Megalopolis

Ein antikes Drama aus dem futuristischen New York mit literarischen Zitaten der Klassiker und existenziellen Überlegungen, die lächerlich unpassend zur umgebenden Filmaufführung sind. Einmal sexy, einmal witzig, der Rest der Laufzeit jedoch in der Ästhetik des Mischens von Stilen verlegen bis kitschig, in einer pseudo-postmodernen Art, die für ein breiteres Publikum absolut unverkäuflich ist. Massenszenen mit einem Dutzend Statisten, Kostüme mit Motiven des alten Roms und digitale Szenen wie aus einem TV-Fantasyfilm für Seniorenheime. Ein unbegründetes, nicht durchdachtes Motiv des Anhaltens der Zeit und viele andere angedeutete Gedanken, die nirgendwo hinführen. Ist es überhaupt möglich, dass Coppola das für sein großes Finale hielt, für das er alles gegeben hat? Wie er seine Karriere mit der langen Hochzeitsszene in Der Pate in Fahrt brachte, begräbt er sie jetzt in einem schrecklich theatralischen Event für die Elite von Megalopolis wie in dem Megaflop Caligula. Ansonsten ist Nathalie Emmanuel schön, Aubrey Plaza gefährlich verführerisch und Shia LaBeouf der Beste von allen. [Cannes FF] (19.05.2024)

Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis brings us to a futuristic, decadent and antiquely stylized New York, New Rome. I found this combination of ancient culture (clothes, names, entertainment) with a futuristic vision of the world very appealing, and the entire film is punctuated with quotes from ancient thinkers, which only underscore their timelessness in how they still apply to today. They highlight the absurdity of certain aspects of modern times, especially the fact that we are still the same people (animals) as in the days of ancient Rome, we are just playing at being a civilized and advanced society. This is portrayed brilliantly in the film, but that's probably the end of all the pros of this "masterpiece". I should also mention that although my favourite of the entire cast is Adam Driver (who was excellent as usual), the biggest praise should go to Shia LaBeouf, who once again shows something completely new, and proves that he can still surprise. Megalopolis had a lot of potential, a lot of great ideas that deserved to be fleshed out more. The huge disappointment for me was that the main character may have the power to stop time, but he doesn't make any use of it, I thought that would have been much more meaningful or impactful to the development of the film. As it is, the whole thing just comes across as a critique of society hoping for a brighter tomorrow, coupled with a simple family drama without much transcendence, which I find very insufficient. At the end of the film, I wondered if I had accidentally fallen asleep during the screening, that I must have missed something... Or maybe I just didn't understand the whole thing. [Festival de Cannes 2024] (21.05.2024)