Of the many quotations and slogans that flitter through Francis Ford Coppola’s idea-stuffed, open-hearted, unabashedly optimistic “Megalopolis,” one that particularly resonates with the director is: “When we leap into the unknown, we prove that we’re free.” “That’s me making this film,” Coppola says, speaking on a hotel terrace in Cannes the day after “Megalopolis” premiered at the French festival. “To all of the studio big shots, I proved that I’m free and they’re not.
Because they don’t dare leap into the unknown. And I do. That’s the only way to prove that you’re free.
” Coppola pauses and then adds, with a grin. “I don’t recommend it.” “Megalopolis,” Coppola’s first film in 13 years, has been called many things since it was unveiled in Cannes.
A folly. A disaster. An audacious, self-financed gamble.
What it is, regardless of whether all its strange parts function smoothly together, is a colossal personal statement by one of American’s most visionary filmmakers, about having the daring to be visionary. It’s no small step but another giant leap by Coppola, 85, who feels so strongly about what “Megalopolis” encapsulates that he’s spent some four decades pursuing it. After the credits rolled at the premiere and the crowd stood applauding, Coppola grabbed the microphone to extend its message, pleading for “one human family” and “the children.
” “My dream would be that this movie could be seen on New Year’s Eve.