Tetro (2009)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writer:

Francis Ford Coppola (written by)

Release Date:

26 June 2009 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Every Family Has a Secret

Plot:

Bennie travels to Buenos Aires to find his long-missing older brother, a once-promising writer who is now a remnant of his former self. Bennie's discovery of his brother's near-finished play might hold the answer to understanding their shared past and renewing their bond.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Play | Conductor | Success | Hit By Car

Cast

Vincent Gallo	...	Tetro
Maribel Verdú	...	Miranda
Alden Ehrenreich	...	Bennie
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Carlo
Carmen Maura	...	Alone
Rodrigo De la Serna	...	Jose
Leticia Brédice	...	Josefina
Mike Amigorena	...	Abelardo
Sofía Castiglione	...	Maria Luisa
Francesca De Sapio	...	Amalia
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adriana Mastrángelo	...	Angela
Silvia Pérez	...	Silvana
Erica Rivas	...	Ana

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA | Italy | Spain | Argentina

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:R (certificate #45641) | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Argentina

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Originally, the tutor Alone was going to be played by Javier Bardem, but upon revising the script Francis Ford Coppola decided the relationship between Alone and Tetro would be more appealing if it was between a man and a woman, so Alone became a woman played by Carmen Maura.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Josefina: JOSE!
[throws Jose's violin on the road, where it gets crushed by a car]
Jose: NOOOO!
Tetro: Those two love each other very much.
Bennie: That's love?

Movie Connections:

References The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)

Francis Ford Coppola in Buenos Aires

Thousand of miles away from Hollywood, the great Francis Coppola confronts something personal as a human being as well as a filmmaker. The story a young man looking for his older brother under the crippling shadow of a famous father. Hummm. Compelling, absorbing, mesmerizing at times. The younger brother is played with real magic by newcomer Alden Ehrenreich but for some inexplicable reason the older brother and title role is played by Vincent Gallo. He's an interesting guy but not at all the pivot that, clearly, the part required. I needed to feel things that Gallo didn't provide. He's just weird and even in the enormous emotional scenes (like the final one) he's not really there. I wonder why Coppola made this bizarre casting decision. The rest of the cast is fabulous and Buenos Aires breaths a life of its own even if, it didn't feel like Buenos Aires - I know that city pretty well - it looked at times like a border town in Mexico. Buenos Aires has an old fashion, seductive kind of elegance nowhere to be found here. I'm sure there is reason for it and I hope to discover it in my next viewing because this is a film I know I'll see many, many times. Another thing the cheer about, a strange and haunting score (it reminded me of "Apartment Zero" in more ways than one) and a sensational black and white Cinemascope screen. To be seen!