenie longs to be just like his older brother and finds an outlet to do so. The plot has a fair share of twist and turns and it’s fairly entertaining.

The film is shot in beautiful black and white mostly set in Buenos Aires and Patagonia. The writing and the performances are very theatrical in a way that makes some of the situations a little more believable than if it would have been executed on a more dramatic and realistic stage. 

My vote: There are moments that drag and the black and white will keep a lot of people away but this is Coppola. Take it for what it is and watch a master filmmaker try some new stuff on ya’ll.