The feature debut of Roman Coppola (son of Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola) centers around an international film crew making a low-budget, Barbarella-like feature in Paris in 1969. The film is called Dragonfly and is being directed by Andrzej (Gérard Depardieu), who wishes to make a revolutionary work rather than the tacky fluff it is becoming. He is soon fired by the film's Italian producer Enzo (Giancarlo Giannini) when he can't produce a satisfactory climactic scene. After briefly
replacing Andrzej with an American horrormeister named Felix DeMarco (Jason Schwartzman), the film's editor and second-unit director, the job is finally handed to Paul (Jeremy Davies). Paul is pleased with the offer, but more devoted to his 16 mm filming of his diary of daily life. He eventually begins to fall for the leading lady (Angela Lindvall), but must retrieve footage of the feature stolen by Andrezej and try to keep the troubled production together. CQ features Billy Zane, Massimo Ghini, and Dean Stockwell in supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi
Funny to me, but maybe not for everyone. Hell, I don't care, you're either in the category of the type of person who will like this or you're not. The choice is yours, but anyone pre-disposed to like this type of film will be happy they took the trip.
Love alone does not make a film watchable, no matter how much of it there is. Davies and company are up to the task, but the material is weak. Coppola has a lot of ideas; he just needs to find a more coherent, entertaining way of expressing them.
...by attempting to be all things to all people--a comedy, a drama, a treatise on filmmaking, a treatise on self-fulfillment, etc.--it ends up being very little at all.
A visually stunnig (2002) film that takes place in Italy in 1969, whose plot revolves around the making of a Sci-Fi film meant to take place in the far-off and distant future of the year 2000.
It is also a look at the inner workings of the film industry and the struggle of one editor turned director, to create a
career making film while not allowing his obsession with that films star (Dragonfly) ruin his relationship with his (Real Life) girlfriend who also happens to be the star of HIS own side project which is based on his personal life.
While the story is a bit convoluted at times...there is enough here (especially visually) to keep fans of film interested (especially fans of Sci-Fi and/or Italian cinema).
And (call me crazy) but I would REALLY like to see the finished Sci-Fi film: "Codename Dragonfly" (think Barbarella meets Austin Powers) in it's entirety. Perhaps as an 'extra' on the DVD?
January 6, 2009
Robert C
Super Reviewer
Would be interesting if anything actually happened.
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