Cannes 2001 is a big year for the Coppola
clan. Following his father's presentation of his highly anticipated
Apocalypse Now Redux, Roman Coppola is unveiling his debut
feature, a tongue-in-chic swinging 1960s pastiche that suggests
an Austin Powers for the Cahiers Du Cinéma generation.
The years is 1969, and the idealism of the
Free Love era is about to take a fall. Jeremy Davies stars as Paul,
an aspiring filmmaker who's trying to make a living in Paris. Working
as a hand-for-hire on cheap genre movies, he spends his spare time
on a personal art project, recording the personal details of his
life. His arthouse sensibilities are torn, however, when he is offered
the chance to step in and rescue sci-fi caper Dragonfly.
The op-art visuals Coppola is using to promote
CQ should leave audience in no doubt as to the mood he is trying
to evoke, showing model Angela Lindvall in a
This is not to say, however, that this is one expensive in-joke.
"I think that generally the audience will be a younger audience,"
says Coppola. "I'm 35, so I don't know where that puts me, but
I see it as a playful movie that has a lot of humour. I don't
think you have to be completely familiar with the references,
whether it's the black-and-white, Godard-like imagery or the Barbarella-esque
imagery. Whether you were there in the 1960s and saw it first-hand,
or whether you're just kind of aware of it second-hand, I don't
think it matters. I think the younger audience will connect with
the characters and identify with what Paul's going through and
enjoy the playful, sexier stuff in the Dragonfly movie."
Steve Grayson
