TETRO.

Francis Ford Coppola flexes his muscles and reminds folk who's boss.

I saw this the other night for MIFF. It was stunning. An aesthetically breathtaking black and white epic with splashes of surreal ballet sequences in the mode of Michael Powell's The Red Shoes, drenched in colour. Vincent Gallo's performance was undeniable as was young gun Alden Ehrenreich who plays the protaginist, Bennie. It deals with fathers, sons, blood ties and artistic accomplishment yet for all of its plot, depends on characters in service of their emotional turmoil to really bring it home. Frustrating and fitfully compelling, Tetro may not be a return to former glories, but this is Coppola through and through, an over-ambitious effort about thwarted ambition, full of ideas and passion, and smitten with cinema. Do yourself a favour.