Star Scene

By Ian Gibson

Famed film director Francis Ford Coppola (Godfather, Apocalypse Now) visited Lebanon last Wednesday to kick off the 9th edition of the Beirut International Film Festival. Tetro, his latest film, opened the weeklong celebration of cinema. A packed UNESCO Palace greeted Coppola with a standing ovation, eager to see what Coppola called “a truly independent film”.

Tetro centers around the distorted relationship between two Italian brothers reunited in Buenos Aires. Benny (played by Alden Ehrenreich) is an adolescent runaway seeking an influential older brother who disappeared years before. He finds him as Tetro (Vincent Gallo), a failed South American playwright who spurns his family with venomous rage. As the two interact (or at least attempt to), the story of their famous but domineering father emerges as the cause of familial tension.

Shot in black and white with snippets of color, the cinematography of Tetro is subtly haunting. The main characters bicker and quarrel against the various backdrops of the movie, taking time to interact with the odd citizens they encounter. A backstory of deceit and heartbreak is revealed in a drop-at-a-time fashion through excellently crafted dialogue. As the pieces of the plot fall into place, it becomes clear why both Benny and Tetro are disfigured and haunted by their history.
Tetro addresses a big question which is to what extent is an individual defined by their past? Each character finds themselves involved in relationships that constantly recall the memories of their shortcomings. As they each stumble about in a world they are not quite sure how to live in, they attempt to come to terms with how they can progress beyond the failures they constantly lament.
In typical Coppola fashion, character growth comes in the form of imitation. By becoming more like those they are overshadowed by, both brothers learn the difficulties of personal development. Even though the ending of Tetro is a bit hard to swallow, it, at least, leaves the central characters in a better state than in which they began.

Studied in parts, Tetro is an odd mix of old and new filmmaking taken from across the spectrum of genres. Overall, however, it shines as a brilliant study of family relationships and the toll such relationships might take on an individual seeking enlightenment in life.