Francis Ford Coppola
Segreti Di Famiglia

Less than a year since its release in Italian cinemas, Francis Ford Coppola's latest feature film has already sparked a lot of conversation. Many have described it as the director's most complex film, others as the most personal, and each time these definitions emerge, these films end up being either the most acclaimed or the most hated. It seems almost impossible, in fact, not to talk about "Segreti di famiglia" as either a masterpiece or a failure. There are those who view it one way and those who view it another, with middle grounds seemingly cut out.

Coppola's umpteenth feature tells the story of Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich), a young sailor who wants to delve into his family's history and for this reason seeks out his older brother Angelo (Vincent Gallo), who now, in order to sever any ties with the past, goes by the name of Tetro. Angelo/Tetro lives with his partner Miranda (Maribel Verdú) but has broken all ties with his family. Son of a tyrannical father, he never accepted what his father imposed on him. He wanted to become a writer, but somehow was prevented from doing so...

It's impossible to discuss this film without revealing too much of the plot, a continuous chain starting from the filmmaker himself. Many events in the film are directly inspired by Coppola's life, who, using black and white (interspersed with some color scenes), gives the whole story an even more dramatic and retro aura.

"Segreti di famiglia" brings with it a myriad of reflections, starting from the usefulness of staging problems somehow related to its author. Maybe it was the desire to share his story, or maybe just self-indulgence, but the fact is that labeling this film as a failure is absurd, just as saying it represents the masterpiece of the latter part of the Italian-American director's career. Tetro (this is the film's original title) comes with several questions and considerations: indeed, if one cannot discuss the level of cinematography, the script (written by Coppola himself), and the dramatic power of the film, some choices that limit its assimilability and fluidity remain unclear.

The first half hour is quite calm and goes by presenting the three main characters, among whom Tetro stands out, portrayed by an outstanding Vincent Gallo. A man torn apart by his past and not completely happy with the present, certainly annihilated by a life not lived as he would have wanted. After a seventies-style, slow and "classic" beginning, Segreti di famiglia zigzags between memories and theatrical and poetic digressions that are enjoyable but sometimes out of place. It's not clear why the then Angelo did not react to his father's imposition preventing him from becoming a writer. Instead of confronting the problem, the boy's response was to run away. Just as it's unclear why the film goes astray in the last half hour with ballets created in the minds of the protagonists. Some have labeled them visionary, while others, like myself, still do not fully understand their cinematic utility. De gustibus.

Returning to Francis Ford Coppola's latest endeavor, one cannot help but admire the excellent staging, in a fascinating location like Argentina, made "fifties" by the choice of black and white. Nor can one help but praise the hospital scene where Bennie, after a car accident, tries to piece together what his brother had written over the years. As for the rest, for the ending, it couldn't have gone any other way. But perhaps that was understood a long time ago...

"Brama di vagare"