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Written, directed and produced by legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, Tetro is a captivating, brilliantly acted, half-English/half-Spanish drama that contains a heightened sense of mystery and intrigue thanks to being filmed almost entirely in black and white.

Tetro begins innocently when 17-year-old Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich) arrives late one night in Buenos Aries at the apartment of his previously missing older brother, Tetro (Vincent Gallo). Brimming with nervous anticipation, Bennie is greeted by Tetro's cheerful girlfriend Miranda (Maribel Verdú, Y tu mamá también) who informs him that Tetro no longer cares about his family.

For the next few days, a determined Bennie attempts to get Tetro, who avoids referring to Bennie as his brother, to open up about their family and answer why he never came back for him as he had promised. Haunted by a fatal car accident and scarred by an egotistical, yet acclaimed symphony conductor father, the emotionally volatile Tetro slowly begins to grapple with their past.


Thanks in large part to Bennie uncovering an unfinished play written by Tetro, once an aspiring writer, old wounds are reopened and dark family secrets begin to rear their ugly heads. This all leads to a climax that's worth the wait.

Gallo is magnificent in a brooding performance which contains as much depth as any actor could ever muster. All one has to do is look into his eyes to see the tumultuous pain that courses through his character's troubled, guilt-ridden soul. Not to be outdone, Ehrenreich is equally brilliant with a performance that is reminiscent of a younger Leonardo DiCaprio: his Bennie loses the naiveté of youth in a way that no one ever should.

The shooting of feature-length, black and white films has become almost a lost art form. (Can you recall more than a couple titles since Schindler's List?) Coppola successfully reminds us just how powerfully dramatic the usage of light and shadow can be with this form of the medium, especially when the camera focuses on the eyes of the players. Overall, his work does tend to drag a bit, especially when he uses surreal imagery and dance movements in blasts of color as a means to depict the past. Still, with that quibble aside, Tetro is an engrossing film that demonstrates Coppola's mastery.

On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, Tetro receives a B+.
    
Tetro is rated R and has a running time of 127 minutes.


Now Showing
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO.
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for showtimes.

By Michael D. Smith

Indie Film Editor

Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.

In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.

Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.

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