Francis Ford Coppola. Director of The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now and many more legendary films, has brought his passion project which has been in the works for over 40 years and has cost him a personal cost of 120 million dollars.
On May 17 this year, Megalopolis premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to polarising reviews. Coppola's self-funded ‘masterpiece’ has been the subject of many talks in the movie world. A filmmaker defying all the odds, taking the financial burden and also at the age of 85, fighting battles that most directors in his position normally wouldn't have to.
In the press conference held at the Cannes Film Festival, the animated and cheerful Coppola described with gusto the process of making his beloved Megalopolis. Joined by an amazing turnout from his cast, the legendary director was flanked by actors like Adam Driver, Natalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Lawrence Fishburne and even members of his own family.
In his press conference, Coppola alluded to the many political viewpoints he expresses in his film. The way in which these viewpoints shape the film and how they affect the actions of the characters in the film. Megalopolis is a science fiction film that follows an architect (Adam Driver) who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster.
The post-apocalyptic themes lay the groundwork for a clean slate to remake one of the most famous cities in the world into this so-called ‘utopia’.
Reviews of this film have landed its Rotten Tomatoes score at a firm 50%. Audiences will soon get to see this film that has critics unable to agree with one another. It seems to me that perspective and patience might be the key to understanding and appreciating Megalopolis.
Similarly, there have been conversations in the same vein about Kevin Costner's Horizon: A American Saga which has been a passion project for him as well. It seems to be a very particular outlook that perhaps either critics or filmmakers are responsible for.
At his age, Francis Ford Coppola has nothing to prove, but seems to be living his artistic dreams and expressing his views on the direction of humanity as a society with his film. These views are speculative at best but based on the available information, interviews and comments Megalopolis will be a film that will challenge the status quo.
Mohnish Rajakumaran is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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