A Beautiful Deep Dive Into Our Worldwide Arts + Culture
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A Beautiful Deep Dive Into Our Worldwide Arts + Culture |
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THIS IS NOT A REVIEW. 'MEGALOPOLIS' IS NOT A FILM. A Secret Message to the Artist |
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by Gordy Grundy Adam Driver, the lead actor in Francis Ford Coppola's new project 'Megalopolis,' promises "(The film) is really like nothing you have seen before." He is spot-on. I've never seen anything like it. I saw the filmed project on a medium-sized screen, unfortunately not the IMAX I had hoped for, on which the filmmaker had intended. I bought my ticket on the first day of release. Every cineaste should do so, in order to support a filmmaker on the first weekend; Hollywood judges the box office rather than the film. From the get-go, I was engaged. Idea was heaped upon idea. My hand darted for the pen and notepad I did not carry. Wise words were spoken in English and Latin or carved in stone title cards. Brilliant insights reigned upon me, tossed like birdseed in a park. With all of these references demanding more investigation, my mind raced until it could no longer absorb. I had to focus on the detailed images on the screen; they moved slower. Adam Driver was right. This thing is like nothing I have seen before. The Playlist, a film site which we recommend, titled a February 2022 article, "Francis Ford Coppola Wants Audiences To Watch ‘Megalopolis’ As An Annual New Year’s Event." I chuckled when I read it and shook my head with admiration. The article continued, "He wants to make a film people watch annually, like “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Coppola has been a master showman throughout his entire career. He is a promoter on par with the great Barnum. In the finale of 'Megalopolis,' in the background of a character close-up, on a 'zipper,' the classic Broadway moving news ticker along the side of a building, reads "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls..." In the middle of my screening, I recalled the article quote and thought, "My God, he's serious." And I agree. 'Megalopolis' should be an annual holiday pilgrimage. 'Megalopolis' is not a film. Or a movie. It is a slideshow presentation. An idea is conveyed with an accompanying image. *Ding!* Next slide, please. 'Megalopolis' is a Sunday sermon. It is a condensation of a study, a concerted lifetime of philosophical work, by a very wise man who is rich with human experience. I think 'Megalopolis' is a generous gift from such a man. In the most casual glance at the life and times of Francis Ford Coppola, one will find an inquisitive seeker, a wanderer battled and tested. I highly recommend any book on the man that you might find. 'Megalopolis' is an accumulation of all that he has learned and what he might advise to his loved ones. All crammed into two hours and eighteen minutes. I'd like to chop it up into easily digestible moments. I wish I had a script to reference. My mind was so filled with fascinating values and ideas, my head ached. I let the curious imagery carry me along. No, 'Megalopolis' is not a film or a movie. The free-flowing narrative has little structure or tension. Actors perform admirably and enthusiastically. There is no twenty-minute, continuous shot through a good fellow's kitchen to blabber about. Every grand vista we have seen before. 'Megalopolis' is truly an 'art film,' using the most puerile definition of the concept. An artist made this work. To his satisfaction. Hidden in the art film, Coppola sends a message to every true artist in the world. It is a big, beautiful wink. An unstated acknowledgment. And an encouragement. The Adam Driver character, an architect and innovative fabricator, can stop time. Like Superman's laser beam eyes, the character has a secret power. This character trait is not a plot point, just an aspect, which has confounded and confused many august film critics who expected a third act wrap-up by stopping time and saving the world. All I will say for now, is that every artist knows how to stop time. This art film becomes overwhelming. There are enough ideas to make a dozen mini-series. The film speaks to the value of love, marriage, family, education, endeavor and, and... It speaks literally and succinctly to every aspect of a thoughtful human life. The underlying message that Coppola imparts is 'Study and Think For Yourself.' And how timely that is. Case in point, America is beginning to sober up from a very destructive bamboozle. Three little words, easy to spell, easy to remember, easy to fit on a placard or spray on the wall of a clean small business, have enflamed the unthinking masses. 'Defund The Police' is nothing more than a junior college academic whirligig. Crime and punishment is not a new concept. This agonizing, human conundrum will never have a quick fix or a final solution. And that search for a clarification is thousands of years old. Oh, and it has been well-documented in all that time. The dull witted originators never opened a book. With 'Megalopolis,' Coppola has one word for all of us: Study! 'Megalopolis' is not political. If anything, it asks us to be very wary of the collective. His second message is to 'Think For Yourself.' Thank you, Francis, for your art film. _________________________ GORDY GRUNDY is an arts writer, columnist and Editor-in-Chief of Art Report Today and Formerly Known As Cinema
POSTSCRIPT: Coppola ends his art film with a classic lyric, "If you can't change the world, change yourself." And so shall we...
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