Here’s the sad thing about Hollywood: Just because you’re a genius doesn’t mean you get work. Even if you’ve made a masterpiece, you still have to prove that your next project will find an audience, otherwise investors will balk. Two exceptions I can think of: Woody Allen, who’s too prolific, and Stanley Kubrick, who died too young and wasn’t nearly prolific enough. For everyone else, it’s a struggle.
This is especially true of Francis Ford Coppola. He’s only one of the greatest directors of the last 40 years, maker of American classics like The Conversation, The Godfather I and II, Apocalypse Now and The Outsiders. Nevertheless, he’s spent much of the last decade trying to get his dream project off the ground, going to pitch meetings with hat in hand and coming away empty. A science-fiction magnum opus called Megalopolis, this film looked to be the final statement on globalization. Tragically, Coppola was forced to abandon the project, and it’ll probably go down as one of the great unmade films, like Kubrick’s Napoleon.
In recent years, Coppola has returned to smaller, more personal projects, self-financed by his winemaking fortune. The first was 2007’s Youth Without Youth. It was mostly dismissed by critics; personally, I thought it was visually impressive but a narrative muddle. Still, some European critics liked it, and certain images (particularly a beautiful shot of Tim Roth being struck by lightning) have stayed with me. I’m eager to see it again.
Now comes the release of Tetro, the second film in this bold new phase of Coppola’s career. It’s about a family of artists living in Argentina. Reviews so far have been mixed, but some critics who I really respect, like Nathan Lee of Film Comment and Aaron Hillis of The Village Voice, have said it’s the best thing he’s done in decades. I’m starting to get really excited about it.
It’s great to see Coppola, at 70, still pursing his artistic vision. Frankly, I’d written this director off after Jack. But he seems to have bounced back, and the cinema is a more exciting place because of it.
Tetro will start a limited theatrical engagement on June 11.
