MEGALOPOLIS: What's It All About, Francis?

"Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly."
--Leo Tolstoy

When someone spends more than $140 million of their own cash to create a film they had been noodling for more than a quarter of a century, it stirs one's curiosity. When that person is Francis Ford Coppola, who created the Godfather films--according to many critics two of the greatest movies in film history--one can't be blamed for having expectations raised.

So what happened?

Many reviewers--professional film critics and the public-at-large--describe the final result as a trainwreck. Here's one from imdb.com: "Megalopolis is a mess brimming with ambition but utterly devoid of direction and cohesion. It isn't just agonizing, it is an excruciating test of patience. At best, it's mind-numbing, at worst, a total trainwreck I painfully endured."

The project has certainly generated buzz, though not for all the reasons a director would like. Even so,  there are some who give the film a 10/10. So, when NPR was dissecting it last week I made a mental decision to see it and decide for myself.

Whereas on one level the film appears tone "a confusing mess" as others have declared, there is clarity about certain recurring themes including the echoes of Rome, bread and circuses and the overarching decadence, a central theme in the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, underscored in several of his books including The Birth of Tragedy, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, The Genealogy of Morals, and The Twilight of the Idols. For Nietzsche, decadence was not merely about cultural decline but also about the decline of life’s vitality and strength, which he sees as manifesting in various aspects of society, morality, and even the individual spirit. Is this what Coppola was getting at to some degree?

From the very start of the film we see manifestations of a decadent culture. Underneath, however, we also see serious issues being discussed. "When does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no... But there comes a time when its people no longer believe in it." (Fundi Romaine)

and

"Mr. Catalina, you said that as we jump into the future, we should do so unafraid. But what if when we do jump into the future there is something to be afraid of?" (journalist)

* * * 

One reviewer asks: "But still, since decadence is one of our great problems, is it something admirable to see it dramatized and critiqued so explicitly, however cumbersome the writing and bizarre the plot mechanics are?" 

And finally, the inability of all this to cohere fully — the fact that Catilina’s vision of urban utopia looks a bit like what you’d get from plugging prompts into an artificial intelligence image generator, the fact that Coppola intuited his way to a story that’s genuinely timely and shot through with complex political resonances but then just couldn’t quite make it work as cinematic art — well, that itself is a signifier of our times.

Besides, in all honesty, how many movies do we really need highlighting our pervasive decadence? It's almost a Hollywood passion. 

* * *

Despite the gauntlet of negative reviews, there are some standouts bucking the herd. Here is one of the positive reviews from imdb.com plus two more that shed light on the final product.

Francis Ford Coppola is the master!

hoomanzenouz19 August 2024

I was absolutely captivated by Megalopolis. Contrary to the mixed reviews it has been receiving, I found this film to be a monumental achievement, deserving of nothing less than a 10/10. The critics are wrong, this movie is an audacious blend of visionary storytelling and breathtaking visual design that left me in awe.

A Glorious Trainwreck

cutie725 September 2024

Full disclosure: This film is a disaster of epic proportions-an absolute train wreck that careens off the tracks, crashes, and then somehow sets itself on fire. It's so bad, it's almost brilliant, the kind of so-awful-it's-genius nightmare that future cult fans will rave about. And you know what? I respect the hell out of Coppola for it. The guy is a cinematic legend who just decided to throw all caution (and coherence) to the wind and go full mad scientist on this. It's a glorious, unfiltered mess from the mind of a genius who clearly stopped caring about what anyone thinks. Bravo, you magnificent lunatic! 👏🏻

An aged and nonsensical interpretation of modernism

I really admire the story and purpose but the interpretation of the younger generation was almost unbearable that I had to laugh. The acting is done very well but at the behest of a pathless plot and lack of an environment. Some scenes were simply bizarre; actors walking to different parts of the room for no reason as if I was watching a Cirque Du Soleil show without the art house beauty, the gaudy and exaggerated portrayal of the wealthy as if they are dumb pigs and just the overall delivery of direction was strange and not fun to watch. I really feel like Coppola had no one to tell him; "Hey that's stupid."  

* * *

For me the use of Roman-era names--Cesar, Cicero, Crassus--came across as silly. I also had a hard time with how the narrator was inserted here and there to stitch the narrative together. I know that it's a technique that is sometimes effective, as in Shawshank Redemption. In this instance, it didn't work for me.

Don't take my word for it. Draw your own conclusions. I never fully grasped the storyline, but there are clues that there's something more here, even if it is only illusory.  

PostScript: After seeing Adam Driver last year in Ferrari and as the lead in Megalopolis, I am impressed with his diversity. 

PS2: I would be most curious to hear what all these actors felt and thought about working on this film, and what they learned.

Throwback Thursday: An Early Formative Experience

“Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things… I am tempted to think there are no little things.” ~Bruce Barton 

I read once that Francis Ford Coppola had an illness when he was a teen that kept him in his bedroom for a year. To keep himself from going crazy at what he couldn’t do, he used to create puppets or characters and stage plays in his room. No doubt this staging and directing on a small scale contributed to his achievements in Hollywood, which included hits like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.

On a smaller scale I had a bout with pneumonia in seventh grade which contributed in no small way to making me who I am. There were five weeks left in seventh grade when I learned that I had pneumonia and that I would have to stay home and rest. Frankly, I did not feel ill. It was a form of walking pneumonia, so I didn't have a strong incentive to stay housebound. When my mother came home from work she'd find me continually in the woods behind our house or doing things in the yard when I was supposed to be "at rest." The doctor explained that it appeared the only way to keep me inactive, short of shackles, was to hospitalize me. 

After five days in the Somerset Hospital I was released back to the custody of my parents, whereupon I was constantly reminded that if I did not rest and stay in the house I would be back in the hospital. 

 

Evidently my parents recognized that I needed something to keep me busy, and they bought me a paint-by-numbers set. The set had two paintings of a pair of Springer spaniels, along with all the appropriate paraphernalia to make them. A card table was set up in the family room and I allowed myself to become mesmerized by what was involved in creating these paintings, which ultimately hung on the wall of that room for several years. 

You may scoff at paint-by-numbers art, but the whole procedure is quite instructive. First off, you come to understand that what you see up close and from a suitable distance is different. You learn attention to detail, and you learn patience. If nothing else, you learn how to control a brush, how paint adheres to a surface, how appearances are deceiving, and maybe how long it takes to get bored with an activity that is tedious and time consuming. Some people may not have the patience, though frankly, the process of putting paint on a surface still fascinates me to this day and I can’t imagine ever getting bored with it. 

After my bout with pneumonia I did not immediately become an artist. Baseball was my passion at that time. Later in high school, while feeling introspective and somewhat alienated, I returned to my art, inspired by album covers and the works of Hieronymus Bosch. 

In college I continued my pursuit of an art major and this, combined with my habit of writing about anything and everything I was associated with, led to a career in advertising. It only follows that my blog would be representative of these same twin passions, writing and art. The B&W image at the top is that first paint by numbers picture from the weeks I rested and recovered from my pneumonia. The face below is an early drawing from high school.

Can you recall an early formative experience that contributed, in unexpected ways, to who you are today?

A Space in Time with Film Artist Jacob Swanson

I think cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who made film were magicians. –Francis Ford Coppola

In recent years I’ve become aware of the benefits and power of collaboration. Most writers and artists work in isolation. On the other hand, filmmakers are fully aware of the dynamics of a team production. Jacob Swanson’s collaborative works have involved an interesting cross-section of local actors and artists, and have begun catching the attention of a widening audience.

EN: Your dad was an art teacher. How did that play out in your home when you were growing up?
Jacob Swanson: Growing up I would watch my dad dress up as different characters before teaching his elementary art class (I didn't go to the school he taught in). The characters that come to mind are Dr. Yrag Nosnaws (gary swanson backwords), Quick Draw Mcgraw and Superman. These corresponded with lessons about printmaking, free drawing and primary colors. I think he mostly had an effect that made art a fun activity to take part in rather than a mystical thing that was only open to certain people. My mother was also a choir teacher which also helped art and music to be something I've always been participating in.

EN: What do you do for a living? How do you balance art and life?
JS: Right now I'm a filmmaker and freelance videographer by trade. I've recently started doing commercial work with Walter Raschick (Walt Dizzo) under the name Lakefront Films and we focus on doing creative, professional and cost effective videos. So far our niche has been doing video for live music performances. We've worked with artists such as David Bazan, Low, The Murder of Crows and Southwire. For my personal art, I've gotten grants from the Jerome Foundation and Minnesota Arts Board to make my first feature film "Walk Amongst the Living" which is currently in production. Balancing art and life has been a struggle for me, especially when I had a full time job and that dilemma is actually what provided the inspiration for my feature. It's about our devotion to institutions in our lives vs. our desire and need to live for ourselves. Living in Minnesota has actually greatly diminished this dilemma for me because of the great grant opportunities available.

EN: You've been working in film quite a bit. What is it you find so fascinating about film?

JS: The thing I find most fascinating about film is the manipulation of time, space and reality. When you're holding a camera, you are using reality to create your art. You're in a real space, with real people/objects to tell your story. It's up to you to decide how to you want to capture this reality and make it tell the story you want. It's an incredibly familiar and popular medium to the general population and can be viewed very naturally. As a filmmaker you get to choose how you display your own personal manipulation of reality to an audience and your audience gets to choose how they interpret that reality. My films and video installations tend use surreal environments, single characters and loose metaphors. This allows for drastically different interpretations from an audience and I always enjoy finding out what people take away from my work.

EN: Who are the film makers you’ve drawn your inspiration from?
JS: The most obvious influences on my work are David Lynch and Guy Maddin, who are also two of my favorite filmmakers. My first college short that I made, people asked me "how much David Lynch do you watch?" and at the time I didn't even know who David Lynch was. So I feel that much of my natural aesthetic leans in that direction to begin with, and of course now I've seen plenty Lynch and don't mind the reference (though I would never compare myself with him.)

EN: Can you talk about the feature you’re working on? What’s the genre? Is this also an “art” project or something designated for theaters? Where will you be distributing the completed project?
JS: The feature that I'm working on is called "Walk Amongst the Living". It's my first feature film and is currently in production. It is designed for theaters but I'm hoping to blend live performance at select screenings. It's a (mostly) silent film and I've been referring to it as an Experimental Narrative. It's about a woman who feels trapped by all of the institutions that affect her life. Early in the film she dies and has the opportunity to walk through and observe aspects of her life and these institutions.

EN: What are some of the risks involved in film making? 
JS: The biggest risk, as I see it, is that you can't make films alone (of course there are exceptions where you can.) It's a long process and keeping everybody and yourself motivated and on the same page is a hard task.

Most of this interview originally appeared in The Reader.

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