Review of Tetro (2009) by Tim S — 11 Jan 2013

People would probably consider Francis Ford Coppola's latter-day output of work to be mostly underwhelming, but I beg to differ. Stacked up against his great successes of the past, films like Youth Without Youth and Tetro may seem smaller by comparison, but it's also by design.

He's not a filmmaker out to recapture former glories like many of his friends in the industry (Lucas, Spielberg). He knows he's past his prime, so he decides to tackle smaller subjects, and dare I say, more interesting subjects instead.

Tetro is a good example. Partially biographical in nature, Tetro is akin to The Godfather Part II because of its narrative, with things taking place in the past and the present simultaneously. I like that the previous events are in color, when Tetro's life was different, but it's also difficult to tell whose point of view the film is actually from.

Is it Bennie's and is he reliving past events in his mind, or is it the other way around, and Tetro's life is now monochromatic because of past events? Hard to say. One thing is certain though: this is a great story.

It's told mostly well, despite the enormously-long running time, which feels longer than it actually is. I liked the film and thought it was visually-arresting, as well as gripping storywise. Is it Coppola's best effort? No.

Is it a good, or even great effort? Yes, and that's good enough for me, and I highly recommend you see it.